Nightmare at 20,000 Feet by Richard Matheson

Hey-Diddly-Ho Bart!!

This is probably one of Matheson's most popular works, which was adapted as a Twilight Zone episode starring William Shatner and The Simpsons even did an excellent parody in Tree House of Horror IV. Personally, the Simpsons episode is better than the original source material and does a great job of not only paying homage but elevates it through clever parody. The mischievous gremlin that only Bart can see is a hilarious creation. The show was in its prime during the early 90's and it has been downhill ever since. 

As a psychological character study of fear and paranoia, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet gradually builds up tension towards a shocking finale that is far more violent than in the aforementioned Simpsons episode. On a flight back home, a man looks out the seat window and thinks he sees a figure or some kind of sub-human species tampering with the wing, deliberately trying to crash the plane. As someone with a fear of flying, the protagonist's increasing anxiety felt very palpable. Additionally, airport security was clearly non-existent back in the 1950's because the protagonist is able to bring a gun in his carry-on bag without any consequences. It was a different time back then and you could even smoke cigarettes after take-off. The story does get more and more ridiculous as the story progresses, quickly becoming redundant. Cutting out several of the hallucinogenic sequences might have made for a tighter and more frightening narrative.