Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Sometimes, you have to get your horror in small bites. When I have a limited amount of time to read (like waiting in an airport), I go straight to the original horror master, Edgar Allan Poe. No one else compresses so many terrifying emotions into so few pages. Fear, dread, loathing, anxiety, unease, and panic are something I expect–and am rewarded with–every time I read Poe.

I started reading his work in grade school, and when I found this collection in college, it became one of my prized possessions. There’s a familiarity in Poe’s tales that I have with very… show more.

Although I saved him for last, I’m a die-hard Poe fan. I was first introduced to his work by my grandfather, who gifted me a leather-bound edition of Poe’s complete collection when I was in middle school. I ate through that book, falling in love with his style, descriptions, and downright passion in his macabre outlook. Each poem has its own rhythm; each story its own moral. While “The Raven” is his most widely known work, my personal favorites are the poem “Annabel Lee” and the short story “The Oval Portrait.” Poe led me in the direction of Gothic literature,… show more.

Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe is a must-read for anyone interested in horror. Poe was the first to inject Gothic principles into the short story format and pumped in some psychological terror for good measure. Incest, torture, and premeditated murder are just some of the topics he covers.