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The Best of Edgar Allan Poe: Library Edition: Includes Companion eBook
The name Edgar Allan Poe conjures up thoughts of hearts beating long after their owners are dead, of disease and plague amid wealth, and of love that extends beyond the grave. The richness of Poe's writing, however, includes much more than horror, loss, and death.
Poe's stories teem with irony and black humor, in addition to plot twists and surprise endings. Living by their own rules and charged with passion, Poe's characters are instantly recognizable—even though we may be appalled by their actions, we understand their motivations.
This collection contains eleven of Poe's best stories. They are "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Premature Burial," "Ligeia," "The Black Cat," "The Oval Portrait," "Berenice," "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," and "The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether."
Poe's stories teem with irony and black humor, in addition to plot twists and surprise endings. Living by their own rules and charged with passion, Poe's characters are instantly recognizable—even though we may be appalled by their actions, we understand their motivations.
This collection contains eleven of Poe's best stories. They are "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Premature Burial," "Ligeia," "The Black Cat," "The Oval Portrait," "Berenice," "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," and "The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether."
6 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 1927
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197 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
9,894 books28.6k followersThe name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
October 31, 2019
Contents of “The Best of Edgar Allan Poe” audiobook edition, narrated by Edward Blake (Listening Library, Random House Audio):
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Cask of Amontillado
The Masque of the Red Death
The Raven
Annabel Lee
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
To -- -- --. Ulalume: A Ballad
The Black Cat
The Bells
The Pit and the Pendulum (with a very brief introduction!)
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Purloined Letter
The Golden Bug
I had forgotten how much I like Poe's poetry - I'm glad that this collection included some, especially my favorite "The Bells". I had read all these stories before with the single exception of "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"; all but the final two were perfect spooky stories for Halloween reading. This is not to imply that I didn't like the last 2 - I did - but "The Purloined Letter" is a detective story and "The Golden Bug", which starts out spooky enough, is actually more of a detective story as well.
Blake did a decent narration but was slightly too slow in his pace for my tastes.
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Cask of Amontillado
The Masque of the Red Death
The Raven
Annabel Lee
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
To -- -- --. Ulalume: A Ballad
The Black Cat
The Bells
The Pit and the Pendulum (with a very brief introduction!)
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Purloined Letter
The Golden Bug
I had forgotten how much I like Poe's poetry - I'm glad that this collection included some, especially my favorite "The Bells". I had read all these stories before with the single exception of "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"; all but the final two were perfect spooky stories for Halloween reading. This is not to imply that I didn't like the last 2 - I did - but "The Purloined Letter" is a detective story and "The Golden Bug", which starts out spooky enough, is actually more of a detective story as well.
Blake did a decent narration but was slightly too slow in his pace for my tastes.
February 22, 2012
Born in the early 19th century only to die from unknown causes a mere forty years later, Edgar Allan Poe is, undoubtedly, one of the most recognizable and influencial authors of all time. His works have provided the inspiration for many of the stories we enjoy today. And although his life was short, he made a long-lasting impact on the world of English literature.
In this auditory collection his fans get to hear several of his stories and poems come to life in a fantastical way. These stories are thrilling, creepy, and macabre. And, when narrated by the skillful Edward Blake as they are in this audio, delectable. And whether you think him a genius, a mad genius, or just plain mad, there is no doubt that Poe had a talent for story telling unlike anyone we'll probably ever meet again.
Below is the list of stories included in this collection according to the order they're given in the audio. I'm giving them individual ratings:
Tell-Tale Heart - 5 stars
The Cask of Amontillado - 2 stars
The Mask of the Red Death - 4 stars
The Raven - 3 stars
Annabel Lee - 5 stars
The Facts in the Case of M. Vlademar - 3 stars
Ulalume: A Ballad - 2 stars
A Black Cat - 5 stars (this one is especially creepy)
The Bells - 2 stars
The Pit and the Pendulum - 3 stars
The Fall of the House of Usher - 3 stars
The Purloined Letter - 3 stars
The Gold Bug - 3 stars
I highly recommend this collection to fans of Poe, or anyone interested in his works. 3.5 stars
In this auditory collection his fans get to hear several of his stories and poems come to life in a fantastical way. These stories are thrilling, creepy, and macabre. And, when narrated by the skillful Edward Blake as they are in this audio, delectable. And whether you think him a genius, a mad genius, or just plain mad, there is no doubt that Poe had a talent for story telling unlike anyone we'll probably ever meet again.
Below is the list of stories included in this collection according to the order they're given in the audio. I'm giving them individual ratings:
Tell-Tale Heart - 5 stars
The Cask of Amontillado - 2 stars
The Mask of the Red Death - 4 stars
The Raven - 3 stars
Annabel Lee - 5 stars
The Facts in the Case of M. Vlademar - 3 stars
Ulalume: A Ballad - 2 stars
A Black Cat - 5 stars (this one is especially creepy)
The Bells - 2 stars
The Pit and the Pendulum - 3 stars
The Fall of the House of Usher - 3 stars
The Purloined Letter - 3 stars
The Gold Bug - 3 stars
I highly recommend this collection to fans of Poe, or anyone interested in his works. 3.5 stars
March 4, 2020
The Tell-Tale Heart- Always awesome. Insanity at its finest!
The Cask of Amortillado- I remembered this differently.
The Masque of the Red Death- I didn't know this one, but the Shinning did reference it. Pop Culture classic I guess!
The Raven - 🖤
Anabell Lee - Romantic Horror at it’s finest.
The Fact in the Case of M. Valdemar -OMG, this one is by far scarier than the rest! First time I've read this one
Ullalume, A Ballad – I think I need a study guide to this one. Very poetic and dark, but I want to understand it a bit better.
The Black Cat- As an animal lover, this one hit hard.
The Bells – When I read this as a teen, I remember being annoyed at first of the repetitiveness until I noticed the shift in tone. I remember being so surprised and amazed, and how it was alluding to so much sound! I’m still enchanted by it.
The Pit and the Pendulum- Again, a first! Even though I’ve heard of this, who hasn’t, I’ve never actually read it. I do wonder if Poe was inspired by something else to write about the shrinking room or if everyone else was inspired by him?
The Fall of the House of Usher- OMG This is exactly what I needed!
The Purloined Letter – I feel stupid. I understood everything that had to do with the actual letter, everything else was like trying to read a French document, where I understood a few words and I make up the rest.
The Gold-Bug – Another first! I enjoyed this one much more. While this may not be a “mystery”, I feel like this gave me more of “Sherlock” feel.
The Cask of Amortillado- I remembered this differently.
The Masque of the Red Death- I didn't know this one, but the Shinning did reference it. Pop Culture classic I guess!
The Raven - 🖤
Anabell Lee - Romantic Horror at it’s finest.
The Fact in the Case of M. Valdemar -OMG, this one is by far scarier than the rest! First time I've read this one
Ullalume, A Ballad – I think I need a study guide to this one. Very poetic and dark, but I want to understand it a bit better.
The Black Cat- As an animal lover, this one hit hard.
The Bells – When I read this as a teen, I remember being annoyed at first of the repetitiveness until I noticed the shift in tone. I remember being so surprised and amazed, and how it was alluding to so much sound! I’m still enchanted by it.
The Pit and the Pendulum- Again, a first! Even though I’ve heard of this, who hasn’t, I’ve never actually read it. I do wonder if Poe was inspired by something else to write about the shrinking room or if everyone else was inspired by him?
The Fall of the House of Usher- OMG This is exactly what I needed!
The Purloined Letter – I feel stupid. I understood everything that had to do with the actual letter, everything else was like trying to read a French document, where I understood a few words and I make up the rest.
The Gold-Bug – Another first! I enjoyed this one much more. While this may not be a “mystery”, I feel like this gave me more of “Sherlock” feel.
January 6, 2024
Some stories in this collection are classics for a reason: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Cask of Amontillado.
Some were forgettable or I just completely zoned out: Ligeia, Berenice, The Oval Portrait.
One I’d never heard of but did send a chill down my spine: The Premature Burial.
One was genuinely upsetting, and I am highly unlikely to ever reread it: The Black Cat (CW animal cruelty).
And one was honestly kind of funny?? Maybe unintentionally?? The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.
All in all, I’m glad I read some of Poe’s stories I’d never read before! Might try to reread the ones I zoned out through…
Some were forgettable or I just completely zoned out: Ligeia, Berenice, The Oval Portrait.
One I’d never heard of but did send a chill down my spine: The Premature Burial.
One was genuinely upsetting, and I am highly unlikely to ever reread it: The Black Cat (CW animal cruelty).
And one was honestly kind of funny?? Maybe unintentionally?? The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.
All in all, I’m glad I read some of Poe’s stories I’d never read before! Might try to reread the ones I zoned out through…
October 28, 2019
It's a good thing I already love Edgar Allan Poe because the narrator on this version of audiobook was horrendously awful.
February 16, 2024
Expand Your Horizons - Read a book of short stories
April 11, 2023
Damn, this dude was seriously afraid of being buried alive.
February 16, 2025
First off, what is up with use of "unclose/unclosed" instead of "open/opened"?
Was it not in use in Poe's day when referring to eyes?
I enjoyed many of the stories in this collection. Favorites include the Oval Portrait, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar and The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, which I hadn't heard of prior to this collection. The well known stories like The Fall of The House of Usher and The Pit and Pendulum seemed lacking and over verbose, with exposition that really didn't add to the story or scene construction but felt like filler. Overall enjoyed and hope to find another collection of Poe's with many others which were not included.
Was it not in use in Poe's day when referring to eyes?
I enjoyed many of the stories in this collection. Favorites include the Oval Portrait, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar and The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, which I hadn't heard of prior to this collection. The well known stories like The Fall of The House of Usher and The Pit and Pendulum seemed lacking and over verbose, with exposition that really didn't add to the story or scene construction but felt like filler. Overall enjoyed and hope to find another collection of Poe's with many others which were not included.
March 13, 2024
This audiobook varies somewhat in the quality of the readings of Edgar Allan Poe’s tales of horror. Outstanding rendition of The Tell Tale Heart and very good telling of Ligeia. Unremarkable version of the Fall of the House of Usher, but fairly good tellings of The Black Cat and The System of Dr Tarr and Prof. Fether. Really worth it for the Tell Tale Heart reading!
November 7, 2023
3.5 stars. I’d read most of these before, but man, he knew how to write creepy, dark, twisted stories.
Read
April 24, 2025Edgar Allan Poe might be my favorite American writer of all time. No one else sets an atmosphere like him; no one else embodies the psychology of a depraved lunatic like him; no one builds up the electrical current for so long before striking the audience with a bolt of lightning like him. RIP to the GOAT.
November 9, 2014
A bit repetitive in scenarios and vocabulary, but enough fun to get through for Halloween season.
March 17, 2017
The best of the best! You can't go wrong with this collection of Poe's classics.
November 3, 2016
Great to read around Halloween time!
September 8, 2018
Actually a book I started to read at a young age. A collossal collection of some of the most fascinating creator of worlds. The stories get even better every time I re-read them. Long live, Mr. Poe!
December 14, 2022
The Fall in the House of Usher: A man shows up to his old friend’s big scary house. His friend, Usher, has gone crazy and ends up burying his sister alive. That’s pretty much it other than setting the mood. Not much going on in this one. 3/10
The Tell-Tale Heart: Considering the short length and the time it was written, this is absolutely perfect. The narrator is totally insane and kills his housemate because he can’t stand the look of his grotesque eye. The narrator’s insanity is so clear by the word choice of the text. It’s excellent. I listened to Vincent Price recite this with some accompanying music for mood and it made it that much better. 10/10
The Cask of Amantillado: The narrator tricks his friend (whom he hates) into following him into a catacomb to taste some alcohol he purchased for a very low price to see if it’s genuine, but once down there, he chains him up, walls him in, and leaves him to die. This would be cooler if it wasn’t basically the same plot as The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Black Cat. 5/10
The Pit and the Pendulum: This time it’s the narrator who has been locked up in a small space. He’s a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition and is stuck in a room full of rats, strapped to a table as a swinging blade descends upon him. 7/10
The Premature Burial: Another story about being buried alive! This is the 5th Poe tale about being buried alive that I’ve read so far (written 4th of the 5) out of about 22 horror tales he wrote in total. I believe that he was obsessed with the idea. In this story, the narrator is paranoid that he will be buried alive because he has Catalepsy which causes him to go in an out of what are essentially comatose states. He takes a great number of measures to ensure that if he ever is entombed alive that he’ll be able to get out of the tomb when he wakes up. 6/10
Legeia: The Narrator’s wife dies. He gets remarried. The second wife dies, then briefly kind of comes back to life for a little bit. Not enough happening here for me. 3/10
The Oval Portrait: Ultra short story about a man who loved painting more than anything. Painted his wife who posed so long for him that she died. Kind of reminds me of the “Scary Stories” series I read as a kid. But there’s almost nothing to this at all. 2/10
Berenice: This one is about a man whose wife slowly rots away other than her teeth. She ends up getting buried alive. The first of maybe 6 or 7 stories revolving around being buried alive. This one didn’t do much for me. 3/10.
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar: A man hypnotizes his friend, who seems to “die” and speaks, while hypnotized, about going to “the other side.” He still talks out loud without moving his mouth. The hypnotist tries to take him out of it, but i won’t ruin the awesome ending. 7/10
The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether: A man goes to an insane asylum and slowly realizes that it has been taken over by the insane, who have imprisoned the workers. 7/10
The Tell-Tale Heart: Considering the short length and the time it was written, this is absolutely perfect. The narrator is totally insane and kills his housemate because he can’t stand the look of his grotesque eye. The narrator’s insanity is so clear by the word choice of the text. It’s excellent. I listened to Vincent Price recite this with some accompanying music for mood and it made it that much better. 10/10
The Cask of Amantillado: The narrator tricks his friend (whom he hates) into following him into a catacomb to taste some alcohol he purchased for a very low price to see if it’s genuine, but once down there, he chains him up, walls him in, and leaves him to die. This would be cooler if it wasn’t basically the same plot as The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Black Cat. 5/10
The Pit and the Pendulum: This time it’s the narrator who has been locked up in a small space. He’s a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition and is stuck in a room full of rats, strapped to a table as a swinging blade descends upon him. 7/10
The Premature Burial: Another story about being buried alive! This is the 5th Poe tale about being buried alive that I’ve read so far (written 4th of the 5) out of about 22 horror tales he wrote in total. I believe that he was obsessed with the idea. In this story, the narrator is paranoid that he will be buried alive because he has Catalepsy which causes him to go in an out of what are essentially comatose states. He takes a great number of measures to ensure that if he ever is entombed alive that he’ll be able to get out of the tomb when he wakes up. 6/10
Legeia: The Narrator’s wife dies. He gets remarried. The second wife dies, then briefly kind of comes back to life for a little bit. Not enough happening here for me. 3/10
The Oval Portrait: Ultra short story about a man who loved painting more than anything. Painted his wife who posed so long for him that she died. Kind of reminds me of the “Scary Stories” series I read as a kid. But there’s almost nothing to this at all. 2/10
Berenice: This one is about a man whose wife slowly rots away other than her teeth. She ends up getting buried alive. The first of maybe 6 or 7 stories revolving around being buried alive. This one didn’t do much for me. 3/10.
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar: A man hypnotizes his friend, who seems to “die” and speaks, while hypnotized, about going to “the other side.” He still talks out loud without moving his mouth. The hypnotist tries to take him out of it, but i won’t ruin the awesome ending. 7/10
The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether: A man goes to an insane asylum and slowly realizes that it has been taken over by the insane, who have imprisoned the workers. 7/10
October 4, 2025
As usual, there's a story here. You see, I actually acquired a different book that was supposed to be a modern retelling novelization of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, The Fall of the House of Usher.
I love Edgar Allan Poe. Always have. He appeals to my Slytherin side people forget I have. The Cask of Amontillado remains an all time favorite of mine - not just of his, but of any author!
In fact, you can ask my family and they'll attest to the fact that nary a week goes by that I don't cry out in a desperate whine at least once, "Amontillado? Amontillaaaaadooooo!" from the animated short we watched of it in high school. Love. It!
So I was thrilled to come across this new tale. A spin bringing the story into the 21st century and graduating it from a small handful of pages to a full-on novella. And I'd never read The Fall of the House of Usher before. How fun this was going to be!
But...
I hated it.
That didn't stop me from continuing to read it until finally all my friends and family listening to me complaining about how much I hated it convinced me I should stop!
It was then that I decided I wanted to listen to some actual Edgar Allan Poe and started looking into my library's selection of audiobooks. There were many to choose from. I decided my criteria for choosing which one should include:
- The Fall of the House of Usher (duh) ✅️
- The Cask of Amontillado (any chance I can get to read that one again!) ✅️
- One I'd heard of before, but never read (The Tell-Tale Heart) ✅️
- One I'd never heard of before (The Black Cat) ✅️
- And didn't have The Raven (because we're reading, studying, and analyzing it in school next week and didn't want to burn out) ✅️
There were 11 stories in this collection.
You guys! The Fall of the House of Usher is SO GOOD!!! Like, a top 3 favorite Poe for me! I'm so glad I went and read the original because it's amazing. Everything you'd want from a Poe story and more!
The others were all really good too. The Black Cat was a bit difficult to read, because on top of the typical dark and macabre violence, there is also animal cruelty. But *spoiler* the cat gets his revenge in the end.
Again, I love Edgar Allan Poe and highly recommend giving his stories a read - and I encourage exploring some you haven't read before. But I absolutely IMPLORE you to read (or reread, as the case may be) The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado.
I love Edgar Allan Poe. Always have. He appeals to my Slytherin side people forget I have. The Cask of Amontillado remains an all time favorite of mine - not just of his, but of any author!
In fact, you can ask my family and they'll attest to the fact that nary a week goes by that I don't cry out in a desperate whine at least once, "Amontillado? Amontillaaaaadooooo!" from the animated short we watched of it in high school. Love. It!
So I was thrilled to come across this new tale. A spin bringing the story into the 21st century and graduating it from a small handful of pages to a full-on novella. And I'd never read The Fall of the House of Usher before. How fun this was going to be!
But...
I hated it.
That didn't stop me from continuing to read it until finally all my friends and family listening to me complaining about how much I hated it convinced me I should stop!
It was then that I decided I wanted to listen to some actual Edgar Allan Poe and started looking into my library's selection of audiobooks. There were many to choose from. I decided my criteria for choosing which one should include:
- The Fall of the House of Usher (duh) ✅️
- The Cask of Amontillado (any chance I can get to read that one again!) ✅️
- One I'd heard of before, but never read (The Tell-Tale Heart) ✅️
- One I'd never heard of before (The Black Cat) ✅️
- And didn't have The Raven (because we're reading, studying, and analyzing it in school next week and didn't want to burn out) ✅️
There were 11 stories in this collection.
You guys! The Fall of the House of Usher is SO GOOD!!! Like, a top 3 favorite Poe for me! I'm so glad I went and read the original because it's amazing. Everything you'd want from a Poe story and more!
The others were all really good too. The Black Cat was a bit difficult to read, because on top of the typical dark and macabre violence, there is also animal cruelty. But *spoiler* the cat gets his revenge in the end.
Again, I love Edgar Allan Poe and highly recommend giving his stories a read - and I encourage exploring some you haven't read before. But I absolutely IMPLORE you to read (or reread, as the case may be) The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado.
July 21, 2022
Sadly, I haven't picked up an Edgar Allan Poe piece since college so it was with great anticipation that I took up this 'Best of' collection. I was most interested in The Cast of Amontillado story for a reading challenge, but I happily listened to all eleven short stories and pieces.
The collection included: Fall of the House of Usher, Pit and Pendulum, Tell-Tale Heart, Cast of Amontillado, Premature Burial, Ligeia, Black Cat, Oval Portrait, Berenice, Facts of the Case of M. Valdemar, and System of Dr. Tarr and Dr. Fether.
The first four were re-reads for me, but, I don't think I'd read the rest of the stories before so that was a great experience. I felt the chill of madness, darker emotions and actions, and of the macabre. I'm not a horror fan in general and some of these tales pushed my limit, but I relished this latest experience with Poe's writing and style.
Todd McLaren was a new to me narrator, but I came to appreciate his steady tone and pacing to balance the drama of the tales themselves. He let the writing speak for itself, mostly, but he infused feeling so that I had no trouble imagining the scenes of the stories.
All in all, this was a good reminder not to wait so long before appreciating Poe's works and I can recommend this one as a fabulous sampling of his works.
The collection included: Fall of the House of Usher, Pit and Pendulum, Tell-Tale Heart, Cast of Amontillado, Premature Burial, Ligeia, Black Cat, Oval Portrait, Berenice, Facts of the Case of M. Valdemar, and System of Dr. Tarr and Dr. Fether.
The first four were re-reads for me, but, I don't think I'd read the rest of the stories before so that was a great experience. I felt the chill of madness, darker emotions and actions, and of the macabre. I'm not a horror fan in general and some of these tales pushed my limit, but I relished this latest experience with Poe's writing and style.
Todd McLaren was a new to me narrator, but I came to appreciate his steady tone and pacing to balance the drama of the tales themselves. He let the writing speak for itself, mostly, but he infused feeling so that I had no trouble imagining the scenes of the stories.
All in all, this was a good reminder not to wait so long before appreciating Poe's works and I can recommend this one as a fabulous sampling of his works.
July 31, 2025
I haven't really read this style of writing since college. So it's been a good 20 years, but a bar near us is having an Edgar Allan Poe speak easy night, so I thought I'd be fun to listen to his stories on my drive to work as homework. I was incredibly entertained and thoroughly impressed with his writings, although they were a little gruesome, sometimes.
He was clearly one of the greatest writers of all time. There's no question. I was just so blown away.
I think my favorite one was the gold bug,but the black cat sticks with me pretty hard, even though that was a little jacked up.
One thing that I noticed was his endings tended to be so abrupt that I would have to go back to listen to them more than once. Maybe it'd be different if I was reading instead of listening to them, but I thought it was interesting.
I would highly recommend this read, but not to my wife, she wouldn't make it past two minutes. it'd take a weirdo like me, who appreciates quality writing, or a literary aficionado.... which I absolutely am not.
He was clearly one of the greatest writers of all time. There's no question. I was just so blown away.
I think my favorite one was the gold bug,but the black cat sticks with me pretty hard, even though that was a little jacked up.
One thing that I noticed was his endings tended to be so abrupt that I would have to go back to listen to them more than once. Maybe it'd be different if I was reading instead of listening to them, but I thought it was interesting.
I would highly recommend this read, but not to my wife, she wouldn't make it past two minutes. it'd take a weirdo like me, who appreciates quality writing, or a literary aficionado.... which I absolutely am not.
March 18, 2024
This is my first encounter with anything written by Edgar Allan Poe. This "best of" collection only contains his short stories, and none of his poetry (I was a little confused why there was no mention of talking ravens included herein, knowing the association to Poe only, and not being familiar with the actual work itself). I think my favorites were "The Black Cat" and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar."
For me, some classics are hard to get through, but I choose to explore them anyway. Nineteenth-century literature is either better on audio, or awful to listen to (it depends on the piece, and who narrates it). Sometimes listening helps me understand better and not get bored; but in this case I found myself quite confused in trying to follow the story plots. When I started looking up the synopses online beforehand, the stories made more sense and were more enjoyable.
For me, some classics are hard to get through, but I choose to explore them anyway. Nineteenth-century literature is either better on audio, or awful to listen to (it depends on the piece, and who narrates it). Sometimes listening helps me understand better and not get bored; but in this case I found myself quite confused in trying to follow the story plots. When I started looking up the synopses online beforehand, the stories made more sense and were more enjoyable.
October 26, 2023
I’ve read most of these short stories and others either in school or in recent years with the kids for spooky season celebrations. The new Netflix series that references Poe’s work and specifically at least 7 of these along with several others prompted a revisit. I’m trying to imagine the readers in the 1800’s reactions and they were undoubtedly unnerved or outright terrified by these tales. I really enjoyed the myriad Easter eggs the series peppered throughout for the knowing Poe fans.
This collection included:
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Cask of Amontillado
The Premature Burial
Ligeia
The Black Cat
The Oval Portrait
Berenice
The Facts in the case of M. Valdemar
The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
This collection included:
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Cask of Amontillado
The Premature Burial
Ligeia
The Black Cat
The Oval Portrait
Berenice
The Facts in the case of M. Valdemar
The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
September 20, 2021
This was the first time I’ve read anything written by Poe since my college years. Most of the stories in this collection were familiar to me but there were a couple that I hadn’t read before. I am generally not a big fan of reading horror/macabre because it gives me nightmares, but because these are short stories rather than a full length novel, it’s palatable for me.
As well written as these stories are, I’ve always wondered what kind of person is capable of creating or imagining these things. By all accounts, Poe led a troubled and painful life.
My favorite has always been The Cask of Amontillado, and it still is.
As well written as these stories are, I’ve always wondered what kind of person is capable of creating or imagining these things. By all accounts, Poe led a troubled and painful life.
My favorite has always been The Cask of Amontillado, and it still is.
September 9, 2024
Unintentional DNF because life happened and my library loan ran out before I could finish!
I had already skipped a couple of bits but I really enjoyed The Pit and the Pendulum,The Cask of Amontillado and The Black Cat. The narrator of the audiobook did a particularly fantastic rendition of The Telltale Heart.
Unfortunately through pop culture I knew where most of the stories were going or what the twist was but they were still very enjoyable and I will definitely revisit this another time.
Low score only because out of what I did manage to read, two or three stories were reallyyyyyy boring.
I had already skipped a couple of bits but I really enjoyed The Pit and the Pendulum,The Cask of Amontillado and The Black Cat. The narrator of the audiobook did a particularly fantastic rendition of The Telltale Heart.
Unfortunately through pop culture I knew where most of the stories were going or what the twist was but they were still very enjoyable and I will definitely revisit this another time.
Low score only because out of what I did manage to read, two or three stories were reallyyyyyy boring.
December 22, 2025
The most interesting part of Poe is also the most forgettable. The madness of his characters doesn't come from cosmic horror and grand tragedy. Instead, it's the everyday snowball of shame, poverty, and loss that rolls its way into a deadly avalanche. There's no cosmic horror. And there's no forbidden knowledge. It's just you and your failures. You are so much of a failure that you will never amount to anything. Your enemies will spit on your grave, and your friends won't stop them. So, why shouldn't you give in to our darkest impulses? We all have them. All we need is just a little push.
January 23, 2019
I was looking for my next book to read (listen to). It was Poe's birthday. So there you have it. I actually own a book that is the complete works of EAP, but I never seem to get around to actually reading things in print. So I found this audio book that seemed like a pretty good collection. I thoroughly enjoyed these stories, so now I might have to actually pull out that dusty old volume and read some more!
March 28, 2020
It's hard to read these stories and imagine the influence they would have had upon the original readers since so much horror had been written since, making these lose the shock value (or even my own from first reading them in 5th grade.) It is interesting to think about their historical impact though- the fear of being buried alive caused the coffins Poe describes to actually be widely built etc.. and the development of other scary stories.
October 12, 2022
Good horror, but repetitive and broad language. I liked several of the stories, but others dragged, like when he tries to characterize the wife (can’t remember her name) but basically just goes into detail with her looks and facial structure. It went on way too long. I think it���s just kind of predictable and slow nowadays since the genre has matured but I think it’s worth a read just for it’s significance in horror storytelling.
December 30, 2021
TRIGGER WARNINGS: animal abuse, murder, mentions of death, being buried alive, blood, paranoia.
Loved this! I love Poe’s writing so much and a few of these I hadn’t read yet! So I love how it had classic favorites and a few less popular ones! I really liked all of the stories! The narrator was incredible as well!
Loved this! I love Poe’s writing so much and a few of these I hadn’t read yet! So I love how it had classic favorites and a few less popular ones! I really liked all of the stories! The narrator was incredible as well!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2023
I thought I was familiar with all of Poe's works, but this collection included some I had not previously read. Reading "The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether" cracked me up because the premise is a problem we are experiencing in 2023, but that people are deeming normal. Poe knew the truth.. what a wonderfully odd prediction.
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