Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe the Gold Bug and Other Tales

"Recognized today as the undisputed master of the American Gothic horror story, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) revealed his genius in tales of death, terror, evil, and perversity. Highly skilled in achieving a calculated psychological effect, Poe created chilling fictional nightmares permeated by mysterious forces, grotesque creatures, and improbable hallucinations. Poe's immense powers as a storyteller are at their peak in this anthology containing nine of his best-known short stories. Among them are ""The Murders in the Rue Morgue,"" a gripping 19th-century detective story that provided a model for future mystery writers; ""The Fall of the House of Usher"" and ""The Masque of the Red Death,"" pervaded with eerie thoughts, impulses, and fears; ""The Tell-Tale Heart"" and ""The Cask of Amontillado,"" masterpieces of wickedness and crime; ""The Pit and the Pendulum,"" with its agonizing specter of imminent and horrifying death; and ""The Gold-Bug,"" a fascinating detective story that combines romance and adventure in an absorbing tale of buried treasure."