Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories

One of the finest and most influential horror writers of the twentieth century, Richard Matheson has left his stamp on the collective imagination. Here are more than twenty of Matheson's most memorable tales of fear and paranoia, personally selected by the author himself. Many of these stories have already entered into popular culture, including the title story, which became a landmark episode of The Twilight Zone, and "Duel," the nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspired Steven Spielberg's first film.Other stories include "First Anniversary," "Dress of White Silk," "Witch War," "Dance of the Dead," "Mad House," "Prey," "Blood Son," "Crickets," "Wet Straw," "The Children of Noah," "Through Channels," "Old Haunts," "Disappearing Act," "The Holiday Man," "Legion of Plotters," "The Distributor," "Long Distance Call," "Slaughter House," and "The Likeness of Julie." Find out why Stephen King (who writes the introduction) has called Matheson one of his favorite writers.

About the Author

Richard Matheson (1926-2013) wrote numerous New York Times bestselling novels, including I Am Legend, Hell House, Somewhere in Time, The Shrinking Man, and others. A WHC Grand Master of Horror and past winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, he also won the Edgar, the Hugo, the Spur, and the Writers Guild awards, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, and Doctor Sleep are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. Richard Powers is the author of New York Times bestseller Bewilderment; The Overstory, which won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; and The Echo Maker, which won the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; among many other novels. Powers has received a MacArthur Fellowship, a Lannan Literary Award, the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Historical Fiction, and is a four-time National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. He lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.Malcolm Hillgartner is an accomplished actor, writer, musician, and Earphones Award-winning narrator who was named an AudioFile Best Voice of 2013.Arte Johnson, an Emmy-winning actor, won two Earphones Awards and was a finalist for the Audie Award for best narration.

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