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Earthbound by Richard Matheson
01/08/2005 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: TOR. 223 page enlarged paperback. Price: $13.95 (US), $19.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-31171-2. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.tor.com
It is fascinating how opinions change over years. Just viewing old black and white TV films or programmes gives an idea of the differences about what was considered acceptable then compared to now. Sex and violence are the main areas of change.
In 1982, Richard Matheson wrote an erotic horror novel called 'Earthbound'. This was considered by the publishers to be much too risqué and could not be presented to the public in that form. The much altered text was published under the name of Logan Swanson. The butchery made it clumsy and forgettable. In 1989, the original text was restored and it was published with Matheson's by-line in the UK. It wasn't until 1994 that the book had its first hardcover publication in the USA. This is the first trade paperback edition to be published in the USA, suggesting that it has taken the Americans a long time to get over their nervousness about the content whereas the British we able to accept it fifteen years ago. It is an erotic story, but it is not pornographic by any stretch of the imagination and even Anne McCaffrey has written more explicit sex scenes.
In many ways, 'Earthbound' is a product of its times and contains many of the elements familiar to film-goers and horror readers of the 80s and earlier. It is easy to imagine this book filmed in black and white.
David and Ellen Cooper have arranged a trip to the coastal village where they spent their honeymoon in an attempt to mend a failing marriage. David was unfaithful and desires to woo back Ellen's trust. Unfortunately, the house they had stayed in before has been swept away in a storm so they take the only one available. It is winter, the place is cold and the electricity has not yet been switched on for them. Later, when Ellen goes for a walk by herself along the beach, David discovers that there is someone else in the house. Marianna claims to have called to see if it is her artist boyfriend returning. He is instantly attracted to her and barely notices that she has come in barefoot on a cold night. The next day, after David and Ellen have had a row, Marianna is there again. This time she seduces him.
The seasoned horror reader will by this time be beginning to form an idea about Marianna. This is a haunted house story with a succubus in residence. There are the expected dire warnings from someone who is aware of what it going on, which naturally, go unheeded. There is also a 'Hand Of Glory' element in that Marianna only appears when Ellen is either away from the house or so deeply asleep that she cannot be woken. David is much too easily trapped into the situation and both he and Ellen are ciphers, their characters barely developed.
'Earthbound' is the kind of book that would occupy the attention well on a train journey. It is not a significant part of Matheson's oeuvre as the ideas in it have been superseded and he could probably turn it into a better volume if he started from scratch.
Pauline Morgan
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