On one day the world of science fiction was as ignorant of the name “Richard Matheson” as of the name of the owner of your corner delicatessen; on the next the name ranked in. Her white brassiere, underneath her young breast—a heart. Mother words drumming at her; the needle making her.
“The Dark Music” by07.15.12Story 195/366I first encountered Charles Beaumont through the wonderful scripts he wrote for The Twilight Zone, including “Number Twelve Looks Just Like You.” He was extremely prolific and it’s hard to know what he might have gone on to do if he hadn’t died of a strange, rapid-aging disease when he was only 38. (His last home was in Valley Village, California, which is where I live.) “The Dark Music” is about a rigidly puritanical teacher who is given a taste of sensuality that changes her life. The story appears in Beaumont’s collection The Magic Man, The copy I have is a 50-cent Fawcett Gold Edition published in 1965, with a foreword by Ray Bradbury and an afterword by Richard Matheson. You can still buy used copies of this edition, for less than $15 used.See you tomorrow!
“Dress of White Silk” by02.02.12Story 33/366When posted Richard Matheson’s story “,” it reminded me of just how good his short stories are. I found “Dress of White Silk” in a collection called (Horror Stories by Richard Matheson).
It has an introduction by saying nice things about Matheson and his influence on his own work and on horror in general. This story originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction in October 1951. It is a change of pace for Matheson but chilling nonetheless. Told from the point of view of a little girl whose mother is dead, it’s an experiment in voice and tone and point of view. I don’t think it’s wholly successful, but it’s an interesting read.ee you tomorrow!
Quiet is here and all in me.White silk dresses can be creepy, if you've ever dressed as a ghost for Halloween. While silk dresses kept lovingly for years in a dresser can be even creepier, particularly when they belong to a dead mother of our narrator, a creepy, not-quite-right daughter. The narrator spends her days indoors, apparently not allowed out by her grandmother. She loves to play in her mom's room with her things, when grandma takes a nap. She's allowed to have a playmate over, and one Quiet is here and all in me.White silk dresses can be creepy, if you've ever dressed as a ghost for Halloween. While silk dresses kept lovingly for years in a dresser can be even creepier, particularly when they belong to a dead mother of our narrator, a creepy, not-quite-right daughter. The narrator spends her days indoors, apparently not allowed out by her grandmother.
She loves to play in her mom's room with her things, when grandma takes a nap. She's allowed to have a playmate over, and one day, when her friend opines on the narrator's beloved treasures, things take a turn for the worse.