Richard Matheson (1926-2013) was a prolific author and screenwriter whose career helped shape the horror and fantasy genres of literature, film, and television for over sixty years. Matheson authored more than 90 short stories and over two dozen novels, many of which-including I Am Legend, A Stir of Echoes, What Dreams May Come, The Shrinking Man, Hell House, and Bid Time Return-have been adapted into feature films. Despite his extensive body of work and influence, Matheson has remained largely outside the scope of academic scrutiny. In Reading Richard Matheson: A Critical Survey Cheyenne Mathews and Janet V. Haedicke present a number of essays that provide the first critical overview of Matheson's texts. The essays in this collection cover seven of Matheson's novels, a sampling of short stories, and several adaptations for both film and television. The chapters are arranged thematically and address the sociopolitical anxieties reflected in Matheson's oeuvre, consider his precursors and successors, and situate him within narrative traditions of mythology, cinema, genre, and memory studies.By providing an overview of his career, Reading Richard Matheson illustrates how such a commercial writer can contribute to academic discourses of literature and film. Though the articles use a variety of theoretical frameworks, the crossover nature of the collection reflects the broad range of Matheson's output. As such, this volume will appeal to both fans of Matheson's work in general as well as to scholars of literature, film studies, cultural studies, genre studies, media studies, memory studies, and popular culture.