For other uses, see The Masque of the Red Death (disambiguation).
"The Masque of the Red Death"
Short story by Edgar Allan Poe
Illustration for "The Masque of the Red Death" by Harry Clarke, 1919
Text available at Wikisource
Original title
The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre(s)
Gothic fiction, horror
Publication
Publisher
Graham's Magazine
Publication date
May 1842
"The Masque of the Red Death" (originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey. He, along with many other wealthy nobles, hosts a masquerade ball in seven rooms of the abbey, each decorated with a different color. In the midst of their revelry, a mysterious figure disguised as a Red Death victim enters and makes his way through each of the rooms. Prospero dies after confronting this stranger, whose "costume" proves to contain nothing tangible inside it; the guests also die in turn.
Poe's story follows many traditions of Gothic fiction and is often analyzed as an allegory about the inevitability of death, though some critics advise against an allegorical reading. Many different interpretations have been presented, as well as attempts to identify the true nature of the eponymous disease. The story was first published in May 1842 in Graham's Magazine and has since been adapted in many different forms, including a 1964 film starring Vincent Price. Poe's short story has also been alluded to by other works in many types of media.
and 18 Related for: The Masque of the Red Death information
Sally..., MasqueoftheRedDeath, A League of Their Own, and Apollo 13. Reiner was born Tracy Henry in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the daughter of actress...
ball (or bal masqué) is a special kind of formal ball which many participants attend in costume wearing masks. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written...
Pictures: The Premature Burial (1962), The Raven (1963) and The MasqueoftheRedDeath (1964). Court was born in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire. Her father...
unrelated to Elfquest. Taking the Edgar Allan Poe short story "MasqueoftheRedDeath" as a starting point, she adapted the tale into both graphic novel...
adaptation ofMasqueoftheredDeath, produced, not coincidentally, for Corman's new production company, Concorde/New Horizons,... "MasqueoftheRedDeath, The...
as Deep End (1970), TheMasqueoftheRedDeath (1964), Alfie (1966), The Mistress, Crossroads, Death at a Funeral (2007), and The Old Guys. She also appeared...
write MasqueoftheRedDeath and announced two films, Captain Nemo and the Floating City and House of Secrets. The Intruder Following The Pit and the Pendulum...
(1961), The Haunted Palace (1963), and TheMasqueoftheRedDeath (1964), most of which were Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. Price appeared in the television...
Green also appeared in a number of horror films, including Corridors of Blood (1958), TheMasqueoftheRedDeath (1964), The Skull (1965), Let's Kill Uncle...
suggests that the type of horror conveyed by fantasy stories such as William Beckford's Vathek and Edgar Allan Poe's TheMasqueoftheRedDeath "is more aesthetic...