The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Black Cat” is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post.
Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
An Introduction to the Horror Classics
An introduction to some of the defining horror classics and how it is still defining us to this day.
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator’s sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the narrator committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy “vulture-eye”, as the narrator calls it. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, attempting the perfect crime, complete with dismembering and hiding the body under the floorboards.
The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Oval Portrait” is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. It is one of his shortest stories, filling only two pages in its initial publication in 1842.
The Man of the Crowd by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Man of the Crowd” is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe about a nameless narrator following a man through a crowded London. It was first published in 1840.
William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe
“William Wilson” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839, with a setting inspired by Poe’s formative years on the outskirts of London. The tale follows the theme of the doppelgänger and is written in a style based on rationality. It also appeared in the 1840 collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, and has been adapted several times.
Shadow – a Parable by Edgar Allan Poe
Published in September 1835 in the Southern Literary Messenger. It is considered a short short story that was published anonymously.
Morella by Edgar Allan Poe
“Morella” is a short story in the Gothic horror genre by 19th-century American author Edgar Allan Poe. An unnamed narrator marries Morella, a woman with great scholarly knowledge who delves into studies of the German philosophers Fichte and Schelling, dealing with the question of identity. Morella spends her time in bed reading and teaching her husband. Realizing her physical deterioration, her husband, the narrator, becomes frightened and wishes for his wife’s death and eternal peace. Eventually, Morella dies in childbirth proclaiming: “I am dying. But within me is a pledge of that affection… which thou didst feel for me, Morella. And when my spirit departs shall the child live.”
Read the Classics – But Make Them Horror
A collection of audio books with the classical books being rewritten as horror.
Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe
“Ligeia” is an early short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1838. The story follows an unnamed narrator and his wife Ligeia, a beautiful and intelligent raven-haired woman. She falls ill, composes “The Conqueror Worm”, and quotes lines attributed to Joseph Glanvill (which suggest that life is sustainable only through willpower) shortly before dying. After her death, the narrator marries the Lady Rowena. Rowena becomes ill and she dies as well. The distraught narrator stays with her body overnight and watches as Rowena slowly comes back from the dead – though she has transformed into Ligeia.
The Assignation by Edgar Allan Poe
The Assignation is a short story with Gothic touches and a tragic ending.
The story was published as The Visionary in January 1834 in Louis A. Godey’s monthly magazine, Lady’s Book. After Poe revised the story, it was published as The Assignation in the Broadway Journal in June 1845.
The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Premature Burial” is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Its main character expresses concern about being buried alive. This fear was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest.
The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Pit and the Pendulum” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1842 in the literary annual The Gift: A Christmas and New Year’s Present for 1843. The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition,
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Cask of Amontillado” (sometimes spelled “The Casque of Amontillado” [a.mon.ti.ˈʝa.ðo]) is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book. The story, set in an unnamed Italian city at carnival time in an unspecified year, is about a man taking fatal revenge on a friend who, he believes, has insulted him. Like several of Poe’s stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around a person being buried alive – in this case, by immurement.
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Fall of the House of Usher” is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine, then included in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. The short story, a work of Gothic fiction, includes themes of madness, family, isolation, and metaphysical identities.