Challenge 5: Any short story compilation

Short stories are great ways for writers to show off their skill. A well written three thousand word short story can leave more of an impact on the reader than a hundred thousand word novel. Good short stories can be difficult to write because there is not a lot of room for the writer to get their message across.

For this challenge I read a compilation of short stories written by Richard Matheson. That name might not be familiar to you, but you probably know some of his work. He was very active in the mid twentieth century, writing novels, short stories, movie scripts and television episodes, including popular episodes of Twilight Zone and Star Trek. His short story Duel was adapted for film in 1970 by Steven Spielberg, the first movie of his illustrious career. His novels I Am Legend and Stir of Echoes, and many more have found their way to the movie screen decades after publication.

The majority of works in this anthology were submitted to various magazines and publications such as Gamma and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

This anthology includes an introduction by its editor, Victor LaValle, who points out a theme these stories share, one that is a favorite of Matheson, the intrusion of the abnormal into our normal lives. Stories ranging from a woman who owns a possessed hunting doll, to a crew of astronauts discovering a crashed spacecraft, are great examples of people minding their own business only to find themselves faced with a “this isn't supposed to happen to me” situation. Some of these are recognizable as famous movies and television, like the previously mentioned Duel, adapted by Spielberg, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, written for the Twilight Zone, and Button, Button, which was turned into the movie “The Box”.

In some instances he flips this theme, making the abnormal seem like it is meant to be normal, like a psychic whose day at the office involves seeing the future, or the kids who use their minds to destroy an army, or a guy in Times Square who sees a caveman appear, then disappear after causing a ruckus.

Many of these stories, many over half a century old, would still be great candidates for movie adaptation. Dying Room Only, about a woman who emerges from a restroom to find her husband missing, and Shipshape Home, about a man whose wife is convinced the janitor of their apartment is an alien, beg for movie adaptations.

Some of these stories are so short it's hard to get anything beyond an emotion. Stories like Born of Man and Woman, about a child locked in a basement, evoke emotion but don't tell much of a story. Same with Where There's A Will, There's a Way, about a guy who wakes up in a coffin, buried alive...so he thinks. Another point of criticism would be his women characters, most of whom are portrayed as being very weak, both in mind and spirit. Maybe it's a product of the era, when men were expected to be and do everything. Women were expected to clean the house, prepare meals, and bear children, and little else. The women in these stories have little to no inner strength, no agency, no will to think and act for themselves. Maybe this is just comes from being a writer in the fifties and sixties.

Most of the stories included here are of the horror genre but there is the odd one or two, such as Counterfeit Bills, about a man who figured out how to clone himself, or The Conqueror, a western about a kid who teaches himself to fire a pistol and tries to make a name for himself as a gunfighter. Horror or not, almost none of these stories have a happy ending.

This was a great entry point to learn about the skill and range of Richard Matheson, an enjoyable ride that leaves me wanting more. I am Legend, Stir of Echoes, Real Steel and so many of his novels deserve a space on my bookshelf, maybe yours too. However, if you want a crash course on his imaginative worlds, flip on the television or stop by your local movie theater and enjoy.

D.G. Raymond