R.I.P Richard Matheson

I may have been a little slow on this one, but I just found out Richard Matheson passed away. He was a wonderful author, and in fact wrote a lot of major stories we all know and love. Of all the modern writers I've been familiar with, I feel Matheson managed to be the most influential without a lot of people even knowing. He had a way of writing that really managed to bring out the emotions and humanity of characters, no matter the subject. His works had heart, which is something I don't believe truly great horror can ever be without.


When I was a kid, and I consumed books like fire tearing through a dry thicket, I discovered a very small entry in an encyclopedia of horror stories. It referenced a tale I would spend a fair amount of years trying to find, as the only evidence of it even existing was in out-of-print magazines and a practically impossible to find book called 'Nighttouch'. Just this past year, though, I picked up a book from a garage sale, and discovered this same story I'd been looking for, completely by surprise when I was browsing through the pages later. The story is called 'Drink My Blood', also called 'Blood Son', and it was written in 1951. Though the story wasn't my favorite Matheson work, it did motivate me to read and see his other works, and truly appreciate him for the artist he was. For those of you interested in reading this story, I found it in a horror anthology called 'Vampires: Two Centuries of Great Vampire Stories', edited by Alan Ryan.

Here's a very short video I found on youtube of Richard discussing how he wants to be remembered. I think he got his wish. R.I.P. Mister Matheson. I, for one, will never forget you.