The Masque of the Red Death

This short story was published in 1842 by American writer, Edger Allan Poe, and like his other work it is Gothic fiction that explores the inevitability of death. An interesting thing about Poe is that he believed a short story should be read in one sitting. This helps the pace of the story and ultimately builds the dark and twisting suspense.

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Poe explores the idea that even the rich and prosperous cannot outrun death forever. The story is full of dark details, death, and what fear and paranoia can take down.

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This short story is about a misguided prince, who during a terrifying plague that is sweeping the country, locks himself away in his abbey to escape death. However, he does not lead a life of solitude reading and wandering the halls of his massive home. Prince Prospero invites his closest one thousand friends to stay with him, not exactly out of generosity but to maintain his lavish and entertaining lifestyle. 

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Prospero attempts to flee death, while having a damn good time, walled up in his castle and creating his own world. Although, I think we can all relate to escaping reality —and ignoring the current state of the world around us —Prospero ultimately becomes the coward of the story, and leads to the downfall and destruction of his friends. 

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What makes The Masque of Red Death a successful suspense story is the inevitably of death, the threatening plague, and the questioning that comes at the end. You may be asking yourself, did all of this really happen? It’s hinted that Prospero could be a little mad … he did wall himself up inside his abbey. Did he ever really escape The Red Death at all or was all it a result of the plague and he imagined the whole thing? This is what I love about short stories. There’s not a lot of room or time to introduce unimportant details or characters, which means everything has significance. Even with these carefully crafted details, there is still so much up for interpretation at the end. 

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I am interested in reworking a short story that I wrote a few years ago, so for the next few weeks I will be trying to focus on short stories and the different ways that they can be suspenseful. Stay tuned for more like this!