The horrors of the Spanish Inquisition, with its dungeon of death, and the overhanging gloom on the House of Usher demonstrate unforgettably the unique imagination of Edgar Allan Poe. Unerringly, he touches upon some of our greatest nightmares: Premature burial, ghostly transformation, words from beyond the grave. Written in the 1840s, they have retained their power to shock and frighten even now.

Also in this collection of Poe's tales of mystery and imagination: "The Black Cat", "The Facts in the Case of M Valdemar", "The Cask of Amontillado", "Ligeia", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Masque of the Red Death", "The Premature Burial", and "The Raven".