Classic Horror Stories: Edgar Allen Poe
Hello readers!
To help kick us into the Halloween spirit, I'm going to be doing mini reviews for short stories and poems by one of our favorite goth authors, Edgar Allen Poe.
I ended up listening to all of these through Audible, they were all narrated by B.J. Harrison who does a lot of the classic stories and specifically in The Cask of Amontillado, does a great job of differentiating voices between characters.
I ended up listening to all of these through Audible, they were all narrated by B.J. Harrison who does a lot of the classic stories and specifically in The Cask of Amontillado, does a great job of differentiating voices between characters.
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Title: The Raven
Published: 1820
The Raven is a poem and probably Poe's most notorious work of art. It is a story of madness and heartbreak that is easily enough to understand.
Our narrator doesn't identify much about themselves, which is a theme in Poe's writing. What we do find out is that his lover, Lenore is dead. The raven appears at his window and starts tapping to be let in. The narrator opens the window and the bird settles in. The man starts talking to the bird, in which the bird continuously replies to everything with "Nevermore."
Now as one can suspect from the situation identified, our narrator is suffering from a loss and talking to a bird they believe is speaking back to them, it's easy to understand this poem as reflecting madness. As the man is suffering from the loss, you can imagine the loneliness and heart ache of your loved one passing away. As most of the works from Poe, which I feel like was common for this era of writing, there is a lot of drama behind the events in this story. The characters use more emotion behind their words and descriptions.
Our narrator doesn't identify much about themselves, which is a theme in Poe's writing. What we do find out is that his lover, Lenore is dead. The raven appears at his window and starts tapping to be let in. The narrator opens the window and the bird settles in. The man starts talking to the bird, in which the bird continuously replies to everything with "Nevermore."
Now as one can suspect from the situation identified, our narrator is suffering from a loss and talking to a bird they believe is speaking back to them, it's easy to understand this poem as reflecting madness. As the man is suffering from the loss, you can imagine the loneliness and heart ache of your loved one passing away. As most of the works from Poe, which I feel like was common for this era of writing, there is a lot of drama behind the events in this story. The characters use more emotion behind their words and descriptions.
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Title: The Tell-Tale Heart
Published: 1820
This story is my favorite of Poe's writing. Again we see madness, this time driven by guilt of murder. Our narrator is friends with his victim, and is driven to murder simply because of his victim's sickly eye. It's pale and filmy and simply disturbs our narrator. The man he kills has personally never done anything to provoke his murderer.
Although the narrator denies his madness, simply by his 'sharpness', he creeps on his victim in his sleep. It is a progression over time that our narrator sneaks into the victims room, moving only inches over an hour. He then kills the man with the eye by strangling him with his own mattress.
Our narrator hides the body within the same room that the victim lived and eventually the police show up to check on the missing person. The murderer takes them up to the room to show the authorities that the missing man is simply out of town but his affects are still in order. During the visit to the scene of the murder, the guilt of his action drives our murderer mad by believe that he can hear the still beating heart of the man he killed. The narrator ends up pulling up the floor boards and confessing to the authorities of the murder.
Although the narrator denies his madness, simply by his 'sharpness', he creeps on his victim in his sleep. It is a progression over time that our narrator sneaks into the victims room, moving only inches over an hour. He then kills the man with the eye by strangling him with his own mattress.
Our narrator hides the body within the same room that the victim lived and eventually the police show up to check on the missing person. The murderer takes them up to the room to show the authorities that the missing man is simply out of town but his affects are still in order. During the visit to the scene of the murder, the guilt of his action drives our murderer mad by believe that he can hear the still beating heart of the man he killed. The narrator ends up pulling up the floor boards and confessing to the authorities of the murder.
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Title: The Pit & The Pendulum
Published: 1820
The Pit & The Pendulum is a super short story. We don't know any identifying information about our narrator, other than they are not from our current time period and they have been captured. The story starts off as his capture and imprisonment graduates from being tied up to bonds tying him under a pendulum.
I always found the most fascinating aspect of this story is the build up Poe does with his writing. You don't need to know much, other than to understand the fear of our narrator and the confusion and lack of control they experience in this specific moment. What adds to the horror is this is a scenario of torture that isn't very far-fetched as far as actually happening, rather than a 'fantasy' like in the Tell-Tale Heart.
I always found the most fascinating aspect of this story is the build up Poe does with his writing. You don't need to know much, other than to understand the fear of our narrator and the confusion and lack of control they experience in this specific moment. What adds to the horror is this is a scenario of torture that isn't very far-fetched as far as actually happening, rather than a 'fantasy' like in the Tell-Tale Heart.
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Title: The Cask of Amontillado
Published: 1820
This story fits a similar theme as the Pit and the Pendulum. We don't know much about the narrator, it's a short story, there is a gruesome murder. Again we also get Poe's dramatic writing, however this time he user iteration.
Our narrator tells us of how his friend had betrayed him, and how he sought out revenge. He met his friend at a carnival and knowing that he loved the liquor Amontillado, he led him away from the crowd and to the chamber that the casks were kept. The narrator acts as if his friend hadn't crossed him, and riles the friend up by questioning his love of Amontillado.Once within the tomb of casks our narrator tricks his friend and ends up sealing him alive within the room of Amontillado. The simplicity in these murders Poe writes about are still so dramatic in that you don't expect the outcome.
I'm sure we've all read Poe's writing, either in school or seeking out the author for leisure reading. What are some of your favorite poems or stories?
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