On this day in movie history - The Black Cat (1981)

The Black Cat

directed by Lucio Fulci,

written by Biagio Proietti, Lucio Fulci and Biagio Proie

based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe,

was released in Italy on April 4, 1981.

Music by Pino Donaggio.

Cast:

Patrick Magee, Mimsy Farmer, David Warbeck, Al Cliver, Dagmar Lassander, Bruno Corazzari, Geoffrey Copleston, Daniela Doria, Lucio Fulci, Vito Passeri.

Edgar Allan Poe, on writing:

 

Through joy and through sorrow, I wrote.

Through hunger and through thirst, I wrote.
Through good report and through ill report, I wrote.
Through sunshine and through moonshine, I wrote ...
 
- Edgar Allan Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe, on imagination:

 

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night.

- Edgar Allan Poe.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Raven

Poem by Edgar Allan Poe.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door –
Only this, and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore –
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore –
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
“‘Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door –
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;
This it is, and nothing more.”

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you” – here I opened wide the door;
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore!”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!” –
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore –
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;
‘Tis the wind and nothing more.”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door –
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door –
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore –
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning – little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door –
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as “Nevermore.”

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered – not a feather then he fluttered –
Till I scarcely more than muttered, “other friends have flown before –
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said, “Nevermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore –
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of ‘Never – nevermore’.”

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore –
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o’er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee – by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite – respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil! –
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted –
On this home by horror haunted – tell me truly, I implore –
Is there – is there balm in Gilead? – tell me – tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil – prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us – by that God we both adore –
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore –
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend,” I shrieked, upstarting –
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! – quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!

Recommended reading:

Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe.

Video by Jack Kost
2025

Sound Effects credits:
Eerie Ambience
Raven Flyby
by freesound_community from Pixabay.
 

The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe

The Sleeper

by Edgar Allan Poe
 
At midnight, in the month of June,
I stand beneath the mystic moon.
An opiate vapor, dewy, dim,
Exhales from out her golden rim,
And softly dripping, drop by drop,
 
Upon the quiet mountain top,
Steals drowsily and musically
Into the universal valley.
The rosemary nods upon the grave;
The lily lolls upon the wave;
 
Wrapping the fog about its breast,
The ruin moulders into rest;
Looking like Lethe, see! the lake
A conscious slumber seems to take,
And would not, for the world, awake.
 
All Beauty sleeps! – and lo! where lies
Irene, with her Destinies!
Oh, lady bright! can it be right –
This window open to the night?
The wanton airs, from the tree-top,
 
Laughingly through the lattice drop –
The bodiless airs, a wizard rout,
Flit through thy chamber in and out,
And wave the curtain canopy
So fitfully – so fearfully –
 
Above the closed and fringéd lid
’Neath which thy slumb’ring soul lies hid,
That, o’er the floor and down the wall,
Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall!
Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear?
 
Why and what art thou dreaming here?
Sure thou art come o’er far-off seas,
A wonder to these garden trees!
Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress!
Strange, above all, thy length of tress,
 
And this all solemn silentness!
The lady sleeps! Oh, may her sleep,
Which is enduring, so be deep!
Heaven have her in its sacred keep!
This chamber changed for one more holy,
 
This bed for one more melancholy,
I pray to God that she may lie
Forever with unopened eye,
While the pale sheeted ghosts go by!
My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep,
 
As it is lasting, so be deep!
Soft may the worms about her creep!
Far in the forest, dim and old,
For her may some tall vault unfold –
Some vault that oft hath flung its black
 
And wingéd pannels fluttering back,
Triumphant, o’er the crested palls
Of her grand family funerals –
Some sepulchre, remote, alone,
Against whose portals she hath thrown,
 
In childhood, many an idle stone –
Some tomb from out whose sounding door
She ne’er shall force an echo more,
Thrilling to think, poor child of sin!
It was the dead who groaned within.
 
Recommended reading:
The Complete Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe (1966)

 
Video by Jack Kost – 2025.
 
Photograph: Moon Over Trees (2024), by Jack Kost.
 
Wind Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay.

Born on this day – Edgar Allan Poe:

Edgar Allan Poe

Writer

January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849

Credits:

Books and poetry:

100 Creepy Little Creature Stories (1994); 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories (1993); 100 Wild Little Weird Tales (1994); 21 Great Stories (1969); 30 Press Presents: Classic Horror Poems Volume One (2023); 40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology (2000); 50 Great American Short Stories (1963); 50 Great Short Stories (1952); 65 Great Spine Chillers (1982); A Cat of a Different Color (2020); A Cat of Artistic Sensibilities (2021); A Cat of Cozy Situations (2020); A Cat of Disdainful Looks (2020); A Cat of Fantastic Whims (2021); A Cat of Feral Instincts (2021); A Cat of Heroic Heart (2020); A Cat of Perfect Taste (2020); A Cat of Strange Lands (2020); A Descent into the Maelstrom (1841); A Few Words on Secret Writing (2014); A Predicament (1838); A Tale of Jerusalem (1832); A Tale of the Ragged Mountains (1843); Adventure Stories for Boys and Girls (1985); Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems (1829); American Midnight (2019); Anastatic Printing (1845); Annabel Lee (1849); Behind the Mask - Tales from the Id (2018); Berenice (1835); Birds of Prey (2010); Books to Die For (2012); Classic Cat Stories (2020); Classic Sea Stories (1996); Classic Victorian & Edwardian Ghost Stories (1996); Dark (2000); Detective Duos (1997); Diddling (1843); Dreams and Wonders (2010); Easy Reading for Difficult Devils: An Anthology of Dark Fiction (2014); Echoes Of Terror (1980); Edgar Allan Poe Short Stories (2018); Edgar Allan Poe's Complete Poetical Works (2007); Eerie Archives Volume 13 (2013); Eerie Archives Volume 14 (2013); Eerie Archives Volume 16 (2014); Eerie Archives Volume 2 (2009); Eerie Archives Volume 21 (2016); Eerie Archives Volume 22 (2016); Eerie Archives, Vol. 1 (2004); Eerie Archives, Vol. 10 (2012); Eerie Archives, Vol. 11 (2012); Eerie Archives, Vol. 12 (2013); Eerie Archives, Vol. 3 (2010); Eerie Archives, Vol. 4 (2010); Eerie Archives, Vol. 5 (2010); Eerie Archives, Vol. 8 (2011); Eerie Archives, Vol. 9 (2012); Eleonora (1842); Eureka (1848); Fantastic, Fall 1952 (1952); Fifty Famous Detectives of Fiction (1948); Fireside Horror Stories About Mummies and Curses (2017); Fireside Horror Stories About Supernatural Cats (2017); Fossil Lake II (2015); Four Beasts in One - The Homo-Cameleopard (1836); Ghost Stories (1986); Great Fantasy (1983); Great Law and Order Stories (1990); Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror (1931); Great Tales of Action and Adventure (1958); Great Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (1979); Great Tales of Terror (1845); H. P. Lovecraft's Book of the Supernatural (2006); H.P. Lovecraft's Book of Horror (1993); King Pest (1835); Landor's Cottage (1845); Letters Until Now Unpublished (1973); Ligeia (1838); Maelzel's Chess-Player (1836); Master's Choice: Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them (2000); Masters of the Macabre (1999); Mesmeric Revelation (1844); Metzengerstein (1832); Morella (1835); Morning on the Wissahiccon (1844); Ms. Found in a Bottle (1833); Never Bet the Devil Your Head (1841); Night Frights Issue #2 (2021); Nightmares on Congress Street, Part V (2006); Perspectives in Literature: A Book of Short Stories, Vol. 1 (1983); Poetry Comix (2020); Politian: An Unfinished Tragedy (1923); Psychos (2012); Red Sky (2014); Sea Tales of Terror (1974); Sea-Cursed (1994); Selected Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (2016); Shadow (1835); Short Stories: After Dark Classics (2012); Some Words with a Mummy (1845); Stories for the Dead of Night (1957); Tainted: Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (2008); Tales and Poems (2004); Tales of Mystery (1963); Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1908); Tales of Mystery and Terror (2008); Tales of the Devil (2020); Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840); Tales of the Occult (1989); Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827); The Angel of The Odd (1844); The Balloon-Hoax (1844); The Bells and Other Poems (2017); The Black Cat (1843); The Campfire Collection: Spine-tingling Tales to Tell in the Dark (2000); The Cask of Amontillado (1846); The Colloquy of Monos and Una (1845); The Complete Stories (1993); The Complete Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (1849); The Detective Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (1979); The Devil in the Belfry (1839); The Domain of Arnheim (1846); The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (2023); The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar (1845); The Fall of the House of Usher (2016); The Giant Book of Zombies (1993); The Gold-Bug (1843); The Great Sea Adventure (2019); The Greatest Ghost and Horror Stories Ever Written: volume 3 (2019); The Imp of The Perverse (1845); The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840); The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq (1844); The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction (2004); The Mammoth Book of Body Horror (2012); The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats (1988); The Mammoth Book of Zombies (1993); The Man of the Crowd (1840); The Masque of the Red Death (1842); The Monster Book of Monsters (1988); The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841); The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales (1841); The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842); The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838); The Oblong Box (1844); The Oval Portrait (1845); The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (1992); The Philosophy of Composition (1846); The Philosophy of Furniture (1840); The Pit and the Pendulum (1842); The Poetic Principle (2000); The Prose Romances of Edgar A. Poe (1843); The Purloined Letter (1844); The Rationale of Verse (2013); The Raven (1845); The Raven and Other Poems (1845); The Raven and Other Selected Poems (2015); The Short Story: 30 Masterpieces (1992); The Spectacles (1844); The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings (1843); The Thousand-And-Second Tale of Scheherazade (1845); The Ultimate Short Story Bundle (2020); The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaall (1835); The Vintage Book of Classic Crime (1997); The World's Greatest Horror Stories (2004); Thrillers (1994); Weird Business (1995); Wickedest Show on Earth (1985); William Wilson (1839); Writers: Their Lives and Works (2018); Writing New York (1998); Zombies!: Tales of the Walking Dead (2013).

Movies and television:

1954 (2016); 3 Days Rising (2025); 31 Days of Halloween (2024); A Curious World (2016); A Delirious Eye (2020); A.C. Dupin zasahuje (1970); ABC Weekend Specials (1980); Accidents (2009); Actor's Choice (1970); Actor's Studio (1949); Alexander the Last (2009); Alone (2002 / 2021); Alta comedia (1974); American Masters (1995); American Playhouse (1983); America's 60 Greatest Unsolved Mysteries and Crimes (2010); America's Book of Secrets (2012); Amontillado (2017); An Cridhe Cabaireach (the Tell-Tale Heart) (2012); An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1970); Animus: The Tell-Tale Heart (2015); Annabel Lee (1971 / 2000 / 2009 / 2009 / 2015 / 2022); Annabelle Lee (1921); Annette (2021); Armchair Theatre (1957); Az elitélt (1982); Bad Karma Santa (2016); Bane v Superman: The Movie (2016); Beczka amontillado (1972); Bedtime Stories: Tales of Love and Hate (2024); Bérénice (1954 / 1959 / 1985 / 1988 / 2004 / 2005 / 2007 / 2012 / 2015 / 2025); Black Cat (2025); Bridal Ballad (2021); Bucket of Blood (1934); Buried Alive (1989); Bury Your Dead (2024); Camera Three (1958–1970); Cask (2014); Castle of Blood (1964); Centre Play (1975–1976); Cineficción Radio (2019–2024); City in the Sea (1965); Congestion of the Brain (2007); Continental (1989); Contos do Edgar (2013); Coração Delator (1953); Corazón delator (1999); Creepers (2014); Crepuscolo Veneziano (1970); Cztery razy rezyser (1991); Das verräterische Herz (1954 / 1958 / 1961 / 1979 / 2003); Delirium (2015); Den sorte Kat (1918); Der Rabe (1951 / 2000 / 2021); Der Verrückte, das Herz und das Auge (2006); Der wilde Rabe (1985); Det förrädiska hjärtat (1963); Detective (1968); Diabolic Wedding / Legend of Horror (1971); Die braune Bestie (1914); Die Galerie der großen Detektive (1954); Die Maske des roten Todes (1970); Die schwarze Katze (1980); Dr. Goudron's System (1913); Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon (1973); Drug-Taking and the Arts (1993); E.A. Poe's Berenice (2012); E.A.P. (2007); École des vedettes (1960); EDGAR (2024); Edgar Allan Poe (1922); Edgar Allan Poe Centenary (1949); Edgar Allan Poe- del Amor a la Muerte (2017); Edgar Allan Poe's A Dream Within a Dream (2020); Edgar Allan Poe's Berenice (2014); Edgar Allan Poe's Hop-Frog (2019); Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia (2022); Edgar Allan Poe's 'Lighthouse' (2022); Edgar Allan Poe's Lighthouse Keeper (2016); Edgar Allan Poe's Spirits of the Dead (2018); Edgar Allan Poe's Tell-Tale Heart (2022); Edgar Allan Poe's the Cask (2014); Edgar Allan Poe's the Man of the Crowd (2014); Edgar Allan Poe's the Tell-Tale Heart (2015); Edgar e o Corvo (1983); Eerie Tales (1919); El acomodador (1975); El barril de amontillado (1950); El barril del amontillado (2003); El Cobrador (2012); El corazón delator (1959 / 2001 / 2012 / 2025); El Cuervo (2007); El escarabajo de oro (1999); El Hipnotizador (2017); El hombre de la multitude (1986); El hombre largo (2004); El hombre nervioso (1993); El quinto jinete (1975); El rastro del cazador (2019); El trapero (1965); El trapero (1974); En busca del dragón dorado (1983); Entrañas (2013); Ett fat amontillado (1963); Expediente EV-0043 (2009); Extraordinary Tales (2013); Felicity (1998); Ficciones (1972); Fireside Theatre (1949); Fliegende Schatten (1916); Focus (2011); Fool's Fire (1992); For Annie (2025); Fortunato (1993); Freitag, der 13. - Das unheimliche Haus, 2. Teil (1916); Gamens öga (2014); Gavran (2016); Geierauge (2022); GONE (2025); Great Ghost Tales (1961); Gribbøyet (2015); Hatred of a Minute (2002); Haunting Fear (1990); Havran v panelovém dome (1983); Help Me I'm Dying (2019); Het verraderlijke hart (1996); High Tension (1954); Hilda Muramer (1973); Hip hop prica iz Hrvatske (2008); Histoires extraordinaires à faire peur ou à faire rire... (1949); Historias para no dormir (1966–1982); Hjertet der sladrede (1971); Hora once (1970–1971); House of Evil (1968); House of Usher (1960 / 2008); Hovid Povid (2020); I racconti fantastici di Edgar Allan Poe (1979); Il caso Valdemar (1936); Il cuore rivelatore (1934); Il gatto nero (2003); Imitation: Edgar Allan Poe with Steve Guynn (2015); Imp of the Perverse (1973); Invitation au voyage (2022); It's All Been Done Radio Hour (2023); Jeff Buckley: Everybody Here Wants You (2002); Joe's Marionette Theatre (1996); Jungle of Fear (1993); Kingdom by the Sea (2013); Krui-TV (2011); La Barrica del Amontillado (2004); La chute de la maison Usher (1992); La chute de la maison Usher / Histoires extraordinaires (1981); La hora musa (2018); La línea del caos (2003 / 2008); La morte rossa (2009); La notte romantica di Dolly (1920); La résurrection de Barnabé (1953); Lady in the Wall (2018); Lady Usher (2020); Le coeur révélateur (1966); Le Corbeau (2014); Le double assassinat de la rue Morgue (1973); Le fabuleux voyage de l'Oncle Ernest (1999); Le portrait ovale (2001); Le puits et le pendule (1909); Le scarabée d'or (1961); Lenore (2014 / 2021); Les grands détectives (1974); Les Nuits de France Culture (1994); L'étrange collection / The Lighthouse (2025); L'étrange fiancée (1930); Ligeia (1959 / 2013); Lights Out (1949–1952); Los libros (1974); Lover from Beyond the Grave (2006); Lunacy (2005); Manfish (1956); Manicomio (1954); Mask of the Red Death (1971); Masking Threshold (2021); Masque of the Red Death (1989); Master of Horror (1965); Masters of Horror (2007); Masterworks of Terror (1959 / 1960); Masterworks of Terror / Segments: The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar; The Cask of Amontillado; The Tell-Tale Heart; (1960); Matinee Theatre (1956–1957); Mea Maxima Culpa (2010); Mimetic Tales of Ragged Mountain (2010); Mind's Eye (1998); Monodrama Theater (1953); Morella (1999 / 2008 / 2011); Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 / 1971 / 2023); Music Box (2012); Mutant League Football (1993); Mystery and Imagination (1966–1968); Mystery of Marie Roget (1942); Narciso Ibáñez Serrador presenta a Narciso Ibáñez Menta (1974); Never Bet the Devil Your Head (2007); Nevermore (2014); New Chilling Tales: The Anthology (2019); Night of the Skull (1974); Night Tide (1961); Nightmares from the Mind of Poe (2006); Novela (1978); O Coração Revelador (2018); O Flâneur (2021); Octoberpod AM (2024); On Camera (1955); One Minute Before Death (1972); OperaVision (2019); Operené stíny (1931); Oysters & Pearls (2010); Palabras cruzadas (1977); Pest in Florenz (1919); Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954); Phobies - The Raven (2022); Poe (2025); Poe's Lighthouse (2020); Point of No Return (2010); Ponto da poesia (2011); Portal: Curtain (2013); Portrait Mode (2023); Prelude (1927); Psychotic Breakdown Anthology / Segment The Raven (2022); Puissance de la parole (1988); Pukotina (2013); Puppet Club: Godzilla's Spooky Halloween Tales (2024); Racconti neri (2006); Radio Futura: Annabel Lee (1986); Radio Story Hour (2025); Relatos Clásicos de Misterio y Terror (2020–2024); Requiem for the Damned (2012); Revenge in the House of Usher (1983); Saints Row IV (2013); Satanás de todos los horrores (1974); Satisfyingly Scary (2020); Scare on the Air (2022); Scary Stories Around the Fire (2022–2024); Selecciones de Cineficción Radio (2024); Serce Oskarzycielem (2021); Sevier Thrillers (2022); Shadow: A Parable (2021); Sherlock Holmes in the Great Murder Mystery (1908); Shoestring Theatre (1960); Short Story Showcase: The Fall of the House of Usher (1976); Silencio (2002); Sombra (2021); Sonic Stories (2022); Sonnets of the soul (2024); Spirits of the Dead (1968 / 2022); Spooky Stories (2020); Steven Berkoff's Tell Tale Heart (2019); Stonehearst Asylum (2014); Suspense (1949–1952); Swing Wedding / The Cuckoo Clock (1950); Syner (2009); Tale of a Vampire (1992); Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1995); Tales of Terror (1962); Television Theater (1957); Tell Tale (2009); Tell-Tale Heart (1947); Tell-Tale Hearts (1972); Terroir (2014); Terror-Creatures from the Grave (1965); The Abyss of the Soul (2021); The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914); The Bells (1913 / 2013); The Best of Zagreb Film - Volume One: The Classic Collection (1999); The Black Cat (1934 / 1941 / 1966 / 1981 / 1989 / 1995 / 2015 / 2021); The Blancheville Monster (1963); The Bottle of Chateau Margaux (2007); The Cask of Amontillado (1979 / 1998 / 2008 / 2014 / 2015 / 2017); The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe (2021); The Cask of Amontillado Redfield Arts Audio Podcast (2022); The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer: The Early Years Vol. 1 (2003); The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer: The Later Years Vol. 2 (2003); The Crime of Doctor Crespi (1935); The Curse of Ligeia (2025); The Dark Eye (1995); The Darkest Hour (2018); The Destroying Angel (1976); The Fall of the House of Usher (1928 / 1950 / 1979 / 1982 / 2006 / 2010 / 2012 / 2021 / 2023); The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (2022); The Fall of the Louse of Usher: A Gothic Tale for the 21st Century (2002); The fall of Usher's house (2021); The Fantasmagori (2017); The Fear (2001); The Gold Bug (2009); The Golden Beetle (1914); The Graves of Edgar Allan Poe & The Women Who Haunted Him (2022); The Haunted Palace (1963); The Haunting of Morella (1990); The Horror Vault 2 (2009); The Horror Vault 3 (2010); The House of Usher (1989 / 2006 / 2010); The Invitation (2017); The Jester (2025); The Last Ache (2009); The Living Dead (1932); The Man of the Crowd (2013); The Masque of the Red Death (1964 / 1989 / 2006 / 2007 / 2010 / 2014 / 2020); The Merchant of Venice (2004); The Mesmerist (2002); The Midnight Matinee the Redfield Arts Audio Podcast Fortunato's Fatal Misfortune (2023); The Midnight Matinee the Redfield Arts Audio Podcast the Cask of Amontillado (2023); The Midnight Matinee the Redfield Arts Audio Podcast Valdemar (2023); The Mummy Lives (1993); The Murder of Evelyn Cross (2016); The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1914 / 1986); The Night Prowler (2002); The NoSleep Podcast (2018–2023); The Oblong Box (1969); The Oval Portrait (1973 / 1997 / 2011 / 2017); The Pain of Creation (2011); The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope (1983); The Pit (1962); The Pit and the Pendulum (1913 / 1961 / 1964 / 1991 / 2009); The Premature Burial (1962); The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe (2022); The Raven (1912 / 1935 / 1963 / 1970 / 1980 / 2003 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2010 / 2012 / 2014 / 2015 / 2018 / 2020 / 2022 / 2025); The Raven (by Edgar Allan Poe) (2016); The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (2021); The Raven... Nevermore (1999); The Reasoner Report (1974); The Robert Herridge Theater (1960); The Rose King (1986); The Sabbat of the Black Cat (1973); The ScapeCast (2008); The Sealed Room (1909); The Simpsons / Segment: The Raven (1990); The Sphinx (1985); The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether (1972); The Tell Tale Heart (1989 / 1991 / 1999 / 2005 / 2006 / 2008 / 2010 / 2022); The Teller and the Tale (1985); The Telltale Heart (1928); The Tell-Tale Heart (1939 / 1941 / 1953); The Telltale Heart (1958); The Tell-Tale Heart (1958 / 1960 / 1961 / 1971 / 1979 / 1986 / 1991 / 2003 / 2004 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2014 / 2016 / 2017 / 2022 / 2024); The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (2021); The Tell-Tale Heart: Sisters (2016); The Tell-Tale Plant (2019); The Tell-Tale Watch (2019); The Tomb (2009); The Tomb of Ligeia (1964); The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967); The Tragic End of Rodney & Madlyn U. (2022); Theatre Fantastique (2014–2017); Thirty2 (2023); This Evening's Discourse (2009); Thorsten Flinck läser rysare (2007); Thriller (1961); Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery (1995); Toby Dammit (1968); Tohtori Tarrin ja professori Featherin menetelmä (2012); Tras la puerta cerrada (1964); Travel with Jack and Kitty: The Podcast (2023); True (2010); Twisted (1997); Two Evil Eyes (1990); Ulalume (2023); Ulalume--A Ballad (2023); Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez (2004); Under (2013); Une vengeance d'Edgar Poë (1912); Usher (2000 / 2023); Valdemar (2000); Valdemar, el homonculus dormido (1977); Valentines. A Bouquet of Letters and Poetry of Lovers (1994); Vaya luna de miel (1980); Vrah jsi ty (2003); William Wilson (1999 / 2011); Wishbone (1995); Witchfinder General (1968); Within (2012); World Wide Adventures: Annabel Lee (1969); Wurmloch (2016); Your Favorite Story (1953); Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972).

Recommended reading - The Complete Stories and Poems

 

The Complete Stories and Poems

by Edgar Allan Poe.

First published 1849.
This edition published 1966.
Published by Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Hardcover.

ISBN 13: 9780385074070
ISBN 10: 0385074077
ASIN: 0385074077
 
Description:
 

This single volume brings together all of Poe's stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history.

Recommended reading: The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (1975).

 

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Published 1975.

VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION.

ISBN: 0394716787
 
Description:
 

One of the most original American writers, Edgar Allan Poe shaped the development of both the detective story and the science-fiction story. Some of his poems — "The Raven," "The Bells," "Annabel Lee" — remain among the most popular in American literature.

Poe's tales of the macabre still thrill readers of all ages. Here are familiar favorites like "The Purloined Letter," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," together with less-known masterpieces like "The Imp of the Perverse," "The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym," and "Ligeia," which is now recognized as one of the first science-fiction stories, a total of seventy-three tales in all, plus fifty-three poems and a generous sampling of Poe's essays, criticism and journalistic writings.

Edgar Allan Poe, on inspiration and writing:

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

- Edgar Allan Poe.

Happy Halloween:

Recommended reading - The Fall of the House of Usher and the Other Major Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

The Fall of the House of Usher and the Other Major Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

by Edgar Allan Poe.

Published by Reader's Library Classics.

Published 2023.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1954839480

ISBN-13: 978-1954839489

Description:

I had been passing alone on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.

At the request of his good friend Roderick Usher, a visitor travels to the House of Usher where Roderick and his sister Madeline live. From the time the traveler first steps foot onto the Usher property, a mysterious and foreboding presence fills the air. Almost as if the house itself is alive.

Born in 1809, Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer and poet best known for his tales of mystery and macabre. His short stories have long been entrenched in American pop culture, and he is regarded as one of the greatest inspirations to the modern horror and mystery genres. His fictional C. Auguste Dupin stories, all included in this collection, are widely considered the first modern detective story, and these stories would become a foundational influence to Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Poe's notable works include The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), The Tell-Tale Heart (1843), The Black Cat (1843), and The Raven (1845), among many others. He died in 1849.

The following 13 tales and 13 poems are included:

Tales: The Fall of the House of Usher; The Tell-Tale Heart; the Black Cat; The Cask of Amontillado; The Pit and the Pendulum; The Masque of the Red Death; The Oval Portrait; The Premature Burial; A Descent into the Maelström; Ligeia.

The C. Auguste Dupin Mysteries: The Murders in the Rue Morgue; The Mystery of Marie Rogêt; The Purloined Letter.

Poems: The Raven; Annabel Lee; Alone; Dream-Land; Eldorado; The Sleeper; Lenore; The City and the Sea; To Helen; The Bells; The Valley of Unrest; To One in Paradise; A Dream within a Dream. 

On this day in movie history - The Fall of the House of Usher (2011)

 

Fall of the House of Usher

directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber,

based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe,

was released at the Athens Film Festival in Greece on September 20, 2011.

The movie was originally released in the United States in 1928.

Exact release date is unknown.

Music by Alec Wilder and Léon Barzin.

 
Cast:
Herbert Stern, Hildegarde Watson, Melville Webber, Friedrich Haak, Dorthea House.

On this day in movie history - The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

The Pit and the Pendulum

directed by Roger Corman,

written by Richard Matheson,

based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1961.

Music by Les Baxter.

Cast:

Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone, Patrick Westwood, Lynette Bernay, Larry Turner, Mary Menzies, Charles Victor, Randee Lynne Jensen.

On this day in movie history - The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

The Masque of the Red Death

directed by Roger Corman,

written by Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell,

was released in the United States on June 24, 1964.

Based on The Masque of the Red Death and Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe,

and Torture by Hope by Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam.

Music by David Lee.

Cast:

Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston, Nigel Green, Patrick Magee, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Robert Brown, Julian Burton, David Davies, Skip Martin, Gaye Brown, Verina Greenlaw, Doreen Dawn, Brian Hewlett, Sarah Brackett.