The late Richard Matheson was a master of suspense, horror, science fiction, and fantasy. If you haven’t read any of his stories or novels, even if you don’t recognize the name, you’ve surely watched something he created on the big or little screen. Thirteen episodes of the original Twilight Zone were his, including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” starring William Shatner as a jet passenger who sees a gremlin on the wing of his plane. Matheson’s 1954 science fiction horror classic, I Am Legend, inspired at least three feature films (“The Last Man on Earth,” “The Omega Man,” and “I Am Legend”), while other books became “The Incredible Shrinking Man,” “The Legend of Hell House,” the TV series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker,” and the romantic fantasies “Somewhere In Time” and “What Dreams May Come.”

Order a pint of beer, a pot of tea, soup, sandwich, or cookies while you enjoy the old-fashioned pleasure of listening to stories read aloud at a combination taproom and used bookstore. Browse the shelves for a book you might like to take home. No cover, but proof of vaccination required for service.

David Loftus has read aloud to listeners in libraries, coffee shops, Powell’s Books, Borders, and branches of Umpqua Bank, on the streets of Portland, and for recordings for the blind. He has voiced Gandalf, Bilbo, and Gollum live with the Willamette Radio Workshop, and Sherlock Holmes on KBOO; and is a recurring character on the science-fiction podcast “Exoplanetary.” David writes about books, films, acting, karaoke, travel, his forebears, and politics on his Patreon page.