"The Masque of the Red Death" is a deliciously creepy and wonderfully bizarre story written by that early American master of Gothic horror, Edgar Allan Poe.

"The Masque of the Red Death" is one of Poe's most brilliant successes on that front. From the opening line every element of the story feels perfectly designed to create a growing sense of dread. At the same time, Poe's wildly imaginative setting gives the story a make-believe feel (he did call it a "fantasy," after all) that draws the reader in completely. It's as if Poe is able to pull you right out of reality, into his (or is it Prospero's) own dream. Which happens to be one heck of a nightmare.