Personally, my favorite is "The Masque of the Red Death." The revelation of the Red Death's arrival is so chilling (untenanted by any tangible form), and the last line is so eerily effective at conveying the "single effect" that Poe defined.
...and Darkness, and Decay, and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
The Masque Of Red Death seems a classic that will never die - good choice, RobinHood. Though I cannot merely narrow down one favorite Poe story, I would choose among The Black Cat, The Unparalleled Adventures Of One Hans Pfaal, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Cask Of Amontillado.
I think "The Tell-Tale Heart" is Poe's finest short story. It's a classic tale of horror and psycho-drama.
'The Masque Of The Red Death.'
The black cat. Only because my cat is the most annoying creature I know. Don't get me wrong, I'm a cat person, Joey is not my first cat. But I read "The Black Cat" for the first time right before I got Joey. The second cat in the story has an earily identical personality to Joey (shudders). ...That and "The Black Cat" appeals to nearly everyone's sence of insanity, we are all sinners: Poe sems to surface the dark side of us all so well in that story. Having said that, I've read most of his poems but very few of his stories, so i'll stop rambling now.
Irish poets, learn your trade!
-Yeats
Another vote for Tell Tale Heart here. It reminds me of Crime & Punishment in the way the guilty mind constructs it's own downfall but on a much smaller scale.
I like "THe Fall of the House of Usher."
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
Originally Posted by EAP
Agree 100 %
In dreams begin responsibilities.
I love The Mask of the Red Death" To me it tells that no matter what you try to do you can't stop destiny whether it is death or anything else.
I am a sucker for "The Masque of Red Death" bacuse it was in my favorite musical of al times (PTO)
"The Fall of the House of Usher" I think this is what started my fear of confined spaces.
I personally love 'The Gold Bug', although it would fit better under long stories, I think it is very interesting how they decipher the scroll and what they have to do to find the treasure.
I also like 'The Cask of Amontillado", the 'Oval Portrait' and 'The Tale-Tell Heart'. But my favorite story is, by far, "Silence - A fable' (Not the poem!), it's really amazing, i remained speechless when i first read it, so if you haven't you MUST! here's the link http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/works/silence.html
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!
The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe
"The Premature Burial". maybe because of the chilling description . it is quite appalling at moments. would like to hear some of your comments on the story.
Premature burial is always a frightening theme; you see it in the works of many writers. Stephen King, to name the most well-known, has written about it more than once. It's a scary thing in many ways; loss of control of your surroundings; loss of control over whether you live or die.
That said, I think the one that still makes me catch my breath each time I read it is "The Tale-Tale Heart." The mounting insanity, the way his own thoughts betray him--reading that is as exciting the tenth time as the first!
I took the road less traveled by,Postcards from the Asylum
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
TeddyBears for charity
I do love The Cask of Amontillado. His repetition of Fortunato always blew me away.
Yes, for the love of God.
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