Reading A to Z: E is for Edgar Allen Poe

As a child, I was quickly drawn into the macabre worlds of V. C. Andrews and Stephen King. I had a thirst for the stories of horror. I remember seeing a book in my Scholastic book orders about Tales of Terror by Edgar Allen Poe, so I begged my mother to let me have it. Not being one to deny her daughter the love of reading, she allowed me to purchase it. I remember being a little confused by the language, as it wasn't the more modern and colloquial way of speaking present in the other novels. Yet, the strange stories were absolutely intriguing to me.

In high school English class, I remember reading "The Cask of Amontillado" and being surprised that it was a Poe story. From that point on, I started to collect a few more books. As an adult, I could pretend to be so impressive by having Poe's books on my shelf. I would pull them out here and there to page through the poetry.

And then I met The Man. He impressed me at the party with his knowledge of the finer literature. The first time we hung out, he told me all about going to visit a Poe museum and how he was a total freak for him. He would play readings of Poe on the iPod while we were driving long distances. He seeks out antique Poe books while we are perusing the used bookstores.

Because of him, I have found myself delving deeper into the world of Edgar Allen Poe. My hard and fast rule is I must read the story before seeing the movie. (I stayed up really late one night reading "The Pit and the Pendulum" prior to watching the Vincent Price classic. It turns out the two were quite different!) And now that I have been paying more attention, I can see the parallels in so many other stories and movies.

I am glad that I am rediscovering the original master of horror on a new level. It's just good stuff.

There is a new movie coming out in May that stars John Cusack as Poe. I have seen the trailers and it looks like it should be decent. The Man, of course, wants to go see it. We shall see how it goes....

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