Edgar Allan Poe

Often cited as the first detective story. The genre arrives pretty much fully formed: a brilliant detective, the bumbing police officer and

An apparently gentle man becomes increasingly less so as he sinks deeper into an obsession with a mysterious black cat.

Seeking shelter for the night, a wounded man breaks into a bizarre, abandoned chateau decorated by an unusually large number of paintings.

A potentially explosive letter has been stolen. The police know who has it - but where he has it remains a mystery.

The original gothic tale of madness, death and the atmospheric possibilities of an old house.

A man sets out to uncover the secrets of the strange natural phenomenon that is the Maelstrom vortex.

So you think he's mad? Nervous? True! - but you should see how wisely he carries out his plan.

A short history of and a personal tale concerning the phenomenon of being buried alive.

The narrator describes what he remembers of his beautiful, intelligent wife, Ligeia.

While on a voyage to a remote archipelago, the narrator is overcome by a premonition of evil. But the ship's captain pays no attention.

As a hideous pestilence sweeps his lands, Prince Prospero seals himself in his castle and prepares a fabulous party.

A man takes his enemy to taste a rare wine - which he happens to keep at the far end of a vast, damp cellar.