A collection of 15 of Poe's short stories accompanied by Harry Clarke's illustrations from the early 1900s. I found some new favorites in this collection such as The Fall of the House of Usher and The Black Cat. As much as I HATE the character's actions in The Black Cat, this one was the most gruesome for me. I was very disappointed by A Descent into the Maelstrom. It was so boring. The more horror and eerieness felt, the higher the rating:

MS. Found in a Bottle: 2/5
Berenice: 5/5
Morella: 3/5
Ligeia: 3/5
The Fall of the House of Usher: 5/5
William Wilson: 5/5
A Descent into the Maelstrom: 0/5
Eleonora: 4/5
The Oval Portrait: 4/5
The Masque of the Red Death: 4/5
The Pit and the Pendulum: 2/5
The Black Cat: 5/5
The Tell-Tale Heart: 5/5
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar: 4/5
The Cask of Amontillado: 4/5

I know I've read this book in high school and in college, but for some reason I never marked it down here as "read." I do still love the short stories, the poems, the themes of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, mourning, and of course the writer's usage of italics, repetition, exclamation points, and first person narration to build urgency. I'm a sucker for gothic horror.

You start a story anticipating something that is going to make you uncomfortable. You lay on the bed on your back and finally start reading the first few lines. It takes you multiple rereading of the same lines to finally get engrossed.
The story begins with a general setting that involves description of the premise, attire of the characters and the sullen melancholy that lurks in the background. Somewhere in the middle of the story you find yourself sitting upright. There is a gloominess in the atmosphere and turbidity in the air. You feel short of breath.
You are slowly creeping towards the climax and now you feel like the light of the bulb in your room is becoming less luminous. There is a strange kind of darkness overshadowing everything. The last few pages and you, alone in a room. And then it finally descends, the end. The end of not just the story but also of your serenity. And now you have to sleep in this dark room while you start to hear tickling of the clock for the first time and see silhouettes peeking from behind the curtains. This is going to be a long night.

EVALUACIÓN REAL DE 4.4

Para entender estos cuentos, es imprescindible conocer al hombre cuya mente fue capaz de concebirlos y entender su entorno. Además de conocer la época en los que fueron hechos estos escritos.
Tenemos como consecuencia una serie de cuentos con descripciones melodiosas y poéticas que tocan fibras nerviosas de nuestro centro.
Este libro en particular tiene 4 cuentos:
- El corazón delator, es mi favorito, con la angustiosa narración de la psiquis humana, su obsesión por detalles inusuales (como un ojo deforme) y como entonces eso lleva a la locura.
- William Wilson Es un cuento sobre un hombre que es atormentado por su doppelganger, que a su vez puede representar su propia conciencia. La enseñanza de que puedes aparentar muchas cosas a los demás pero jamas podrás engañarte a ti mismo.
- El escarabajo de oro. Es el cuento mas largo pero más entretenido de todos, tiene aventura, deducción y a mi parecer un final macabro.
- La cita,este es para mí, el mas extraño de todos. Ya que parece tener al inicio una serie de acontecimientos aleatorios que producen a su vez otros acontecimientos y da un final abrupto que me tomo varias leídas entender.
Una colección de libros que aceleran el pulso y quien sabe tal vez quemes calorías leyéndolo.

لو عرف المجنون انه مجنون..اذن فهو عاقل

ا{و عرفت انه أنين الرعب و الهلاك..لا لم تكن هذه صرخة الم او حزن. .بل ذلك الانين الضعيف الذي ينبع من باطن الروح عندما تزيد رهبتها }ا
هذه القصة قوطية الطابع تتشابه كثيرا جدا مع القط الاسود ..
هي نموذج ممتاز للفصام الذهاني المتقدم..ممتزجا بالبارانويا في أسوأ صورها

ادجار الان بو/لافكرافت / ستيفن كينج / تولكين
هؤلاء الاربعة يتشاركون في شعرة من الجنون تظهر جلية في بعض أعمالهم..و تتوراي في بعضهما..لكن اذا راق لك يوما ان تفهم ماهي : الهلاوس و الضلالات..المخاوف الهيستيرية العصابية .فلتقرا لهؤلاء الاربعة

و لكن لنتذكر دايما ان الجنون يحتاج لضمير ميت
و هذا الراوي /المجرم كان للعجب يمتلك ضميرا/ إحساسابالذنب ..لذا رجح بعض النقاد ان عين النسر /دقات القلب اللحوحة ترمز للسلطة الأبوية

Histórias grotescas, cheias de suspense e riviravolta em que o medo da morte e a loucura são as temáticas mais frequentes. Contos que nos aterrorizam mas ao mesmo tempo nos embalam com o seu choque final.

I've read this story, not the whole book. In my opinion, this is a masterpiece of suspense, and a powerful story about how a person's guilt will betray them in the end. I love the way Poe builds up the tension slowly but surely until the end, with a careful use of narrative. I believe this is the story that made me a Poe fan.

My first English book I read back in Europe! I remember being scared and not fully understanding the English language I was moved by his turn of phrase.
It has the power to excite and terrify me back as a young adult.
I still have my original copy I got from my British tutor!
Amazing short stories and powerfully emotional.
My love of English lit started with Poe.
Keeper for me.

I think since there are lots of “eye” and “I” words, maybe they reflect the contraction of the character with himself. Because when I was reading it seems like he spoke to himself and actually convince himself not us. . Although he says he is not mad, we can clearly see that his anger make him mad while he thought about the evil-eyed man and all he wants is killing that man to release his own anger. The writer wrote the sentences so lucid that the reader feel that darkness while reading. The extra details are hidden because the writer did not want to interrupt the chaotic scene with unnecessary descriptions which makes it more real. Poe’s style is melancholic so I will not say it is too dark and I think this writing style make him more readable.

Edgar Allan Poe - The Tell-Tale Heart

Keling avvaliga narratorning nega o'zini telba emasligi, bor-yog'i asabiy ekanini aytib hikoyani boshlashiga to'xtalsak. Uning qotillikkacha bo'lgan tayyorgarligi, ehtiyotkorona ish tutishi, bir soat ovoz chiqarmay, qimirlamay o'tirib ham o'sha eshikni asta-sekin surib turishi uchun unga o'ta metin sabr va ishiga diqqat kerak edi. U barchasini ongli ravishda qiladi, baland yurak ushini eshitib keyin cholni o'ldirishiyu, so'ng o'sha ko'zni sug'urib olishdan boshlab, murdani bo'laklab chiqib pol tagiga tashlavorishiyu, qon va barcha izlarni yo'qotish uchun odam o'ta sovuqqon bo'lishi lozim. U shularni nazarda tutib o'zini telba emasligini bizga uqtiradi biroq shu yerda bir narsani e'tibordan chetda qoldiradi: uning bunday sovuqqon va ehtiyotkorona ish tutishi uning telba emasligiga dalil emas balki uning telbaligining bir ko'rinishi bo'lsachi?

U shu xatoga yo'l qo'yadi, hikoyani aytishni boshlaydi. U cholning daxshatli ko'zi sabab uni yo'q qilishga bel bog'lagandi, bo'lmasam u cholni hurmat qilar, unga husumati ham yo'q edi. Narrator cholning o'sha ko'zini butunlay cholning vujudidan tashqaridagi, unga tegishli bo'lmagan, bu dunyodan yo'q qilinishi lozim bo'lgan bir illat misoli ko'radi. Uning ushbu o'zi juda bog'lanib qolgan paranoyasi cholning yurak urishiga ham bog'lanadi. Esingizda bo'lsa chol baqirgan paytda narrator bunga deyarli e'tibor qaratmadi, biroq cholning yurak urishini eshitishi bilanoq panikaga tushishni boshladi va o'zini tutib turolmay cholni gumdon qildi. Bunday g'ayritabiiy qo'rquv uning telba paranoyasi mahsuli bo'lib, aynan shu narsa uni cholning ko'zini yo'q qilishga undagan, eng boshidan o'zining o'ta aqlli qarorlariga telbalikning bir ko'rinishi sifatida nazar solishdan to'sgan, hikoya yakunida ham o'z yurak urishini o'lik cholniki deb o'ylab aqldan ozishiga sabab bo'lgan.

Narratorimiz ideal jinoyatni sodir etgandi, uni qotil sifatida ayblay oluvchi hech bir dalil hattoki qurbonning jasadi ham yo'q edi. Shunda ham u yakunda telbalikka yo'rg'ilib, cholni o'ldirganini tan olib qo'ydi. Narrator eng boshidan anglashga erisholmagan mohiyat bu - o'zining paranoyaga uchragan telba ekani edi. U butun hikoya davomida o'zining telba emasligini isbotlashga urindi biroq tushunmasdiki uning ushbu harakatlarining barchasi aynan telbalik mahsuli edi. U arzimagan bir ko'zdan qo'rqar va uni to'satdan yo'q qilishni istashi asli uning aqldan ozganining birinchi alomati edi. Keyinchalik cholning yurak urishidan daxshatga tushishni boshlashi va hatto o'z yurak urishini ham cholnikiga adashtirib, yo'q joydan aybiga iqror bo'lish ham uning aqldan ozganidandir.

Eng boshida o'rtaga qo'yilgan savolga qaytamiz. Edgar Allan Poe ushbu hikoyasida "ideal jinoyat" ga erisha oldimi? U bunga juda yaqin keldi, narrator salkam suvdan quruq chiqib ketayotgandi biroq u o'zini o'zi tutib berdi. Poning ushbu atigi o'n betlik hikoyasigina meni hayratda qoldirdi va anchagina izlanishga majbur qildi. U qisqa hayotida yozib qoldirgan hikoyalari, she'rlari va yagona romani bilan ham tanishib chiqish joiz erur)

These are great stories and scared the heck out of me when I was a kid. The title story especially, The Tell-Tale Heart. Later, when I was older I had the LP with the story told by Vincent Price. He had the voice that could make Mary had a little Lamb sound scary. One Halloween I dressed like a vampire (makeup the whole shebang) and and built a coffin, set it out in the front yard to scare the little trick or treaters. I played that LP with Vincent Price's voice over and over again. Lots of kids came by but at the end of the night I had a lot of candy left over as most ran away.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.

I've read (heard) all the short stories and poems in this book (and quite a few not in this book). The audio books by Christopher Lee are brilliant as you can listen to the stories in the dark