I chose to read the book “Tales of Edgar Allan Poe “for this
assignment. It’s a great book because the stories are short but they are also
great stories. I just read “The Cask of Amontillado”. It is a story about a man
named Montresor who tricks an enemy named Fortunato into coming to his wine
vaults to inspect a cask of amontillado. Fortunato’s ego and pride lead him
right into the trap Montresor has set for him. After getting Fortunato drunk,
Montresor chains him to the wall of an alcove that is filled with bones.
Montresor begins to seal Fortunato up in the wall even though he begs him not
to. The story ends with Montresor putting the final stone into place and then
saying no one has disturbed it for 50 years. There are many other famous
stories by Poe in this book like “The Tell-Tale Heart “and “The Pit and the
Pendulum”. These are all classic Poe stories that any horror fan should read if
they haven’t already. My personal reaction to the story is that Edgar Allan Poe
was a creepy guy who had a lot of disturbing thoughts. His stories are very
dark and usually involve someone being murdered. They also have a supernatural
feel to them. I think Stephen King and Poe have a lot in common in that way. All
of the stories give you a creepy feeling that really shakes you up till the
end. All in all these are great stories.