Twilight Zone: 13 Books For Fans of the Rod Serling Classic TV Show
“You’re travelling through another dimension…. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!”
When it first aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone was nothing less than groundbreaking television. The program sparked the imaginations of countless writers and filmmakers around the world. The 156 episodes explored classic, powerful, and moving human themes—love, hate, pride, jealousy, terror—in a unique style.
The list below of related Twilight Zone books includes prose adaptations of original scripts, original fiction that inspired episodes, a collection of show creator and host and Rod Serling’s best scripts, plus handbooks and guidebooks about the making of the series. The list of books also includes biographies of Serling.
Related links:
Monster Complex uses Amazon affiliate links
13 Books For Fans of the Rod Serling Classic TV Show Twilight Zone
With this collection of six of Rod Serling’s favorite spine-tingling stories, prepare yourself, in the words of Serling himself, “…to enter that fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man.”
Stories from the Twilight Zone adapted Serling’s dramatic scripts into prose short stories. The short story collection includes a foreword by Anne Serling, the daughter of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. The collection includes the stories “The Mighty Casey,” “Escape Clause,” “Walking Distance,” “The Fever,” “Where I Everybody?” and “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”
“An interesting aspect of Stories from the Twilight Zone—and of Serling’s subsequent story adaptations—is that the stories often feature scenes or characters which were altered, unfilmed, or cut from the finished productions on The Twilight Zone television series.” (The Twilight Zone Vortex)
This second collection includes seven more short stories that Rod Serling adapted from the show’s scripts. More Stories from the Twilight Zone includes Serling’s prose adaptations of episodes from the first and second seasons of the television series. These stories include “The Lonely,” “Mr. Dingle, the Strong,” “A Thing About Machines,” “The Big, Tall Wish,” “A Stop at Willoughby,” “The Odyssey of Flight 33” and “Dust.”
Anne Serling once again offers an introduction, offering her memories of her dad working on the show.
This third collection has six of Rod Serling’s short stories, adapted from episodes of The Twilight Zone. Serling adapted a combination of episodes from the second and third seasons of the television series for New Stories. This time he’s adapting “The Whole Truth,” “The Shelter,” “Showdown with Rance McGrew,” “The Night of the Meek,” “The Midnight Sun” and “The Rip Van Winkle Caper.”
Anne Serling once again offers an introduction, offering some more memories of her dad working on the show.
An anthology of short stories edited by Carol Serling, the widow of Rod Serling, Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary celebrates Serling’s landmark television series. The anthology includes brand-new stories by science fiction and fantasy luminaries such as Whitley Strieber, Loren D. Estleman, Joe Lansdale, R.L. Stine, Timothy Zahn, and Peter S. Beagle, as well as writers from the original series, Earl Hammer and Harlan Ellison, all in honor of Serling’s incredible vision.
The book begins with an introduction by editor Carol Serling, and ends with brief biographies of all the authors. Each of the 19 self-contained short stories includes an introduction and conclusion with the same tone and style as Rod Serling’s narration at the beginning and end of each Twilight Zone episode.
The best 10 of the 92 Twilight Zone Scripts written by Rod Serling, chosen by Carol Serling and edited by Tony Albarella. This collection presents ten of Serling’s most iconic scripts, along with analysis commentaries, rare photos, and interviews with Twilight Zone actors, writers, producers, and directors.
The Best of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone Scripts includes the following scripts:
“Walking Distance”
“Time Enough at Last”
“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”
“A Stop at Willoughby”
“A Passage for Trumpet”
“The Eye of the Beholder”
“The Obsolete Man”
“The Shelter”
“Death’s-Head Revisited”
“To Serve Man”
Buy The Best of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone Scripts from Amazon
The Twilight Zone Companion is the complete show-by-show guide to one of television’s all-time greatest series. It covers the celebrated show’s inception through to its subsequent offshoots and remakes, and is fascinating reading for even the most casual fan.
Coverage of each episode includes a plot synopsis, Rod Serling’s narrations, critical commentary, behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes from the original artists who created the series, a complete list of cast and crew, and photographs. This revised, expanded, and completely redesigned Third Edition adds new interviews and new episode anecdotes, and brings the number of photographs in the book to well over 550.
Reviews:
“A captivating look at possibly the best TV series of all time.”—Leonard Maltin, TV critic
“This compendium of old tales, is a remarkable gift to those who loved the series and to those who have yet to discover its magic.”—Bruce Joel Rubin, screenwriter, Ghost, Jacob’s Ladder, The Time Traveler’s Wife
“Thank you for the incredible book. My dad would have loved it.”—Anne Serling Sutton
The Twilight Zone Companion author Marc Scott Zicree has written and produced hundreds of hours of TV for most of the major studios and networks. His credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Sliders, Friday the 13th: The Series, He-Man, The Real Ghostbusters, The Smurfs, and numerous other shows.
Regarded as one of the country’s top media experts, Zicree has lectured at many colleges, professional conferences, and museums throughout the world. The Twilight Zone Companion has been credited with creating the modern genre of books on TV series and inspiring a generation of series creators and filmmakers.
A rich, fact-filled collectible, packed with vibrant history, amazing trivia, and rare photographs, The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia—assembled with the full cooperation of the Rod Serling estate—includes biographies of every principal actor involved in the series and hundreds who toiled behind the scenes—producers, writers, and directors. It is an exhaustive and engrossing guide, a compendium of credits, plot synopses, anecdotes, production details, never-before-seen images, and interviews with nearly everyone still alive who was associated with the show.
Very few television shows withstand the test of time, and Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone is one of the notable exceptions. Proven to be an important part of American culture since its debut on CBS in October 1959, many Hollywood producers, screenwriters and directors have been inspired and influenced by this series. Comic books, magazine articles, numerous television revivals, a major motion picture and even modern audio productions have been produced, showcasing the continuing popularity of this television classic.
This definitive history presents a portrait of the beloved Rod Serling and his television program, recounting the major changes the show underwent in format and story selection, including censorship battles, production details, and exclusive memories from cast and crew. The complete episode guide recalls all 156 episodes of the series in detail that has never before been accomplished in any publication.
This book will make you want to look back at the episodes once again, whether you are a casual fan or serious enthusiast of the series. Unlock the door to a television classic by reading about the in-jokes, bloopers, and other trivia associated with the behind-the-scenes production of Twilight Zone!
Buy The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic from Amazon.
CBS’s The Twilight Zone (1959–1964) remains a benchmark of serious telefantasy and one of the most iconic series in the history of American television. Barry Keith Grant carefully situates The Twilight Zone within the history of broadcast television and American culture, both of which were changing dramatically during the five seasons the series originally aired. At the same time, the genres of science fiction, horror, and fantasy were moving from marginal to mainstream, a cultural shift that The Twilight Zone was both part of and largely responsible for.
In this deeply intimate and soulful memoir about her father, Rod Serling’s daughter Anne Serling reveals the fun-loving dad and family man behind the serious figure the public saw hosting The Twilight Zone each week.
In 1975, Rod Serling’s untimely death at 50 years old left 20-year-old Anne stunned and reeling. But through talking to his friends, poring over old letters, and recounting her childhood memories, Anne not only navigated her profound grief, but gained a deeper understanding of this remarkable man both as her father and as a dynamic writer.
Now she shares her journey, along with personal photos, letters, scenes of her dad's youth, his service in WWII, and her family’s time together. As I Knew Him is at once a portrait of a father and daughter, and a tribute to Rod Serling’s legacy as a visionary, storyteller, and humanist.
Review: “Serling’s memoir of her father is an altogether gentler affair that forgoes backlot minutiae (Marc Scott Zicree’s The Twilight Zone Companion is your best bet for that) and instead focuses on the overworked but jolly man she knew as Dad. Most affecting are Rod’s letters home from the war, where he formed his virulent antiprejudice views and encountered demons that only a lifetime of writing could slay.” (Booklist)
This landmark first biography of Rod Serling offers fascinating insights into his life, from the nearly idyllic childhood that he could never recapture to the haunting World War II experiences that informed his imagination and his sudden emergence as one of television’s Golden Age luminaries, responsible for shaping the medium itself.
Last Stop, The Twilight Zone paints a startling picture of the complex, unhappy man beneath Serling’s gregarious yet suave public persona. Despite receiving critical and popular acclaim, Serling was doubtful of his own talent, compulsively accepting nearly any job offered, from writing to pitching products. Prolific by any measure, he felt imprisoned by his most famous creation, The Twilight Zone.
Here is the Rod Serling we never knew, the man whose success overshadowed his ambitions and, eventually, his life—a life that ended long before it should have…
Buy Last Stop, the Twilight Zone: The Biography of Rod Serling from Amazon
Richard Matheson (1926-2013) is a legendary author whose fiction has been made into episodes of the Twilight Zone as well as engaging films like The Omega Man (1971), I Am Legend (2007), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1958), What Dreams May Come (1998), and Duel (1971). Stephen King has even cited Richard Matheson as a creative influence.
The book Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories By Richard Matheson—a collection of stories personally selected by Matheson—demonstrate why Matheson is regarded as one of our most influential horror writers.
Remember that monster on the wing of the airplane? William Shatner saw it on The Twilight Zone, John Lithgow saw it in the movie—even Bart Simpson saw it. “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” is just one of many classic horror stories by Richard Matheson that have insinuated themselves into our collective imagination.
This book includes more than twenty of Matheson’s most memorable tales of fear and paranoia, including:
“Prey,” in which a terrified woman is stalked by a malevolent Tiki doll, as chillingly captured in yet another legendary TV moment
“Blood Son,” a disturbing portrait of a strange little boy who dreams of being a vampire
“Dress of White Silk,” a seductively sinister tale of evil and innocence
“Duel,” a nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspired Steven Spielberg’s first film
Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) was one of the most honored 20th-century authors, wrote in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction. His fiction included the story “I Sing the Body Electric”—which was adapted into an episode of Twilight Zone—plus classic books like Fahrenheit 451 (1953), Martian Chronicles (1950), Illustrated Man (1951), and more.
The story collection I Sing the Body Electric! And Other Stories features tales from the mind of Ray Bradbury. This book is a wonder-filled carnival of delight and terror that stretches from the verdant Irish countryside to the coldest reaches of outer space.
Yet all his work is united by one common thread: a vivid and profound understanding of the vast emotions that bring strength and mythic resonance to our frail species…
Ray Bradbury characters may find themselves anywhere and anywhen.
A horrified mother may give birth to a strange blue pyramid.
A man may take Abraham Linkoln out of the grave—and meet another who puts him back.
An amazing Electrical Grandmother may come to live with a grieving family.
An old parrort may have learned over long evenings to imitate the voice of Ernest Hemingway, and become the last link to the last link to the great man.
A priest on Mars may confront his fondest dream: to meet the Messiah.
Each of these magnificent creations has something to tell us about our own humanity—and all of their fates await you in this new trade edition of twenty-eight classic Bradbury stories and one luscious poem. Travel on an unpredictable and unforgettable literary journey—safe in the hands of the century's great men of imagination.
Buy I Sing the Body Electric! And Other Stories from Amazon.
More from Monster Complex
X-Files: ‘Scully Effect’ Inspired Generation of Women in Science
14 Monster Families from Charmed, Hotel Transylvania, The Munsters, more
Horror Noire: Cast Announced For Shudder African-American Horror Series
Monsters Vs. ‘Murder, She Wrote’: Vampire, Witches, Ghosts, and the Headless Horseman
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Spinoff: Watch The Trailer For WELLINGTON PARANORMAL
26 Swamp Monsters from Myths, Comics, X-Files, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more
