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First published in a 1842 literary annual The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843, The Pit and the Pendulum takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and follows the plight of a prisoner in a cell that has a pit and a pendulum. Unlike many of Poe's short stories, The Pit and the Pendulum does not rely on any supernatural elements to inspire fear but instead uses the narrator's heightened sensory experiences to do so.

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First published in a 1841 edition of Graham's Magazine, The Murders in the Rue Morgue is often cited as the first modern detective story. The first of three stories to center around C. Auguste Dupin, Poe's fictional detective, The Murders in the Rue Morgue involves Dupin's investigation of two women's murders. Establishing many of the tropes that would later become common to detective fiction, the story begins with an explanation of Dupin's theory of ratiocination, a concept which greatly influenced the creation of detective fiction itself and other great detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

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First published in a 1842 edition of Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, The Masque of the Red Death tells the story of Prince Prospero as he tries to avoid a plague by confining himself and his nobles to a masquerade in an abbey. Often considered a gothic allegory, the story reflects on not only life and death but also the illusion of control.

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The grand-prize winner of a writing contest sponsored by the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper, The Gold-Bug was one of Poe's most popular stories during his lifetime. Similar to his ratiocination tales-early versions of what we now call detective fiction-The Gold-Bug is full of mystery and adventure and includes a cryptogram, invisible ink, a scarab-like bug, and pirate treasure.

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First published in a 1839 edition of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, The Fall of the House of Usher is the story of the declining physical and psychological health of the residents of the House of Usher-and the way in which the house itself reflects that. Gothic in theme and style, the story is an exemplar of Poe's philosophy of composition, which dictates that literary works should be short, methodological, and have a unity of effect wherein all the elements of the story are related and relevant.

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Inspired by an account in The Broadway Journal of a surgeon putting a patient into an magnetic sleep, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar is a suspenseful tale concerning the forestallment of death by hypnosis. Originally published without a clear indication of its fictionality, the story was assumed to be a true account by some of its original readers.

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First published in a 1846 edition of Godey's Lady's Book, The Cask of Amontillado is widely considered to be one of the most perfect short stories ever written. Told by the unreliable narrator Montresor-a man who sought vengeance against his acquaintance for an insult that the reader is not privy to-the story details how Montresor accomplished his revenge.

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First published in a 1843 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, The Black Cat tells the story of a man and his increasingly antagonistic relationship with his cat. Akin to The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat investigates the psychological effects of guilt as well as the potentially destructive and violent consequences of alcoholism.

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First published in a 1849 edition of The Flag of Our Union, Hop-Frog is a revenge tale akin to The Cask of Amontillado. Told from the perspective of a crippled jester who was taken from his homeland and has been abused by the king he serves, the story focuses on the revenge Hop-Frog takes after the king strikes his fellow countrywoman and performer, the dancer Trippetta.

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Stories include: The Raven; Hop-Frog; The Black Cat; The Cask of Amontillado; The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar; The Fall of the House of Usher; The Gold-Bug; The Masque of the Red Death; The Murders in the Rue Morgue; The Purloined Letter; The Pit and the Pendulum; and The Tell-Tale Heart.

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