Description
The collection gathers 12 of the creepiest stories written by Edgar Allan Poe. Titles such as The Tell Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum or The Masque of the Red Death should be enough to convince any horror story lover that the book will not be a disappointment.
The sinister atmosphere is skillfully created by Poe in all twelve stories, from the decaying castle in The Fall of the House of Usher to the palace of Prince Prospero in The Masque of the Red Death. Each tale is a mystery trip, keeping the reader cliff-hanging until the last paragraphs. Poe has mastered the art of giving chills to his reader with only a few but powerful words, and every story stands proof to this.
The Premature Burial exploits the fear of being buried alive, which was very common in the authors time. The narrator explains how his cataleptic attacks triggered the fear of being buried alive. He goes on by giving a few examples of such cases, in which the victims have been either saved or died, being discovered only later. His phobia turns into obsession, as he insists on not leaving home and starts building a tomb especially designed to allow him to send signals outside, in the unfortunate case he should be buried alive. Despite all his efforts, the narrator finds himself confined in a dark, narrow place, with none of the equipment he built around, but the story does not end here.
The other stories from the collection are all equally captivating, and include The Black Cat, Ligeia, Berenice and four more titles.
Edgar Allan Poe was among the first American writers to practice the short story and is considered the pioneer of detective fiction narratives. He was born in January 1809, in Boston and died only 40 years later, in Baltimore. His legacy consists mainly of mystery and macabre stories.
