Authors who write (or wrote . . . if they're dead) Twilight Zone and Outer Limits-esque stories?
April 5, 2012 3:02 AM Subscribe
Authors who write (or wrote . . . if they're dead) Twilight Zone and Outer Limits-esque stories?
I'm a long time fan of the shows The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone and am seeking out authors who write (or wrote . . . if they're dead) the type of stories that could have been adapted into Twilight Zone and Outer Limits episodes.
J.G. Ballard and Clark Ashton are two authors I can think of at the top of my head whose stories make me think "This could have been adapted into a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode" when reading them. Can anyone think of any other authors that would probably be my cup of tea?
I'm a long time fan of the shows The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone and am seeking out authors who write (or wrote . . . if they're dead) the type of stories that could have been adapted into Twilight Zone and Outer Limits episodes.
J.G. Ballard and Clark Ashton are two authors I can think of at the top of my head whose stories make me think "This could have been adapted into a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode" when reading them. Can anyone think of any other authors that would probably be my cup of tea?
Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson spring to mind as the obvious ones.
posted by pipeski at 3:31 AM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 3:31 AM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Harlan Ellison.
posted by mykescipark at 4:09 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by mykescipark at 4:09 AM on April 5, 2012
Ambrose Bierce. An Occurrence at Owl Street Bridge even was one.
posted by phunniemee at 4:13 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by phunniemee at 4:13 AM on April 5, 2012
*creek
posted by phunniemee at 4:13 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by phunniemee at 4:13 AM on April 5, 2012
Fredric Brown ( and Harlan Ellison too but HE's already on the list )
posted by metadave at 4:13 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by metadave at 4:13 AM on April 5, 2012
Richard Matheson, who actually did have a number of stories adapted as episodes.
posted by gerryblog at 4:47 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by gerryblog at 4:47 AM on April 5, 2012
August Derleth and Donald Wandrei were the publishers of Arkham House press and authors in their own rights. You should check out their stuff and what they published.
posted by bibliogrrl at 5:28 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by bibliogrrl at 5:28 AM on April 5, 2012
Davis Grubb. A couple of his stories were used for Night Gallery and he wrote the novel,The Night of the Hunter, which was adapted into a film.
posted by Ariadne at 6:12 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by Ariadne at 6:12 AM on April 5, 2012
You might want to check out the Wordsworth "Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural", which is a series of affordable editions of well known and not so well known horror and weird fiction writers, quite a few of whom would fit your requirements.
posted by MartinWisse at 6:18 AM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by MartinWisse at 6:18 AM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
phunniemee: "Ambrose Bierce. An Occurrence at Owl Street Bridge even was one."
This was made into a short (half hour?) movie that I saw in middle school. I loved the movie enough to actually read the story as teen which says alot.
(Thanks phunniemee for reminding me!)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:47 AM on April 5, 2012
This was made into a short (half hour?) movie that I saw in middle school. I loved the movie enough to actually read the story as teen which says alot.
(Thanks phunniemee for reminding me!)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:47 AM on April 5, 2012
John Collier's Fancies and Goodnights has a lot of stories that I think of as on the quotidian end of the Twilight Zone spectrum.
posted by gauche at 6:55 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by gauche at 6:55 AM on April 5, 2012
Harlan Ellison also write my favorite Alfred Hitchcock episode, Memo from Purgatory. Best episode ever.
posted by Juliet Banana at 6:58 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by Juliet Banana at 6:58 AM on April 5, 2012
H.P. Lovecraft.
M.R. James' Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is a classic of the genre, out of copyright – the Wikipedia page has links to free text and audiobook versions of it.
posted by zadcat at 7:04 AM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
M.R. James' Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is a classic of the genre, out of copyright – the Wikipedia page has links to free text and audiobook versions of it.
posted by zadcat at 7:04 AM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Nice recommendations.
I'm especially pumped to read the fiction of Charles Beaumont and Fredric Brown -- authors I'd never heard of prior to creating this thread.
posted by GlassHeart at 7:32 AM on April 5, 2012
I'm especially pumped to read the fiction of Charles Beaumont and Fredric Brown -- authors I'd never heard of prior to creating this thread.
posted by GlassHeart at 7:32 AM on April 5, 2012
Philip K. Dick (his short stories).
posted by martinrebas at 8:52 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by martinrebas at 8:52 AM on April 5, 2012
Assuming you don’t already, I think you just want to read some sci-fi short story collections of the 60’s and earlier. That’s what a lot of these are, or had the same writers anyway.
posted by bongo_x at 10:44 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by bongo_x at 10:44 AM on April 5, 2012
I think you would absolutely adore Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow (bona fides: Twilight Zone nut, moderate Outer Limits fan, had to replace fallen-apart copy of Timeless Stories; fondnesses for all of these started in single digit ages and persist through thirties) Starts at $2 on Amazon.
posted by kmennie at 7:27 PM on April 5, 2012
posted by kmennie at 7:27 PM on April 5, 2012
Daphne DuMaurier's collection from NYRB, Don't Look Now, sort of has that feel in some of the stories.
posted by ifjuly at 8:24 AM on April 6, 2012
posted by ifjuly at 8:24 AM on April 6, 2012
Response by poster: bongo_x: "Assuming you don’t already, I think you just want to read some sci-fi short story collections of the 60’s and earlier. That’s what a lot of these are, or had the same writers anyway."
I've read quite a few sci-fi short stories in my life. Not all of them had that Outer Limits/Twilight Zone "feel" to them.
posted by GlassHeart at 9:12 AM on April 6, 2012
I've read quite a few sci-fi short stories in my life. Not all of them had that Outer Limits/Twilight Zone "feel" to them.
posted by GlassHeart at 9:12 AM on April 6, 2012
Almost every story in Robert Sheckley's new collection is like this.
posted by dgeiser13 at 5:06 PM on May 10, 2012
posted by dgeiser13 at 5:06 PM on May 10, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by GlassHeart at 3:04 AM on April 5, 2012