Dead Easy: Edgar Allan Poe Retold

by Edgar Allan Poe, James Field

Love gothic horror but struggle with old-fashioned language? You're not alone. This is Poe like you've never read him — simplified, sinister, and absolutely chilling.

Edgar Allan Poe was the original master of horror, mystery, and the uncanny. But for many readers, his tangled 19th-century prose can feel more like a cryptic puzzle than a chilling thrill. Dead Easy fixes that, while keeping every eerie twist and deliciously dark idea intact.

Inside this retelling, you'll

The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, The Masque of the Red Death, and 11 more classics — rewritten in vivid, modern EnglishEvery story is still eerie, clever, and strange — just easier to read. Short intros that help you know what's coming (without spoiling the punch)Perfect for readers age 16+ — horror fans, students, teachers, or just the Poe-curiousThese are tales of madness, murder, premature burials, ghostly whispers, and creeping dread — made accessible without losing their bite. If you love classic horror but hate getting lost in the language, this collection is your lantern in the dark.

Retold by British author James Field, this collection is ideal for fans

Goosebumps, The Haunting of Hill House, or The Raven BoysCreepy short stories with a gothic twistAccessible adaptations of classic literatureRead it now with Kindle Unlimited, or pre-order for instant chills on release day.

Genres: Horror

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

The 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...

Reviews

[James Field]

Poe’s tales, without the tangle.

Buried alive. Driven mad. Haunted by guilt, grief, and things best left in the dark…

In Dead Easy, the classic horror tales of Edgar Allan Poe are retold in modern, clear English—sharp, spooky, and accessible for today’s reader. From The Tell-Tale Heart to The Fall of the House of Usher, these stories still chill the blood, now without the 19th-century cobwebs.

Whether you’re new to Poe or just never made it past the first paragraph, this collection is for you. It’s creepy. It’s clever. And yes—it’s dead easy.

“Dead Easy — But the nightmares stay with you.”

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Poe and that love affair started when I was still in the single digits. I didn't start out with full, unfiltered EAP, as my mom provided me with those Classic Illustrated books. You know the ones, adult books, dumbed down for kids, simplified and with pencil drawings of the story. NONE of those books had a death grip on me like the Tales of Poe one. As I aged up, so did my versions of Poe's works, until I was reading the original style. All these years later, I still enjoy a Poe tale, be it a classic, a retelling, an homage or simply something like this, a modern language revamp.

I give the updating author props for not changing anything (that I can tell or recall) and giving a new audience a chance at some stories that they might bypass because of the heavily dating language. This is Poe but easy to read and follow, less flowery, but with his obsession of being buried alive, fully intact.

If you had an English teacher that made you read some EAP in high school, and you kinda liked it, but struggled, this is a great way to revisit his stories without the dread.
NO, the actual tales have not been updated, there is no cell phones, or slang, no modern luxuries. It is just a cleaned up version that isn't so hard to follow along with, for people that don't vibe with old fashioned "classics" due to the outdated writing styles.

Perfect for people what wanna see what Poe is about and for that teen that is getting into their spooky phase.

Not every Poe story is a great one, so I'm not 5 starring it, simply because I'm not a fan of all of his stuff. 5 stars to the rewriting author for this project, though. Great job.

[APK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve loved Edgar Allan Poe since I was a tiny kid. I’ll admit, I still prefer reading the original versions—there’s a rhythm and darkness in his original prose that’s unmatched. But let’s be honest: for some people, the 19th-century language can be overwhelming, even intimidating. That’s where Dead Easy comes in.

James Field does a fantastic job of making Poe’s dark genius readable without losing any of the atmosphere, suspense, or madness. The beats of the stories—the beating heart under the floorboards, the claustrophobia of the tomb, the slow unravelling of guilt—are all intact. Only now, you can follow along without getting bogged down by Victorian phrasing.

It’s perfect for readers who want to get to know Poe without feeling daunted, and for long-time fans who want a fresh way to revisit the classics. If you’ve ever wanted to read The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, or The Fall of the House of Usher without struggling through the old-school language, this is your chance.

James Field, you’ve done Poe proud. Dead Easy is a gothic gateway—accessible, atmospheric, and wonderfully macabre. Highly recommended!

[Jason Collings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should first preface this by saying I'm a big EA Poe fan, I've read most of these stories about a dozen times, and 'Murder in the Rue Morgue' (my favourite) at least twenty - I have a pocket copy I often carry with me. So, maybe I should be outraged at someone messing with the original, but I'm not. Poe is best when he's being read, and his language, much as I love it, can be opaque to the modern reader. Anything that gets his wonderful stories read more widely is good by me.
James Field has done a great and respectful job of bringing the language up to date and it lands consistently. The plots are unchanged, the horrors undiminished. I'd encourage anyone to read Poe in the original, but if you look at it and think 'no way, too much' then this is perfect.
Buy it, read it, know why he's the legend he is.
Thank you, James, for a service to the literary.

[Alefiyah Ghadiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edgar Allan Poe Retold breathes new life—and lingering dread—into gothic horror’s greatest classics. Reteller James Field masterfully translates Poe’s tangled 19th-century prose into modern, accessible language without sacrificing the dark beauty or creeping tension that made the originals immortal.

From The Tell-Tale Heart to The Masque of the Red Death, each story feels freshly unearthed from Poe’s crypt, sharper and eerier than ever. The retellings retain every pulse of paranoia and moral decay while removing linguistic barriers that often kept readers at a distance.

This edition isn’t just for students or newcomers—it’s for anyone who loves their horror atmospheric, psychological, and perfectly paced. Dead Easy is both a tribute and an invitation: to rediscover the madness, mystery, and melancholy that shaped the gothic genre itself.

[David James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Edgar Allan Poe. I always have. But I can’t say I know his work well enough to tell if someone changed it. So when I read this, I can tell you it sounds like Poe, and the vibe feels like Poe. And at times, it made me genuinely uncomfortable in that very specific way only Poe can manage. “Berenice” and the teeth? Yeah... just like the original.

This book does something really smart. It makes Poe readable without impacting the madness, the creepiness, the psychological unease that IS Poe.

Anything that helps the next generation actually read Poe and enjoy him without changing his tone or stripping away what makes these stories disturbing is a win in my book. Sign me up for that every time. This is A+ work.

[M.J. Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purists who revere Edgar Allen Poe, the famous American poet and writer from the nineteenth century, may not like this modernized version of Poe's greatest hits. But I loved it! From classics like "The Tell Tale Heart" to "Murders in the Rue Morgue," the author has made "Dead Easy." And he has done so skillfully. The suspense and even terror are still there, leaving your nightmares untouched! Great job!

[Danielle Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great idea to convert Poe's text into a simple and easy-to-read text. Reading 1800s text is amusing because it feels foreign, even if it's in English. This book offers a unique opportunity to revisit Poe's work, but with terminology that is considerably easier to understand. I highly recommend this for any literature lover.

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I would hate this book, but it turns out it really makes things simpler. I love the style of Poe but he doesn't have to be complicated. This is a nice take on Poe's writing. I wish the author did Shakespeare as well.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A British guy translates Poe's work into more modern English. The stories are still very effective. I hope it brings more Poe fans into the fold.