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Gothic Tales
This stunning chapbook—perfect for fans of the mysterious and macabre—comprises three of Edgar Allan Poe’s short literary “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “Metzengerstein,” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” This keepsake edition features elegantly designed cardstock covers with flaps and as well as silver and fluorescent ink.
64 pages, Paperback
Published August 16, 2022
8 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
9,890 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 45 reviews
July 6, 2025
Edgar Allan Pickup Artist:
*I must be The House of Usher, because I’ve Fallen…for you.
*Sweet Lenore, will you be Raven about me to all your friends?
-Yes
-Nevermore
*I have a Tale to Tell. You have my heart.
*I want to drop into the blood-bedewed halls of your revel.
*Care to practice what I consider to be ‘One of the Exact Sciences’?
*Like Prospero, I could fall prostrate in death…before your beauty.
*The whole seizure, progress and termination will be an incident of half an hour.
*I want to Descend into your Maelstrom.
*(The Pit and the Pendulum is just too easy, isn’t it?)
*You are a Dream. I am a Dream. Let’s be a Dream Within a Dream.
*In this wide and social world, I am utterly companionless…please…please…
*Will you Conquer my Worm?
*I bet you’re the very Demon of the Tempest in the sack.
*I love you more than I love the word ‘countenance’.
*Hey, cousin…
A cluster of three compact classics from grandfather gothic. Quaint by contemporary standards, but timelessly unsettling tales of madness and ironic comeuppance. Repetitious in thematic structure and word use, Poe is one of the first to credit for any enthusiast of the macabre. A tapestry of equine vengeance, a flesh plague in the flesh, a dead man’s heartbeat in the floorboards of his tomb.
*I must be The House of Usher, because I’ve Fallen…for you.
*Sweet Lenore, will you be Raven about me to all your friends?
-Yes
-Nevermore
*I have a Tale to Tell. You have my heart.
*I want to drop into the blood-bedewed halls of your revel.
*Care to practice what I consider to be ‘One of the Exact Sciences’?
*Like Prospero, I could fall prostrate in death…before your beauty.
*The whole seizure, progress and termination will be an incident of half an hour.
*I want to Descend into your Maelstrom.
*(The Pit and the Pendulum is just too easy, isn’t it?)
*You are a Dream. I am a Dream. Let’s be a Dream Within a Dream.
*In this wide and social world, I am utterly companionless…please…please…
*Will you Conquer my Worm?
*I bet you’re the very Demon of the Tempest in the sack.
*I love you more than I love the word ‘countenance’.
*Hey, cousin…
A cluster of three compact classics from grandfather gothic. Quaint by contemporary standards, but timelessly unsettling tales of madness and ironic comeuppance. Repetitious in thematic structure and word use, Poe is one of the first to credit for any enthusiast of the macabre. A tapestry of equine vengeance, a flesh plague in the flesh, a dead man’s heartbeat in the floorboards of his tomb.
October 9, 2022
It was nice getting to dive back into Poe; however, I don't feel like all of the selected stories in this collection best represent his capabilities as a gothic author. Prior to this reading, I had read two of these stories: "The Masque of the Red Death" (so long ago that I could only remember certain parts of the story) and "The Tell-Tale Heart" (a story that I read every semester for my English classes).
My ratings for the three stories that were included in this collection are:
"Metzengerstein" 2/5
"The Masque of the Red Death" - 5/5
"The Tell-Tale Heart" - 5/5
"Metzengerstein" was a snooze-fest for the most part, and I feel that it wasn't the best story to showcase Poe's talents. I think that "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Black Cat," or "The Pit and the Pendulum" would've been a better fit in this collection. I will say that that I am glad that it was included, if only for the fact that I'm not sure I would've read this story had it not been included.
"The Masque of the Red Death" was such a FUN read! It can be a bit predictable, of course, BUT I think that it this story still has poignant commentary that makes the read even more fascinating. I really enjoyed reading this story, and I'm glad it stood the test of time for me!
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a CLASSIC! I don't know many people who HAVEN'T read this story, and it's for good reason! It is such a fun story about murder and the descent into madness. It is entertaining from start to finish, and the narrator has such a fun perspective to read from.
Overall, this was an enjoyable collection to read, and I'd recommend that anyone read it... especially if you have never read anything by Poe before.
My ratings for the three stories that were included in this collection are:
"Metzengerstein" 2/5
"The Masque of the Red Death" - 5/5
"The Tell-Tale Heart" - 5/5
"Metzengerstein" was a snooze-fest for the most part, and I feel that it wasn't the best story to showcase Poe's talents. I think that "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Black Cat," or "The Pit and the Pendulum" would've been a better fit in this collection. I will say that that I am glad that it was included, if only for the fact that I'm not sure I would've read this story had it not been included.
"The Masque of the Red Death" was such a FUN read! It can be a bit predictable, of course, BUT I think that it this story still has poignant commentary that makes the read even more fascinating. I really enjoyed reading this story, and I'm glad it stood the test of time for me!
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a CLASSIC! I don't know many people who HAVEN'T read this story, and it's for good reason! It is such a fun story about murder and the descent into madness. It is entertaining from start to finish, and the narrator has such a fun perspective to read from.
Overall, this was an enjoyable collection to read, and I'd recommend that anyone read it... especially if you have never read anything by Poe before.
April 23, 2024
(3.5⭐️)
December 14, 2023
The descriptive wording speaks a-lot for the time and hard to keep engaged as each stories improved but wanted more of mystery feel like other stories and books he writes.
October 31, 2024
metzengerstein- ★★★☆☆
the masque of the red death- ★★★★☆
the tell-tale heart- ★★★★★
the masque of the red death- ★★★★☆
the tell-tale heart- ★★★★★
October 11, 2025
His vocabulary is PHENOMENAL
December 17, 2023
Boring! Not a fan🙁
October 24, 2025
The last one was the best ugh, Poe is perfect for October 🖤
October 12, 2022
I’ll admit, I bought this collection solely because I LOVE The Tell-Tale Heart! It’s my favorite short story because it’s twisted, thrilling, and written from the point of view of a ‘madman’.
I don’t remember reading the first story, Metzengerstein, before and I don’t consider it to be one of Poe’s best. However, it was interesting and I really like the setting and progression of the story. Overall, a lot of the words, as well as the language Poe used, went over my head a bit. It could also be reading it in this time period where the language is very different.
I vaguely remembered reading The Masque of the Red Death in my high school English classes. Once I started reading it in this collection, the story mostly came back to me. I love the irony and ending of it! The way the Red Death is presented is creepy and obviously (but satisfyingly) symbolic too.
Most of all, it’s cool that this collection is short, small, and contains The Tell-Tale Heart (because, like I mentioned, it’s my FAVORITE Poe story)! Individually, I’d give TTTH 5 stars, TMotRD 4 stars, and Metzengerstein 3 stars - so I’m going with 4 stars for the collection as a whole!
I don’t remember reading the first story, Metzengerstein, before and I don’t consider it to be one of Poe’s best. However, it was interesting and I really like the setting and progression of the story. Overall, a lot of the words, as well as the language Poe used, went over my head a bit. It could also be reading it in this time period where the language is very different.
I vaguely remembered reading The Masque of the Red Death in my high school English classes. Once I started reading it in this collection, the story mostly came back to me. I love the irony and ending of it! The way the Red Death is presented is creepy and obviously (but satisfyingly) symbolic too.
Most of all, it’s cool that this collection is short, small, and contains The Tell-Tale Heart (because, like I mentioned, it’s my FAVORITE Poe story)! Individually, I’d give TTTH 5 stars, TMotRD 4 stars, and Metzengerstein 3 stars - so I’m going with 4 stars for the collection as a whole!
November 10, 2022
Good Halloween read, quick and spooky. First time reading Red Death, thought it was amazing, now one of my top 5 Poe stories. Tell-Tale Heart is always a great re-read.
January 2, 2024
3.5
The tell tale heart was my personal favorite
The tell tale heart was my personal favorite
February 8, 2023
Gothic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Gnarly sketchy b&w cover illustration. Cool mini book accompanying the same style as their Mary Shelley edition.
“Metzengerstein":
An angry Joffrey-like Heathcliff-like Absalom-like heir who obsesses over a phantom-like black stallion. Dark and spooky! (4 stars)
“The Masque of the Red Death":
Delicious tale of justice!
“There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion.”
“Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.”
“There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion, even by the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.”
“There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust.”
“And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”
“The Tell-Tale Heart":
Poe sure had a thing about ‘the eye’ and its unrelenting pursuit of a man’s conscience… especially just after midnight!!
Some quotes:
“And this I did for seven long nights – every night just at midnight.
A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine.
[N]ow, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.
It was a low, dull, quick sound – much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.
It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed.”
Gnarly sketchy b&w cover illustration. Cool mini book accompanying the same style as their Mary Shelley edition.
“Metzengerstein":
An angry Joffrey-like Heathcliff-like Absalom-like heir who obsesses over a phantom-like black stallion. Dark and spooky! (4 stars)
“The Masque of the Red Death":
Delicious tale of justice!
“There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion.”
“Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.”
“There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion, even by the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.”
“There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust.”
“And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”
“The Tell-Tale Heart":
Poe sure had a thing about ‘the eye’ and its unrelenting pursuit of a man’s conscience… especially just after midnight!!
Some quotes:
“And this I did for seven long nights – every night just at midnight.
A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine.
[N]ow, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.
It was a low, dull, quick sound – much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.
It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed.”
January 1, 2024
I don’t like Poe all that much, but this book came to me as a free perk, so I decided it might be fun. It’s a slender volume continuing three of Poe’s short stories, two quite famous and one—his first ever in print—you’ve likely never heard of. That first one, “Metzengerstein,” is the least good and the most challenging, especially in the opening paragraphs where Poe is throwing his French around and our editors can’t be troubled to gloss it, nor the Latin epigraph. The tale itself is not entirely satisfying, but it has its vivid and interesting moments.
After that rough start follows “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tell-tale Heart.” These are both ccreepy and widely anthologized. And, while re-reading “Masque” feels a bit like homework, “The Tell-tale Heart” is fantastic. It’s a masterpiece of dramatic monologue just as creepy and gripping as it was when I first read it in grade school.
Revisiting Poe led me down several rabbit holes. I’m far better informed about him now than I was when I first received this slim volume. And these tales were a nice way to spend a few hours. So, all in all, it was well worth the time.
After that rough start follows “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tell-tale Heart.” These are both ccreepy and widely anthologized. And, while re-reading “Masque” feels a bit like homework, “The Tell-tale Heart” is fantastic. It’s a masterpiece of dramatic monologue just as creepy and gripping as it was when I first read it in grade school.
Revisiting Poe led me down several rabbit holes. I’m far better informed about him now than I was when I first received this slim volume. And these tales were a nice way to spend a few hours. So, all in all, it was well worth the time.
November 28, 2023
Wow the tell tale heart was better than I remembered and that was just one of the story’s in this book the first story was ok. I really didn’t process or understand what was happening so I went on to the 2nd story. 2nd story is better than the first. The Red Death was my first story other than Tell tale heart that I feel in love with. The more I think about it the more I love it. I finished it and first thought weird but cool story but the more i thought about it the more it stuck with me. The 3rd and final story the tell tale heart do I really have to say anything about this other than amazing short story and probably one of his most popular work other than the raven which I want to read now. Tell tale heart shows how this mad man thinks he’s not mad and lets us into his crazy mind and it so cool how we as the reader understand why what he does isn’t mad but also at the same time makes him more mad from a normal pov which makes this the most chilling story i’ve read. so good 10/10 recommend.
January 9, 2024
This book came with 3-in-1 which I appreciated but I can say I only liked tell tale heart and maybe the masque of red death? The Metzengerstien was just to much for me and the only thing I understood was that this lonely man had a huge mansion and a horse that was described to be a spawn from the devil, I don’t understand the end of it because who’s riding the horse when it’s running in the fire? If it wasn’t for that I think the other two were good, tell tale heart was great and easy to understand. The masque of red death was slightly confusing and I didn’t understand the man with the mask/the guy that gave everyone red death in the sense that I couldn’t tell what he was, human, ghost, symbolism, I had no clue. Still overall this book wasn’t terrible just confusing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2025
If was going to rate this based purely on the stories it includes, I'd give it five stars. They're all excellent. Two of them, "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," are familiar classics that I've read many times. But this was my first exposure to the third, "Metzengerstein."
I was excited to find a Poe story that I didn't already know. I was even more excited that it's as spooky and atmospheric as any of his other work.
The only thing keeping me from fully loving the volume is simply that it's such a tiny collection. It was over before I wanted it to be. Which means, I guess, that I need to put some more Poe into my reading rotation.
I was excited to find a Poe story that I didn't already know. I was even more excited that it's as spooky and atmospheric as any of his other work.
The only thing keeping me from fully loving the volume is simply that it's such a tiny collection. It was over before I wanted it to be. Which means, I guess, that I need to put some more Poe into my reading rotation.
January 16, 2024
I used to be a huge Poe junkie (lol, no pun intended). So what a wonderful surprise when i received this little gem for Christmas from my son. I devoured these classic short stories. Well, as fast as one can devour Poe. You definitely need your thinking cap on for one of his stories. I had read The Tell-Tale Heart and The Mask Of The Red Death. Metzengerstein was a new one for me. Loved it! If you're new to the Poe world this is a excellent introduction to his writing. If you're already a Poe fan, its a terrific book to revisit an old, macabre friend!
July 14, 2023
Amazing imagery and choice language that made the stories stick in your mind. To me the stories were impressive with how much can be done with such little plot. These three stories (Metzengerstein, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart) are a perfect gateway to the genre of horror and suspense for anyone to enjoy.
October 11, 2024
Reviews of the individual stories:
Metzengerstein (3 stars) - 'What if a horse was scary?' Striking imagery. Needed something more.
The Masque of the Red Death (4 stars) - 'My cool eccentric quarantine party has a visitor.' Poe kind of cooked here. Some real creepiness going on.
The Tell-Tale Heart (5 stars) - 'The madman doth protest too much.' A stone cold classic for a reason.
Metzengerstein (3 stars) - 'What if a horse was scary?' Striking imagery. Needed something more.
The Masque of the Red Death (4 stars) - 'My cool eccentric quarantine party has a visitor.' Poe kind of cooked here. Some real creepiness going on.
The Tell-Tale Heart (5 stars) - 'The madman doth protest too much.' A stone cold classic for a reason.
July 16, 2024
The physical book is beautifully laid out and I loved the Masque of the Red Death but the first story was a big miss for me which drove the rating down. This is a perfect pocket size taste of the illustrious author otherwise and easily read.
October 26, 2025
Favorite quote: "it is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night".
Review: short but unparalleled stories. Without a doubt, short stories are as epic as the terror they generate.
Review: short but unparalleled stories. Without a doubt, short stories are as epic as the terror they generate.
October 30, 2022
A decent, if underwhelming poe collection. The Lovecraft one in this same series had a better selection of stories I think. Still a fun, quick read though.
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November 1, 2022a little collection for a little halloween
January 4, 2023
idk if it's just me but Metzengerstein was a bit difficult of a read. The Masque of the Red Death and The Tell-Tale Heart are both absolute classics
April 25, 2023
3.5*. I really enjoyed ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’. Dark, gruesome, macabre. An easy and enjoyable gothic story.
October 24, 2023
spooky stuff
December 12, 2023
the tell-tale heart is awesome
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December 15, 2023idk why i thought to read gothic tales in december and read holiday books in october
December 25, 2023
3.5 ⭐️ rounded down, Tell-Tale Heart is a great re-read from middle school. TTH is really pulling up the rating from the other two stories which I found less interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews