I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.

At the request of his good friend Roderick Usher, a visitor travels to the House of Usher where Roderick and his sister Madeline live. From the time the traveler first steps foot onto the Usher property, a mysterious and foreboding presence fills the air. Almost as if the house itself is alive.

Born in 1809, Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer and poet best known for his tales of mystery and macabre. His short stories have long been entrenched in American pop culture, and he is regarded as one of the greatest inspirations to the modern horror and mystery genres. His fictional C. Auguste Dupin stories, all included in this collection, are widely considered the first modern detective story, and these stories would become a foundational influence to Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Poe's notable works include The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), The Tell-Tale Heart (1843), The Black Cat (1843), and The Raven (1845), among many others. He died in 1849.

The following 13 tales and 13 poems are included:

Tales

• The Fall of the House of Usher
• The Tell-Tale Heart
• the Black Cat
• The Cask of Amontillado
• The Pit and the Pendulum
• The Masque of the Red Death
• The Oval Portrait
• The premature burial
• A Descent into the Maelström
• Ligeia

The C. Auguste Dupin Mysteries

• The Murders in the Rue Morgue
• The Mystery of Marie Rogêt
• The Purloined Letter

Poems

• The Raven
• Annabel Lee
• Alone
• A Dream Within a Dream
• Dream-Land
• Eldorado
• The Sleeper
• Lenore
• The City in the Sea
• To Helen
• The Bells
• The Valley of Unrest
• To One in Paradise