What Dreams May Come in the book are derived from my wide range of reading." One of Matheson's influences was Harold W. Percival, an adherent of Theosophy, a belief system with a strong Eastern and Hindu influence. The story also shares the same theme of the ancient Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice, in which the gifted musician makes a challenging journey to Hell to retrieve his wife. One character quotes from the writings of 18th century Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. Matheson bases his descriptions of the death experience itself on studies by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and Raymond Moody. When reading these accounts, Matheson found that
Greek mythology in popular culture been traditionally depicted in classical Greek warrior armor. Jean Cocteau regarded Orpheus as "his myth", and used it as the basis for many projects, including "Orphee" The film "Orfeu Negro" is Marcel Camus' reworking of the Cocteau film. The 2001 film "Moulin Rouge!" is also based on the Orpheus story, but set in 1899, and containing modern pop music. The 1997 Disney production of "Hercules" was inspired by Greek myths, but it "greatly modernizes the narrative, ... going to great lengths to spice up its mythic materials with wacky comedy and cheerfully anachronistic dialogue," which, Keith Booker says, is playing