It seems like reading Edgar Allan Poe stories around Halloween is a rite of passage for students in English classes. He wrote poems such as "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" and stories like "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Black Cat", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Masque of the Red Death", "The Pit and the Pendulum", etc.
If you have read Poe stories before, which ones have you read and what do you remember of them? Did you like them? How scary/creepy were they? Share your memories of you or teachers reading the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
If you have not read Poe or don't remember, describe to me what you expect from a classic horror writer? What kinds of stories do you think we'll be reading? Have you ever read scary stories?
I have read the Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart. I really enjoyed reading both of them. They were very dark and creepy, but creative and really made me think.
The Cask of Amontillado was my favorite of the two. I love how clever and careful he is for everything. How he tells the housekeepers not to leave the house because he knew that they would. How he uses flattery to trick the victim into going into the cellar and drink. The twist at the end when the affects of alcohol start to wear off. All of this made the story more intense and I loved it!
I also liked the Tell-Tale Heart but not as much. It seemed to me that it was not as clever as The Cask of Amontillado in some ways. It also made me a bit sick because the reason for him killing the man was because his eyes bothered him. Also how he chopped him into pieces and put his parts under the floor boards. I did like the ending however, when he goes crazy and thinks that the ticking of the clock is the heartbeat, then confesses to the murder.
I think that Edgar Allen Poe is a fantastic writer! I have never read anything of his that I didn't enjoy!
