For day three of Gothic Romance Week, I have decided to do a countdown of my ten favorite Edgar Allan Poe Tales.
Number 10: The Cask of Amontillado
~This tale is one that has to do with a plot to murder a friend through means of deceit. There is also the occurrence of being buried alive in this tale. That is a very common theme in the world of Edgar Allan Poe!
Number 9: The Pit and the Pendulum
~This tale asks the reader to question whether the punishment truly fits the crime as the main character is forced to have a pendulum with a blade swing ever closer to his body!
Number 8: The Oval Portrait
~This is a very short horror tale surrounding a portrait in a chateau. The fact that the story only takes up about two print pages does nothing to impede its impact on the reader.
Number 7: The Tell-Tale Heart
~This one is possibly one of the most, if not the most, famous of all of Poe’s tales. It tells the story of a man who kills his roommate because of the man’s disconcerting eye. The moral of the tale is one of guilt that occurs due to one’s actions.
Number 6: The Black Cat
~The black cat of the title is disconcerting to the narrator. The tale is one of deep internal torment that is manifested by the appearance of the cat itself.
Number 5: The Fall of the House of Usher
~This one is about the sad story of the Usher family as their world begins to crumble. As is common with Poe’s tales, it features a beautiful dead woman!
Number 4: The Masque of the Red Death
~The story is of a plague rampaging in a Kingdom. The noble classes entomb themselves in a castle and party while the commoners and peasants are dying. It is a dark analysis of the class system!
Number 3: Berenice
~Yet another dead beauty tale for Poe. This one features the titular character wasting away with the disease until only her teeth are beautiful. The narrator, therefore, becomes obsessed with her teeth.
Number 2: Morella
~In this tale we have the titular Morella die in childbirth, only to leave a daughter that resembles her mother more and more each day! This appearance which is so similar to her mother’s causes grief for her father as she ages.
Number 1: Ligeia
~The story of Ligeia has always been my favorite of Poe’s tales. It tells the tale of the intelligent and magical woman who was married to the narrator. She promised upon her death that she would not stay dead and her obsession with immortality plagues her husband as he remarried!
~I hope that you have enjoyed this countdown. Did I include your favorite tale by Edgar Allan Poe? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
White Rose of Avalon 