Horror Live

Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his detective stories, he also wrote other short stories which are masterpieces of mystery and suspense. In some of the stories, a supressed uneasiness gradually builds up and evolves into sheer terror; in others, the story line unexpectedly changes and comes to an unlikely conclusion. In "The Beetle-Hunter", a beginning doctor is employed on a strange errand to a coleopterist.

First published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book, the story is set in 19th century Italy and concerns the deadly revenge taken by the insane narrator on a friend he claims has insulted him. Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around a person being buried alive.

An unamed narrator marries Morella, a woman who delves into mysticism. As a result of her experimentations her soul can never die, but her physical form continues to deteriorate. She spends her time in bed and teaches her husband the black arts. Realizing her curse, her husband, the narrator, becomes frightened and wishes for his wife's death and eternal peace. She dies in childbirth but her soul passes into the new baby....

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. Here is a fourth collection of some of his best stories: "The Tell-Tale Heart", "Eleanora", and "Silence: A Fable".