This hair-raising collection presents some of Edgar Allan Poe's most ingenious and gripping tales, notably "The Tell-Tale Heart, " in which the guilt-ridden narrator recounts his compulsion to commit murder. Other captivating stories include "The Fall of the House of Usher, " concerning a most unnerving visit to the home of an old friend; "The Cask of Amontillado, " a parable of an attempt at revenge that goes way too far; "The Murders in the Rue Morgue, " the forerunner of modern detective fiction, starring a sleuth even cleverer than Sherlock Holmes; and other riveting yarns: "The Pit and the Pendulum, " "Ligeia, " "William Wilson, " "The Masque of the Red Death, " "The Black Cat, " and "The Purloined Letter." Lovers of strange and mind-bending fiction will delight in these classic tales by Poe, the creator of the American Gothic horror story and one of the greatest masters of suspense.