In 1999, after seeing M. Night Shyamalan's landmark, The Sixth Sense, the first words I spoke as credits rolled, were, “Instant classic.” The low budget thriller went on to be (at the time) the 10th highest grossing film ever. “A Little Movie That Could” if there ever was one.

A month after its release, another spooky little film came out entitled, Stir of Echoes. Given the fact its story was quite similar to The Sixth Sense -- a little boy who sees dead people -- the movie tanked. A shame too, because it was a taut little thriller. And yet when I saw it, there were numerous times I thought the film was over-derivative of Stephen King's work -- particularly The Shining and The Dead Zone.

A father losing his mind to supernatural phenomena -- The Shining
A little boy who sees ghosts -- The Shining
Black man who quickly identifies the little boy's psychic gift -- The Shining
Man receives disturbing visions when touching something -- The Dead Zone
Man touches dead girl's hand and witnesses her murder -- The Dead Zone

All of these were plot elements of Stir of Echoes. I thought Stephen King (my favorite writer) deserved screen credit for story lines eerily close to his work. It wasn't till later I realized Stir of Echoes (adapted and directed by David Koepp) was based on a 1958 novel by Richard Matheson. Aha! I thought. Who is ripping off whom? I remembered Stephen King was quoted as saying, “the author who influenced me most as a writer is Richard Matheson.”

RICHARD MATHESON

It's odd then, that without Stir of Echoes there never would have been The Shining. And without The Shining, there never would have been a Sixth Sense. Yet in 1999, Matheson was the one left out in the cold.

Matheson penned such classic, highly influential works as:







In addition to countless short stories, he also wrote 14 classic Twilight Zone episodes, including Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, starring William Shatner and directed by (then unknown) Richard Donner, about a man who sees a gremlin on the wing of a plane. He penned the classic Star Trek episode The Enemy Within, where Kirk is split in two by the transporter. He also scared me spitless when I was nine-years-old with a TV movie called Trilogy of Terror -- an anthology starring Karen Black in multiple roles. The final episode, Prey, involved a small, razor-toothed, Zuni fetish doll, who comes to life and chases Ms. Black with a spear. Gave me quite a few nightmares, that one.

If you haven't realized where I am going with this, I'll hasten my point:

If one were to consider the popular culture of the last fifty years, it could easily be argued that Richard Matheson is the literary equivalent of Chuck Berry. Everyone has ripped him off (or at least cribbed from him) and he rarely receives any credit.

A few examples:

Little Girl Lost (Twilight Zone) -- young girl disappears into another realm through a portal in her bedroom wall. Her parents spend the next 20 minutes trying to get her back. Sound familiar? Try Poltergeist. (I find it odd Spielberg didn't give Matheson any credit for that, considering Matheson wrote Duel.)

Prey -- Child's Play, Gremlins, Critters, Stephen King's Battleground

The Incredible Shrinking Man -- Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Borrowers

I Am Legend -- Night of the Living Dead, The Stand, Silent Hill, 28 Days Later

Hell House -- The Shining (Shirley Jackson should be mentioned here, as her Haunting of Hill House inspired both Matheson and King)

Stir of Echoes -- The Shining, The Dead Zone, The Sixth Sense

Duel -- Joyride, Breakdown

Bid Time Return (aka Somewhere in Time) -- The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan, Titanic

Regarding that last one ... Somewhere in Time (the 1980 film starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour) was a bomb in its day. It has since become a much-loved cult classic, even developing its own club: INSITE (International Network of Somewhere in Time Enthusiasts) who meet annually at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan where it was filmed. On their site, there is a page with scores of comparisons between Matheson's story and James Cameron's legendary film, Titanic. Other than the obvious parallels -- both films bounce between present day and 1912, both feature love triangles -- the list compiled is staggering in its fine-tuned volume. Check it out here.

For over 50 years, Matheson has thrilled us with tales of terror and suspense, so ingraining himself in our popular culture, he has nearly been overlooked. He is certainly not as well-known as those he most influenced: King, Koontz, Spielberg. I encourage those interested to seek out his work at your local bookstore. If you liked the film versions of I Am Legend and Somewhere in Time, the books are even better.

Regarding that Chuck Berry comparison ... in Taylor Hackford's 1987 film, Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (highly recommended), Chuck himself explained how many of his most famous riffs (like Johnny B. Goode) were actually 'borrowed' from some of his favorite blues performers from a generation earlier. Quoth Chuck: "There's nothing new under the sun."

Richard Matheson would probably agree.