In this famous horror story from Richard Matheson, a young woman buys her new boyfriend a Zuni fetish doll for his birthday. A scroll inside the box reads This is He Who Kills…. He is a deadly hunter. As she prepares to shower, the doll turns out to be the real deal. It escapes the gold chain designed to keep the hunter’s spirit locked inside, and sets off in search of prey. You get the feeling that both the girl and the spirit are at least temporarily happy with the outcome. However, the girl’s controlling mother may not be!
Original Text / PDF / Audio (4,621 words)
Video Version
This is the final segment of the 1975 anthology film Trilogy of Terror, which featured three of Matheson’s stories. Each segment was given the name of the main character, so the screen title for this one is Amelia. An online reviewer writing about his first experience watching the film sums it up nicely:
Based on how old you were when you first saw it, the segment was either the scariest or most hilarious thing you had seen in your life. I’d estimate, under 10 years old, scary, over 10, or if you just listen to the sound effects, hilarity.
(By the way, he was under 10!) Watch and enjoy!