300 years after his death, William Lantry awakes from his coffin. One thing is very clear to him - this sterile world without superstition, fear, or imagination must be destroyed. ¶Ray Bradbury was one of the best-known writers of our time. He was a master storyteller, a champion of creative freedom, and a space-age visionary. He was a close friend of Ray Harryhausen, the stop motion special effects pioneer. Bradbury's most noteworthy works include The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. “Pillar of Fire” was originally released in the summer issue of the fiction magazine Planet Stories in 1948.