Where to Start with Richard Matheson
- Best entry point → I Am Legend
- Best standalone → The Best of Richard Matheson
- What readers keep coming back to → I Am Legend and Other Stories
- Highest rated by readers → Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories
- 1
I Am Legend
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Robert Neville stands alone against a world of vampires, hunting them through ruined cities while barricading himself each terrifying night.
★ 4.05 Goodreads (154.9K ratings) - 2
I Am Legend and Other Stories
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Robert Neville hunts sleeping vampires by day and barricades himself at night as Earth's sole human survivor. This collection showcases Matheson's mastery of psychological horror and existential dread.
★ 4.00 Goodreads (136.8K ratings) - 3
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories
by Richard Matheson, Stephen King
★ 4.05 Goodreads (8.4K ratings) - 4
The Best of Richard Matheson
by Richard Matheson, Victor LaValle
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Richard Matheson's most terrifying short stories showcase the master craftsman behind I Am Legend and sixteen Twilight Zone episodes—horror writing at its most psychologically devastating.
★ 4.16 Goodreads (2.3K ratings) - 5
What Dreams May Come
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After dying in an accident, Chris Nielsen explores a heaven shaped by consciousness itself, then descends into hell to rescue his suicidal wife. Matheson imagines an afterlife both beautiful and terrifying.
★ 3.96 Goodreads (15.1K ratings) - 6
Echos (Rivages noir)
by Richard Matheson, François Guérif, Jean-Paul Gratias
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Tom Wallace never believed in hypnotism until a murdered spirit forces him into a deadly investigation. Matheson blends psychological horror with detective work in this haunting revenge tale.
★ 3.86 Goodreads (15.4K ratings) - 7
- 8
Hell House
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Matheson creates the ultimate haunted house story as four strangers enter Belasco House, where previous investigations ended in murder, suicide, and insanity.
★ 3.69 Goodreads (64.1K ratings) - 9
Steel: And Other Stories
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Richard Matheson imagines boxing's high-tech future where massive humanoid robots have replaced human champions, making former flesh-and-blood fighters completely obsolete.
★ 3.63 Goodreads (775 ratings) - 10
The Box: Uncanny Stories
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Would you push a button to earn a fortune if it killed someone you'd never meet? Matheson's psychological horror stories probe the darkest corners of human temptation.
★ 3.54 Goodreads (3.9K ratings)