Richard Matheson, Religion and What Dreams May Come

I have read several books by Richard Matheson and seen lots of movies and TV shows based on his stories or scripts. He is known primarily as a writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is probably best known as the author of I Am Legend (which has been adapted for the screen four times).

Richard Matheson

I first noticed his name because it appeared on 16 episodes of The Twilight Zone, a show that I loved as a child - and still enjoy watching.

In 1971, he adapted one of his short stories as a screenplay for Steven Spielberg's first television film Duel. (A film worth watching as very early Spielberg and for Matheson's writing.)

In 1978, Matheson wanted to move away from the horror genre. He said "I was determined to fight against this image. Dammit, I never wrote 'real' horror to begin with! To me, horror connotes blood and guts, while terror is a much more subtle art, a matter of stirring up primal fears. But, by the mid-seventies, I had tired of playing the fright game. Scaring the hell out of people no longer appealed to me."

"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause."
- Hamlet

Matheson stated in an interview, "I think What Dreams May Come is the most important (read effective) book I've written. It has caused a number of readers to lose their fear of death – the finest tribute any writer could receive."

In the novel, Chris is a man who dies and goes to Heaven but later descends into Hell to rescue his wife.  In the introduction, Matheson says that the characters are the only fictional component of the novel and almost everything else is based on research. Unlike most novels, it has a lengthy bibliography.

The novel probes ideas about what happens after we die.

I wrote about the novel and the movie version on another blog, but I revisited the book recently as an audiobook and this time the religious connections seemed clearer to me.

It reminds me of the film Groundhog Day which I have also written about elsewhere which is a film that has been adopted by some Buddhists as being their own story.

Matheson says there is not any direct religious influence. Matheson was raised a Christian Scientist but developed his own eclectic belief system. He said that "I have been fascinated about parapsychology, metaphysics and the supernatural ever since I was a teenager. The concepts in the book are derived from my wide range of reading."

He does admit that of his influences was Harold W. Percival, an adherent of Theosophy, a belief system with a strong Eastern and Hindu influence (and worthy of its own article here one day).

Some Hindus say that Matheson's novel presents beliefs that are found in their teachings. He seems to feel that reincarnation is somewhat voluntary - at least more so than the way it appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.

You could also look back to the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice where the husband also journeys to the underworld to retrieve his wife.

As Matheson's bibliography makes clear, he was reading in many areas from the 18th-century Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg to near-death experiences in studies by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and Raymond Moody.

The accounts that Matheson found most frightening were those recounted by revived suicides.  I suppose his bibliography has many sources that don't fall into mainstream religions.

In the novel, Chris finds Heaven incomplete without his wife Annie. When Annie commits suicide due to grief over Chris's death, he realizes that they will be separated forever. Chris risks his soul to save Annie and prevent an eternity of despair for both of them.

The novel was adapted for film in 1998  starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Annabella Sciorra. The film, What Dreams May Come, follows the novel pretty faithfully and has gorgeous cinematography.  It won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

                                    Trailer for What Dreams May Come (film)