The Masque of the Red Death is a chilling tale by Edgar Allan Poe that explores themes of death and the illusion of safety. The story follows Prince Prospero and his attempt to escape a deadly plague known as the Red Death by secluding himself in his luxurious abbey.

Within the abbey's fortified walls, Prospero hosts a grand masquerade ball in seven distinct rooms, each adorned in a unique color scheme. The revelry is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious figure, disguised as a victim of the Red Death, who moves ominously through each room.

As Prospero confronts this spectral intruder, he is met with his own demise, illustrating the story's underlying message of the inevitability of death. The guests, too, fall victim to the Red Death, as the tale concludes with the triumph of "Darkness and Decay".

Poe's masterful use of gothic elements and allegory invites readers to ponder the futility of trying to escape one's fate, making this story a timeless piece of macabre fiction.

H.P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale. The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.

This is the collection that true fans of horror fiction must have: sixteen of H.P. Lovecraft’s most horrifying visions, including:

• The Call of Cthulu: The first story in the infamous Cthulhu mythos—a creature spawned in the stars brings a menace of unimaginable evil to threaten all mankind.
• The Dunwich Horror: An evil man’s desire to perform an unspeakable ritual leads him in search of the fabled text of The Necronomicon.
• The Colour Out of Space: A horror from the skies—far worse than any nuclear fallout—transforms a man into a monster.
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth: Rising from the depths of the sea, an unspeakable horror engulfs a quiet New England town.
• Plus twelve more terrifying tales!