Of all the American masters, Edgar Allan Poe staked out perhaps the most unique and vivid reputation as a master of the macabre. Born in Boston in 1809 to a pair of actors, dead at the age of forty, the forerunner of modern American horror continues to loom large in the American imagination. Revered not only for the eerie beauty of his prose but his formidable satire, Poe was a prolific writer of poetry, short stories, and criticism in addition to his novels.

The best of his works of horror is collected in this volume, including classic, timeless stories like "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "The Oval Portrait," as well as lesser known (yet equally haunting) poems such as Berenice and The Imp of the Perverse, and the quintessential The Raven.

All of Poe's fiction," G. R. Thompson writes, "and the poems as well, can be seen as one coherent piece-as the work of one of the greatest ironists of world literature." A celebration of the short works of one of the foremost American Gothic writers, Classic Works of Horror is ideal for Poe fans and horror fiends alike.

Autorentext

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) reigned unrivaled in his mastery of mystery during his lifetime and is now widely held to be a central figure of Romanticism and gothic horror in American literature. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he was orphaned at age three, was expelled from West Point for gambling, and later became a well-regarded literary critic and editor. "The Raven," published in 1845, made Poe famous. He died in 1849 under what remain mysterious circumstances and is buried in Baltimore, Maryland.