Nightmare At 20,000 Feet Horror Stories By Richard Matheson

by Matheson, Richard; King, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780312878276
• ISBN10: 0312878273
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-05
• Publisher: Tor Books

Summary

Remember that monster on the wing of the airplane? William Shatner saw it on The Twilight Zone, John Lithgow saw it in the movie-even Bart Simpson saw it. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is just one of many classic horror stories by Richard Matheson that have insinuated themselves into our collective imagination. Here are more than twenty of Matheson's most memorable tales of fear and paranoia, including: "Duel," the nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspired Steven Spielberg's first film; "Prey," in which a terrified woman is stalked by a malevolent Tiki doll, as chillingly captured in yet another legendary TV moment; "Blood Son," a disturbing portrait of a strange little boy who dreams of being a vampire; "Dress of White Silk," a seductively sinister tale of evil and innocence. Personally selected by Richard Matheson, the bestselling author ofI Am LegendandWhat Dreams May Come, these and many other stories, more than demonstrate why he is rightfully regarded as one of the finest and most influential horror writers of our generation.

Author Biography

Richard Matheson is The New York Times bestselling author of I Am Legend, Hell House, Somewhere in Time, The Incredible Shrinking Man, A Stir of Echoes, The Beardless Warriors, The Path, Seven Steps to Midnight, Now You See It . . . , and What Dreams May Come. A Grand Master of Horror and past winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, he has also won the Edgar, the Hugo, the Spur, and the Writer's Guild awards.

He lives in Calabasas, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction	11	(2)
Stephen King
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet	13	(22)
Dress of White Silk	35	(6)
Blood Son	41	(10)
Through Channels	51	(8)
Witch War	59	(8)
Mad House	67	(40)
Disappearing Act	107	(20)
Legion of Plotters	127	(12)
Long Distance Call	139	(16)
Slaughter House	155	(42)
Wet Straw	197	(10)
Dance of the Dead	207	(20)
The Children of Noah	227	(22)
The Holiday Man	249	(6)
Old Haunts	255	(12)
The Distributor	267	(22)
Crickets	289	(10)
First Anniversary	299	(10)
The Likeness of Julie	309	(12)
Prey	321

Excerpts

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet Seat belt, please," said the stewardess cheerfully as she passed him Almost as she spoke, the sign above the archway which led to the forward compartment lit upFASTEN SEAT BELTwith, below, its attendant cautionNO SMOKING. Drawing in a deep lungful, Wilson exhaled it in bursts, then pressed the cigarette into the armrest tray with irritable stabbing motions. Outside, one of the engines coughed monstrously, spewing out a cloud of fume which fragmented into the night air. The fuselage began to shudder and Wilson, glancing through the window, saw the exhaust of flame jetting whitely from the engine's nacelle. The second engine coughed, then roared, its propeller instantly a blur of revolution. With a tense submissiveness, Wilson fastened the belt across his lap. Now all the engines were running and Wilson's head throbbed in unison with the fuselage. He sat rigidly, staring at the seat ahead as the DC-7 taxied across the apron, heating the night with the thundering blast of its exhausts. At the edge of the runway, it halted. Wilson looked out through the window at the leviathan glitter of the terminal. By late morning, he thought, showered and cleanly dressed, he would be sitting in the office of one more contact discussing one more specious deal the net result of which would not add one jot of meaning to the history of mankind. It was all so damned Wilson gasped as the engines began their warm-up race preparatory to takeoff. The sound, already loud, became deafeningwaves of sound that crashed against Wilson's ears like club blows. He opened his mouth as if to let it drain. His eyes took on the glaze of a suffering man, his hands drew in like tensing claws. He started, legs retracting, as he felt a touch on his arm. Jerking aside his head, he saw the stewardess who had met him at the door. She was smiling down at him. "Are you all right?" he barely made out her words. Wilson pressed his lips together and agitated his hand at her as if pushing her away. Her smile flared into excess brightness, then fell as she turned and moved away. The plane began to move. At first lethargically, like some behemoth truggling to overthrow the pull of its own weight. Then with more speed, forcing off the drag of friction. Wilson, turning to the window, saw the dark runway rushing by faster and faster. On the wing edge, there was a mechanical whining as the flaps descended. Then, imperceptibly, the giant wheels lost contact with the ground, the earth began to fall away. Trees flashed underneath, buildings, the darting quicksilver of car lights. The DC-7 banked slowly to the right, pulling itself upward toward the frosty glitter of the stars. Finally, it levelled off and the engines seemed to stop until Wilson's adjusting ear caught the murmur of their cruising speed. A moment of relief slackened his muscles, imparting a sense of well-being. Then it was gone. Wilson sat immobile, staring at the NO SMOKING sign until it winked out, then, quickly, lit a cigarette. Reaching into the seat-back pocket in front of him, he slid free his newspaper. As usual, the world was in a state similar to his. Friction in diplomatic circles, earthquakes and gunfire, murder, rape, tornadoes and collisions, business conflicts, gangsterism. God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, thought Arthur Jeffrey Wilson. Fifteen minutes later, he tossed the paper aside. His stomach felt awful. He glanced up at the signs beside the two lavatories. Both, illuminated, read OCCUPIED. He pressed out his third cigarette since takeoff and, turning off the overhead light, stared out through the window. Along the cabin's length, people were already flicking out their lights and reclining their chairs for sleep. Wilson glance