The Pit and the Pendulum, The Purloined Letter, The Tell-Tale Heart, A Descent into the Maelstrom, and six other choice chillers by the acknowledged masters of mystery, fantasy, and horror.
These ten absorbing stories, selected by a famed anthologist of science-fiction and the supernatural, prove that even after a century Poe's imagination sill works its macabre magic.
Edited with an Introduction by Groff Conklin
Illustrated by Irv Docktor
About the Author
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) is one of America's greatest and best-loved writers. Known as the father of the detective story, Poe is perhaps most famous for his short stories—particularly his shrewd mysteries and chilling, often grotesque tales of horror—he was also an extremely accomplished poet and a tough literary critic.
Poe's life was not far removed from the drama of his fictions. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by a foster family. As a young man, he developed problems with gambling, debts, and alcohol, and was even dismissed from the army. His love life was marked by tragedy and heartbreak. Despite these difficulties, Poe produced many works now considered essential to the American literary canon--including the stories "The Tell-tale Heart," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," as well as classic poems such as "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," and "The Bells."
