Published in 1842, “The Masque of the Red Death” is regarded as one of Edgar Allen Poe’s best stories.
In it, Prince Prospero holds a masquerade party amidst a plague called the Red Death. The nobles have been hiding during the plague and protecting themselves, but now they hold a party in the abbey Prospero is hiding in. Someone appears in the party dressed as a victim of the Red Death, and Prospero is offended by the costume. He shouts and demands someone remove the man’s costume. When they remove it and attack the man they find no man at all. It seems to be the personification of the Red Death itself, come for the revelers.
The work is stunning. It’s short, so it’s worth your time. Poe is still fantastic, and his prose is incredible. From the ending:
And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. 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.
I can’t say enough that you should read this story. It’s great. About the only problem I have with it is how short it is and how long Poe spends on the different colored rooms.
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