Tales: The Pit and the Pendulum

 “The Pit and thePendulum”   

(originally published 1842-1843 in The Gift: A Christmas and New Year’s Present)

A man being tortured by the Spanish Inquisition narrates his experience from his agonizingly sensitive and increasingly horrified point of view. Will he be able to endure the torture until the end—or will he be compelled to jump into the Pit, and bring about his death himself?

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.

Tales: Mesmeric Revelation

“Mesmeric Revelation”  

(originally published August 1844 in Columbia Magazine)

A dying man is put under hypnosis in a last attempt to glean insights of the afterlife and to remove his skepticism about the immortality of his soul. The result is a difficult and metaphysical, but beautifully written, interview between the man and his hypnotizer, and a revelation which may not reside exactly where you would expect.

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.

Tales: The Gold-bug

“The Gold-Bug” 

(originally published June 1843 in Dollar Newspaper)

A friend of the narrator's, William Legard, gets bitten by a mysterious gold-colored bug. He becomes obsessed with it, as well as with a curious piece of parchment found in the sand near it at the time (which his servant Jupiter used to carry it home in). Investigation into the parchment eventually leads Legard to embark on a quest in search of buried treasure, and he drags Jupiter and the narrator along with him. Legard's bizarre actions, coupled with his feverish state, cause the narrator to believe he has gone mad. Has he?

 

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.

Tale: The Black Cat

“The Black Cat”

(originally published August 1843 in United States Saturday Post)

An alcoholic kills his cat – which he had formerly loved – and the cat comes back to haunt him. A particularly chilling tale.

 

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.

Tales: The Sphinx

“The Sphinx”  

(originally published January 1846 in Arthur’s Ladies Magazine)

While visiting a friend, a man looks out a window and thinks he sees a strange monster off in the distance. What is it?

 

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.

Tales: William Wilson

 “William Wilson”

(originally published October 1839 in The Gift: A Christmas and New Year’s Present for 1840)

A rich boy named William Wilson goes to school and finds that another boy who looks and dresses just like him, and who has the same name as him, also attends the school. At first the narrator and his lookalike get along, but eventually animosity sprouts. After a particularly spooky incident involving the lookalike, the narrator leaves the school. But the narrator cannot escape the other William Wilson, who continues to show up at various points in the narrator's life. Eventually the narrator kills the other William Wilson, only to find out that that other William Wilson was someone he didn't expect.

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.

Tales: Thou Art the Man

“Thou Art the Man”    

(originally published November 1844 in Godey’s Lady’s Book)

An innocent man is accused of killing his uncle. When the narrator finds the corpse, it comes back to life and points to the real murderer, saying “Thou art the man.”

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story. 

Tales: The Purloined Letter

“The Purloined Letter”   

(originally published 1844-1845 in The Gift: A Christmas and New Year’s Present)

This is the third in a series of three detective stories starring Poe's character C. Auguste Dupin. It starts when the Prefect of Police recounts the case of a stolen letter to the amateur detective Dupin and the narrator (who happens to be with Dupin at the time). The Prefect has just finished a very scrupulous search for the letter, and has concluded that he is unable to find it. He believes the case is impossible to solve. A month later when he again visits Dupin, Dupin has the very letter in his possession. Dupin then explains how he found it.

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.

Tales: The Mystery of Marie Roget

“The Mystery of Marie Roget”

(originally published as a serial with the subtitle “A Sequel to ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’” November 1842, December 1842, and February 1843 in Snowden’s Ladies’ Companion)

Another detective story featuring C. August Dupin. It is based on the actual murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers, which occurred in 1841.

Summary written by Taylor Colegrove, May 2011. Title links to the full text of the story.