There are two aspects of this piece I find as valuable models for a writer. The first is the idea of death by inches. In my experience with horror, death come as a relatively swift blow - maybe there’s some torture, definitely some pain, but it is usually played out by a lot of tension and a …

Dialog like this is a challenge. Matheson’s main character, David Millman, is ultimately having a conversation with himself. He’s the crazy guy who hears voices in his head. I’ve written a couple of pieces that have this happen in them, but I haven’t been able to pull them …

What I found most useful in this story is the sense of perspective, and how the POV character needn’t necessarily be the main character. The story is told from Morton Silkline’s perspective - the Director of a little cut-rate funeral home. While the story is his, I would argue that he …