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The Premature Burial
This book contains Edgar Allan Poe’s 1844 short story, “The Premature Burial”. The narrator describes his life-long obsession and a resulting disorder that sees him slip in and out of death-like trances. His true fear is being mistaken for dead during a trance and buried without his knowledge—a situation that he takes numerous precautions against. After finding himself waking in a claustrophobic and confined space, he is able to confront his fears and embrace the inevitable. Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American author, editor, poet, and critic. Most famous for his stories of mystery and horror, he was one of the first American short story writers, and is widely considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre. Many antiquarian books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.
30 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 1844
53 people are currently reading
1362 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
9,885 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 430 reviews
January 12, 2022
Short story with a “buried alive” theme. A creepy and disturbing read.
June 28, 2021
Relato sobre el pánico a ser enterrado vivo. Poe te hace experimentar en primera persona la angustia de pensar qué ocurriría si fueras enterrado con vida. Aún así, cuando te esperas un final al estilo Poe, te llevas una sorpresa.
Story about the panic of being buried alive. Poe makes you experience in your own person the anguish of thinking what would happen if you were buried alive. Still, when you expect a Poe-style ending, you're surprised.
Story about the panic of being buried alive. Poe makes you experience in your own person the anguish of thinking what would happen if you were buried alive. Still, when you expect a Poe-style ending, you're surprised.
July 14, 2025
El entierro prematuro es una obra que nos presenta uno de los mayores temores de la población de su época: el ser enterrado vivo. Una verdadera tortura y agonía para las víctimas de esto. Incluso, hasta existió una especie de cultura organizacional relacionada a tal afección, la que pretendía que se tomen todas las precauciones necesarias en caso de alguien pueda sufrir de un ataque de catalepsia. El aporte de Poe: escribir un relato con dicha temática.
Esta es una lectura bastante ágil y rápida que no aburre en ningún momento. Durante todo el tiempo se encarga de ofrecerle algo interesante al lector, que dé para reflexionar al respecto. Como escrito, es bastante diferente a los demás trabajos de su autor; de hecho, está narrado como si fuese un artículo, lo que me llevó a creer que Poe nos estaba contando alguna experiencia personal. Eso fue algo que me dificultó sobremanera cómo plantearme su evaluación en comparación a sus cuentos. Pero, una vez que concluí su lectura e investigando un poco, me enteré de que simplemente es un relato corto con un narrador ficticio. Aun así, esto último no es algo que vaya a afectar su calidad, ya que se sigue disfrutando por igual, a pesar de tener un enfoque diferente.
Adicionalmente, a través de la tan anecdótica experiencia que se nos proporciona, la cual se encarga de brindar un claro mensaje y moraleja a su historia: de superar los miedos y temores, ya que uno mismo es quien los alimenta dándoles poder sobre nosotros. El de liberarse de las cadenas que nos aprisionan, ese es el robusto y conciso mensaje final de toda esta historia.
Si bien la trama comienza a partir de la mitad, esto es cortesía de un grato aporte, manifestado en una introducción algo extensa; que en ningún momento se hace fastidiosa y es totalmente necesaria para ponernos en contexto con el tema presentado. No es lo mismo que en Los anteojos o en Los asesinatos de la rue Morgue, cuyas introducciones eran muy largas e incluso, llegaban a estar fuera de lugar y se hacían tediosas. En tales ejemplos, eso fue algo que les restó como lecturas; pero aquí, eso es algo que le suma positivamente.
Quizá, el único reparo que podría encontrarle a esta obra es que el final puede sentirse algo débil, si es que se le compara con la naturaleza por la que Poe es conocido; pero no estoy diciendo en lo más mínimo que ostenta una mala terminación ni nada parecido, solo que es diferente e inesperado a lo que puedan esperar de él.
Para poder calificar a este relato tengo bastantes dudas. Por mi parte, claramente lo pongo entre el tercer o cuarto lugar del top 28 que estoy armando, al menos con lo que llevo leído hasta ahora. Y, a pesar de que no se presenta alguna atmósfera o ambientación muy acorde que acompañe su desarrollo, su contribución está en lo que ofrece de forma entretenida y bien escrita: todo es interesante en El entierro prematuro.
Así que, mi calificación es de ★★★★☆, la cual es una valoración total y absolutamente merecida, por ser una muy amena y cumplidora lectura. Esta es la obra que más me ha costado calificar de este autor hasta el momento, ya que no me decidía entre otorgarle 3.5 estrellas o por la valoración final que ya obtuvo.
Para no perder el hilo con las demás reseñas que he hecho sobre las obras de Edgar Allan Poe:
1) El gato negro, cuya reseña está bugueada en el feed de Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2) El cuervo, el único poema que he reseñado de este autor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3) Narraciones extraordinarias, recopilatorio en donde reúno a los 28 relatos que he leído de Poe, además de incluir un top personal al respecto; junto con dar mi opinión en profundidad sobre él como autor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Esta es una lectura bastante ágil y rápida que no aburre en ningún momento. Durante todo el tiempo se encarga de ofrecerle algo interesante al lector, que dé para reflexionar al respecto. Como escrito, es bastante diferente a los demás trabajos de su autor; de hecho, está narrado como si fuese un artículo, lo que me llevó a creer que Poe nos estaba contando alguna experiencia personal. Eso fue algo que me dificultó sobremanera cómo plantearme su evaluación en comparación a sus cuentos. Pero, una vez que concluí su lectura e investigando un poco, me enteré de que simplemente es un relato corto con un narrador ficticio. Aun así, esto último no es algo que vaya a afectar su calidad, ya que se sigue disfrutando por igual, a pesar de tener un enfoque diferente.
Adicionalmente, a través de la tan anecdótica experiencia que se nos proporciona, la cual se encarga de brindar un claro mensaje y moraleja a su historia: de superar los miedos y temores, ya que uno mismo es quien los alimenta dándoles poder sobre nosotros. El de liberarse de las cadenas que nos aprisionan, ese es el robusto y conciso mensaje final de toda esta historia.
Si bien la trama comienza a partir de la mitad, esto es cortesía de un grato aporte, manifestado en una introducción algo extensa; que en ningún momento se hace fastidiosa y es totalmente necesaria para ponernos en contexto con el tema presentado. No es lo mismo que en Los anteojos o en Los asesinatos de la rue Morgue, cuyas introducciones eran muy largas e incluso, llegaban a estar fuera de lugar y se hacían tediosas. En tales ejemplos, eso fue algo que les restó como lecturas; pero aquí, eso es algo que le suma positivamente.
Quizá, el único reparo que podría encontrarle a esta obra es que el final puede sentirse algo débil, si es que se le compara con la naturaleza por la que Poe es conocido; pero no estoy diciendo en lo más mínimo que ostenta una mala terminación ni nada parecido, solo que es diferente e inesperado a lo que puedan esperar de él.
Para poder calificar a este relato tengo bastantes dudas. Por mi parte, claramente lo pongo entre el tercer o cuarto lugar del top 28 que estoy armando, al menos con lo que llevo leído hasta ahora. Y, a pesar de que no se presenta alguna atmósfera o ambientación muy acorde que acompañe su desarrollo, su contribución está en lo que ofrece de forma entretenida y bien escrita: todo es interesante en El entierro prematuro.
Así que, mi calificación es de ★★★★☆, la cual es una valoración total y absolutamente merecida, por ser una muy amena y cumplidora lectura. Esta es la obra que más me ha costado calificar de este autor hasta el momento, ya que no me decidía entre otorgarle 3.5 estrellas o por la valoración final que ya obtuvo.
Para no perder el hilo con las demás reseñas que he hecho sobre las obras de Edgar Allan Poe:
1) El gato negro, cuya reseña está bugueada en el feed de Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2) El cuervo, el único poema que he reseñado de este autor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3) Narraciones extraordinarias, recopilatorio en donde reúno a los 28 relatos que he leído de Poe, además de incluir un top personal al respecto; junto con dar mi opinión en profundidad sobre él como autor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 21, 2020
As a Christian married into a Hindu family, one ritual I don't think I’ll ever be able to come to terms with is cremation. I pray that I’ll never have to witness one and to be spared from it myself, I’ve given my man extensive instructions on how to fly me out when the time comes, so that I can be buried in the church in my hometown. But Edgar Allen Poe’s The Premature Burial has got me weighing my options.
What if death deceives with it’s obvious signs only to subject the prematurely buried to unendurable oppression of the lungs, the stifling fumes of the damp earth, the clinging to the death garments, the rigid embrace of the narrow house, the blackness of the absolute night, the silence like an overwhelming sea and the unseen but palpable presence of the conqueror worm?
The narrator set the scene of the story with seemingly real accounts of people buried alive and goes on to describe his medical condition – catalepsy, an illness characterized by episodic trance like states with loss of consciousness and rigidity of the body which he feared others would mistake for death.
His fear was so profound that he was afraid to sleep because he thought that it was fairly possible that he may wake up in a coffin. He doubted the dedication of his caregivers and dreaded that they would take one of his cataleptic attacks an excuse sufficient enough to get rid of him. Such was his obsessive fear of being buried alive that he designed his coffin and remodeled his family vault in ways that would aid his escape in case of a revival.
But what he did when faced with a chance that ruined all his preparations, makes The Premature Burial an interesting read.
What if death deceives with it’s obvious signs only to subject the prematurely buried to unendurable oppression of the lungs, the stifling fumes of the damp earth, the clinging to the death garments, the rigid embrace of the narrow house, the blackness of the absolute night, the silence like an overwhelming sea and the unseen but palpable presence of the conqueror worm?
The narrator set the scene of the story with seemingly real accounts of people buried alive and goes on to describe his medical condition – catalepsy, an illness characterized by episodic trance like states with loss of consciousness and rigidity of the body which he feared others would mistake for death.
His fear was so profound that he was afraid to sleep because he thought that it was fairly possible that he may wake up in a coffin. He doubted the dedication of his caregivers and dreaded that they would take one of his cataleptic attacks an excuse sufficient enough to get rid of him. Such was his obsessive fear of being buried alive that he designed his coffin and remodeled his family vault in ways that would aid his escape in case of a revival.
But what he did when faced with a chance that ruined all his preparations, makes The Premature Burial an interesting read.
July 30, 2019
This is quite a good story about one of the core fears of every human being: buried alive. Masterly composed Poe starts with giving examples of the greatest fears of men before he states some facts of premature burial and how the cases ended. Then he turns to a story within the story, told by a narrator. This one is extremely creepy as the narrator provided for the case of being buried alive and it turned out in another way than expected. Is the narrator really buried alive? How does the story end? Well, the twist at the end is quite remarkable. A classic tale, creepy like hell, utmost macabre and morbid, interesting for everyone since we are all mortal. Absolutely recommended!
November 20, 2021
Tells several tales of people who were presumed dead and then buried, but actually were still alive.
October 15, 2022
The title says it all. The narrator’s great fear and preoccupation is being buried alive.
July 27, 2022
Este es un relato que juega con el miedo que sentía la gente de la época de ser enterrada viva, pues aparentemente era más común de lo que se quería creer. Aquí todo empieza con varias páginas que nos narran noticias de personas que fueron enterradas vivas y que, por cuestiones del destino, lograron salvarse. Luego conocemos al protagonista, quien se presenta como un hombre que sufre de catalepsia y que, por eso mismo, procura no estar entre desconocidos para que, si le da un ataque y parece muerto, no lo entierren sino que esperen a que se recupere.
Pero las cosas no le salen tan bien como las tenía planeadas…
Este no es un mal relato, pero se hace bastante pesada porque la historia del protagonista se tarda muchísimo en empezar. Eso sí, cuando comienza todo el asunto de que se despierta y lo han enterrado vivo, la narración es bastante angustiante. Aun así, no es de mis favoritos de Poe.
Pero las cosas no le salen tan bien como las tenía planeadas…
Este no es un mal relato, pero se hace bastante pesada porque la historia del protagonista se tarda muchísimo en empezar. Eso sí, cuando comienza todo el asunto de que se despierta y lo han enterrado vivo, la narración es bastante angustiante. Aun así, no es de mis favoritos de Poe.
October 9, 2020
Junto con "El pozo y el péndulo", "El entierro prematuro" es otro claro ejemplo de los efectos del opio en Poe.
Hay mucho de autobiográfico en este cuento, pero a la vez, y como ocurre en "El Pozo y el Péndulo", nos hace sentir ahogados, como acompañando al narrador.
La naturaleza del cuento realmente es asfixiante, lo que demuestra hasta qué punto Poe jugaba con nuestro subconsciente. Y lo lograba...
Hay mucho de autobiográfico en este cuento, pero a la vez, y como ocurre en "El Pozo y el Péndulo", nos hace sentir ahogados, como acompañando al narrador.
La naturaleza del cuento realmente es asfixiante, lo que demuestra hasta qué punto Poe jugaba con nuestro subconsciente. Y lo lograba...
January 22, 2015
This very short story by POE was actually written during a time in history when people were deathly afraid of being buried alive.
In this novella, Poe's imagination brings to life several creepy occurrences for a horror reader's delight, but the last tale is the best.......
4 Fearful Stars from this POE fan.
July 28, 2019
This is a hair raising little creeper.
October 30, 2024
4 Stars. Did I enjoy it? No. Did I appreciate it for how well it was written? Yes. Did I feel the atmosphere and the fear? Oh yes. Edgar Allan Poe is something else, and this one deserves a four for the answers to my second and third questions. But not a five mainly because, although just 11 pages, the first half was like an 1840s research paper on the fear of being buried alive. The narrator recounts several incidents - the wife of a Congressman, an unhappy woman in Paris, an artillery officer in Saxony who suffered a blow to the head, and a young lawyer in London who was thought to have died of typhus. All buried alive - some saved, and some discovered only when a crypt was re-opened for another burial. Oh my God. Poe points out that, "A vast number of such interments have actually taken place [which we don't know about.]" I was looking for the narrator's story and finally he got into it. He suffers from catalepsy, a real disease related to Parkinson's into which a sufferer can enter a type of muscular rigidity. He's terrified and pleads with friends to be certain of his death if catalepsy fully overtakes him again. And then it does. Creepy to say the least. (Oc2024)
October 13, 2021
I cant think of many things more terrifying than being buried alive. This book was scary and bone chilling. There's a reason why Edgar Allen Poe is a legend.
I 100% recommend this story for the spooky season!
I 100% recommend this story for the spooky season!
June 2, 2021
“Hay momentos en que, aun para el sereno ojo de la razón, el mundo de nuestra triste humanidad puede cobrar la apariencia del infierno, pero la imaginación del hombre no es Caratis para explorar con impunidad todas sus cavernas.”
February 22, 2020
"But, alas! what avails the vigilance against the Destiny of man?"
A tale of horror, typical of Poe, dealing with the seemingly real subject of burial before death and a man's obsession with the idea of being buried alive! The theme is superbly unique and unnerving. The story makes a good read all in all!
A tale of horror, typical of Poe, dealing with the seemingly real subject of burial before death and a man's obsession with the idea of being buried alive! The theme is superbly unique and unnerving. The story makes a good read all in all!
July 28, 2017
"The unendurable oppression of the lungs- the stifling fumes of the damp earth- the clinging to the death garments- the rigid embrace of the narrow house- the blackness of the absolute Night- the silence like a sea that overwhelms- the unseen but palpable presence of the Conqueror Worm- these things, with the thoughts of the air and grass above, with memory of dear friends who would fly to save us if but informed of our fate, and with consciousness that of this fate they can never be informed- that of the hopeless portions is that of the really dead- these considerations, I say, carry into the heart, which still palpitates, a degree of appalling and intolerable horror from which the most daring imagination must recoil."
January 21, 2021
#14/148
The prospect of waking up in a coffin might be the most terrifying thing one can ever imagine . A sufferer of catalepsy, who has morbid fear of being buried alive narrates few incidents in which the victims were buried alive. Few were saved while others were not so lucky.
The narrator reviews these examples in order to provide context for his nearly crippling phobia of being buried alive. As he explains, his condition made him prone to slipping into a trance state of unconsciousness, a disease that grew progressively worse over time. He became obsessed with the idea that he would fall into such a state while away from home, and that his state would be mistaken for death. He extracts promises from his friends that they will not bury him prematurely, refuses to leave his home, and builds an elaborate tomb with equipment allowing him to signal for help in case he should awaken after "death".
Imagine then, his horrors when he finds himself in pitch dark place reeking of musty earth and not a one precaution in sight.
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”
Fear of burial alive was deeply rooted in Western culture in the nineteenth century and Poe was taking advantage of the public's fascination with it.
One of the best works by Poe, at his most terrifying. one star less coz I don't like his obsession of painting doctors in dark light.
The prospect of waking up in a coffin might be the most terrifying thing one can ever imagine . A sufferer of catalepsy, who has morbid fear of being buried alive narrates few incidents in which the victims were buried alive. Few were saved while others were not so lucky.
The narrator reviews these examples in order to provide context for his nearly crippling phobia of being buried alive. As he explains, his condition made him prone to slipping into a trance state of unconsciousness, a disease that grew progressively worse over time. He became obsessed with the idea that he would fall into such a state while away from home, and that his state would be mistaken for death. He extracts promises from his friends that they will not bury him prematurely, refuses to leave his home, and builds an elaborate tomb with equipment allowing him to signal for help in case he should awaken after "death".
Imagine then, his horrors when he finds himself in pitch dark place reeking of musty earth and not a one precaution in sight.
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”
Fear of burial alive was deeply rooted in Western culture in the nineteenth century and Poe was taking advantage of the public's fascination with it.
One of the best works by Poe, at his most terrifying. one star less coz I don't like his obsession of painting doctors in dark light.
November 19, 2018
Hasta el momento es el relato de Poe que más me ha gustado. (Y creo que eso es decir mucho, puesto que a todos los que he leído les he puesto 3 y 4 estrellas,...)
La capacidad para describir lo que puede sentir una persona enterrada viva es impresionante. A lo largo del relato te pone los pies de gallina, te estremece y te inquieta.
Buenísimo.
La capacidad para describir lo que puede sentir una persona enterrada viva es impresionante. A lo largo del relato te pone los pies de gallina, te estremece y te inquieta.
Buenísimo.
December 12, 2020
"The story begins as an essay, citing a number of supposedly factual burials, but the story only recounts only the narrator's delusions. Poe plays upon the public's preoccupation in his time by published reports of hungry cadavers and cries heard coming from graves. Nonfiction accounts tell of people leaving instructions to delay their burials and to test their corpses by inflicting pain on their feet in the effort to provoke a reaction. Among ingenious precautions invented in the 19th century to avoid accidental live burial were to attach bells to corpses, installing speaking tubes and air tubes in coffins, and providing a flag a victim could wave in distress." Sova, Dawn, B. (2001). Edgar Allan Poe, A to Z : the essential reference to his life and work. New York: Checkmark Books. (201)
This Poe tale really strikes at a primal fear that many humans harbor deep in their psyches which is the fear of being buried alive stuck in a dark confined space with no means of escape. A truly horrific experience one which haunts our fears and prayers that it will not ever happen to any of us. Poe knew how to stir up a reader's inner terrors and basically scare him mentally while reading. He really was a master of the grotesque.
This Poe tale really strikes at a primal fear that many humans harbor deep in their psyches which is the fear of being buried alive stuck in a dark confined space with no means of escape. A truly horrific experience one which haunts our fears and prayers that it will not ever happen to any of us. Poe knew how to stir up a reader's inner terrors and basically scare him mentally while reading. He really was a master of the grotesque.
April 24, 2024
Good.
This was good, but not going to review it.
For the moment at least.
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1844] [32p] [Horror] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Bueno.
Esto estuvo bien, pero no voy a reseñarlo.
Al menos por ahora.
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1844] [32p] [Horror] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
This was good, but not going to review it.
For the moment at least.
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1844] [32p] [Horror] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Bueno.
Esto estuvo bien, pero no voy a reseñarlo.
Al menos por ahora.
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1844] [32p] [Horror] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
March 9, 2021
Well unfortunately I suffer from Claustrophobia and reading this story made me a bit uneasy!
However I enjoyed it lol. IT IS CREEPY so be aware
However I enjoyed it lol. IT IS CREEPY so be aware
February 20, 2020
What happens if you are buried alive?
Extremely eerie and claustrophobic, Edgar Allan Poe weaves yet another haunting story that is sure to leave the readers with some sense of unease.
Extremely eerie and claustrophobic, Edgar Allan Poe weaves yet another haunting story that is sure to leave the readers with some sense of unease.
August 8, 2016
But in these accounts it is the fact--it is the reality--it is the history which excites.
Have you ever experienced night paralysis? I hadn't until last month. I woke up with a feeling of dread. I couldn't move a muscle and it felt like there was something dark and horrible sitting on my chest whispering insidiously into my ear. It was terrifying.
I imagine that being buried alive is something like that. Our narrator lives in dread fear of this happening to him because of his unique medical condition. He will, at times, lapse into a coma like state that mimics death. He lives in fear that he will have an episode, people will think he's dead, and he'll wake up six feet under.
Honestly, the most interesting parts of this story were when Poe was relating other experiences of people being buried alive. I tried to figure out if they were true, but my research skills are not up to par.
Poe is often classified as horror, but I'm discovering that many of his stories deal more with psychological terror, which, perhaps, is more realistic because it's something we're all prone to.
The true wretchedness, indeed - the ultimate woe - is particular, not diffuse.
The story is leading up to what may seem an inevitable conclusion, but Poe pulls a surprising turn at the end.
Not my favorite Poe, but it was okay.
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?
Sidenote: I started on a mission to read all things Poe last year, but I got distracted. I'm now picking up where I left off.
Have you ever experienced night paralysis? I hadn't until last month. I woke up with a feeling of dread. I couldn't move a muscle and it felt like there was something dark and horrible sitting on my chest whispering insidiously into my ear. It was terrifying.
I imagine that being buried alive is something like that. Our narrator lives in dread fear of this happening to him because of his unique medical condition. He will, at times, lapse into a coma like state that mimics death. He lives in fear that he will have an episode, people will think he's dead, and he'll wake up six feet under.
Honestly, the most interesting parts of this story were when Poe was relating other experiences of people being buried alive. I tried to figure out if they were true, but my research skills are not up to par.
Poe is often classified as horror, but I'm discovering that many of his stories deal more with psychological terror, which, perhaps, is more realistic because it's something we're all prone to.
The true wretchedness, indeed - the ultimate woe - is particular, not diffuse.
The story is leading up to what may seem an inevitable conclusion, but Poe pulls a surprising turn at the end.
Not my favorite Poe, but it was okay.
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?
Sidenote: I started on a mission to read all things Poe last year, but I got distracted. I'm now picking up where I left off.
January 29, 2016
"Cea mai mare tortură cu putinţă -adevărata durere- nu este cea obştească, ci aceea de unul singur."
Nuvela, structurată în două planuri narative -unul de tip ramă, iar celălalt funciarmente subiectiv- prezintă, în incipit, câteva cazuri din presă internaţională a secolului XIX de "îngropaţi de vii". A două parte prezintă subiectiv o experienţă a personajului-narator, suferind de catalepsie ("În tot ceea ce îndurăm nu era nicio suferinţă fizică, dar, în schimb, o durere morală fără seamăn. [...] Nu vorbeam decât de viermi, morminte şi epitafuri").
Andrei Tamaş,
29 ianuarie 2016
Nuvela, structurată în două planuri narative -unul de tip ramă, iar celălalt funciarmente subiectiv- prezintă, în incipit, câteva cazuri din presă internaţională a secolului XIX de "îngropaţi de vii". A două parte prezintă subiectiv o experienţă a personajului-narator, suferind de catalepsie ("În tot ceea ce îndurăm nu era nicio suferinţă fizică, dar, în schimb, o durere morală fără seamăn. [...] Nu vorbeam decât de viermi, morminte şi epitafuri").
Andrei Tamaş,
29 ianuarie 2016
March 29, 2019
This isn't necessarily a GREAT Edgar Allan Poe short story, but it is very good-mainly because of Poe's always brilliant and always Gothic writing style. He injects much gloom and dreariness into this disturbing tale, which focuses on the horrors of being buried alive. It is mildly tedious at times, but its an overall good and creepy little story recommended for fans of Poe.
July 20, 2023
¿Más ensayo que cuento, no? Sea como fuere, la mente de Poe es una de esas que aparecen solo una o dos veces por siglo. Totalmente de acuerdo con Borges, según el cual en América solo había habido seis genios literarios, uno de los cuales era Poe. Todo en él era casi perfecto, la prosa, la narrativa, las ideas subyacentes.
November 12, 2020
A spooky short story revolving around a narrator who must confront his worst fear of being buried alive in order to escape true death.
June 29, 2016
I actually listened to this on audible, which also included The Tell Tale Heart and Hop Frog, but I wasn't able to find that version here on Goodreads.
I had already read The Tell Tale Heart quite a few times, but the others were new to me. I enjoyed them very much, and I was able to get quite a bit done while still getting some 'reading' in.
Bill Wallis is an excellent narrator, making these delightfully creepy tales all the more enjoyable.
The Tell Tale Heart: Disturbingly enjoyable.
Hop Frog:
Court joker gets revenge. It's Poe so you can expect something gruesome. What I liked about this one was the anticipation. You know he's up to something horrible, but you can't imagine what until it happens.
The Premature Burial: I think it's safe to say that being buried alive would be a rather unpleasant experience, kind of like drowning, only far worse. You can imagine the fears of a man whose medical condition renders him catatonic for long periods, and living prior to modern medicine, having such a fear. I enjoyed this, but not as much as the other two.
I had already read The Tell Tale Heart quite a few times, but the others were new to me. I enjoyed them very much, and I was able to get quite a bit done while still getting some 'reading' in.
Bill Wallis is an excellent narrator, making these delightfully creepy tales all the more enjoyable.
The Tell Tale Heart: Disturbingly enjoyable.
Hop Frog:
Whether people grow fat by joking, or whether there is something in fat itself which predisposes to a joke, I have never been quite able to determine; but certain it is that a lean joker is a rara avis in terris.
Court joker gets revenge. It's Poe so you can expect something gruesome. What I liked about this one was the anticipation. You know he's up to something horrible, but you can't imagine what until it happens.
The Premature Burial: I think it's safe to say that being buried alive would be a rather unpleasant experience, kind of like drowning, only far worse. You can imagine the fears of a man whose medical condition renders him catatonic for long periods, and living prior to modern medicine, having such a fear. I enjoyed this, but not as much as the other two.
April 26, 2013
Claustrophobic, Entrancing, Soulful Short Story
“I grew sick, and numb, and chilly, and dizzy, and so fell prostrate at once. Then, for weeks, all was void, and black, and silent, and Nothing became the universe. Total annihilation could be no more. From these later attacks I awoke, however, with a gradation slow in proportion to the suddenness of the seizure. Just as the day dawns to the friendless and houseless beggar who roams the streets throughout the long desolate winter night – just so tardily – just so cheerily came back the light of the Soul to me.”
Our protagonist suffers from catalepsy, a medical condition characterized by a trance or seizure with a loss of sensation and consciousness accompanied by rigidity of the body. This one starts out slow as Poe gives examples of the horrors happening around the world; people being buried alive. Stick with it. The story shifts effortlessly about mid-way to our protagonist's struggle and the agony that he endures on account of his condition. The message is clear: Face your fears and you will be free.
The bottom line: When this story picks up the prose turns lyrical and I was entranced, entombed by this short story.
I think you will be too.
“I grew sick, and numb, and chilly, and dizzy, and so fell prostrate at once. Then, for weeks, all was void, and black, and silent, and Nothing became the universe. Total annihilation could be no more. From these later attacks I awoke, however, with a gradation slow in proportion to the suddenness of the seizure. Just as the day dawns to the friendless and houseless beggar who roams the streets throughout the long desolate winter night – just so tardily – just so cheerily came back the light of the Soul to me.”
Our protagonist suffers from catalepsy, a medical condition characterized by a trance or seizure with a loss of sensation and consciousness accompanied by rigidity of the body. This one starts out slow as Poe gives examples of the horrors happening around the world; people being buried alive. Stick with it. The story shifts effortlessly about mid-way to our protagonist's struggle and the agony that he endures on account of his condition. The message is clear: Face your fears and you will be free.
The bottom line: When this story picks up the prose turns lyrical and I was entranced, entombed by this short story.
I think you will be too.
February 14, 2017
This probably would have been a LOT more chilling back when it was written. Today though, with our elaborate burial rituals (especially embalming) and better medical science, it's not as terrifying of a possibility.
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