The 25 Best Edgar Allan Poe Stories

Before you see The Raven this weekend (at your own peril), return to the source.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Once upon a midnight dreary, we awoke to find Edgar Allan Poe in the theatres once again. We say "dreary," because according to IMBD, Poe's work has been adapted to film 250 times, but not one of those efforts has nailed down the unencumbered tale of Poe's life and work we so badly want to see. Case in point: The Raven, which swoops into theaters today with John Cusack taking on the role of the famously enigmatic author, but with none of Poe's trademark macabre flair. Instead, director James McTeigue paints Poe as a slick action star, taking a flashy Hollywood spin on his life that would leave Poe furiously clawing at his coffin.

If you're looking to probe Poe's dark and twisted imagination, unconstrained by Cusack, look no further than his classic short stories. While they are fictional tales, critics have long believed that the reality of Poe's life, which was marked by struggle and heartache, was transposed into his work, which is why each tale is encircled by the threat of impending darkness, and tainted by intimations of horror. Take a journey into the many melancholy moods of our favorite morbid author with The 25 Best Edgar Allan Poe Stories. Before purists riot in the streets, though, be warned: neither "The Raven" or "Annabel Lee," both of which are technically poems, appear for this distinctive reason. And, just a suggestion: You might want to keep the lights on.

[Note: Much of the artwork featured can be attributed to Harry Clarke, an Irish illustrator and stained glass artist who illustrated Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Clarke adds another degree of darkness to Poe's work, and heightens the anxiety embedded in Poe's tales, much like those chill-inducing Stephen Gammell illustrations that accompanied our favorite childhood series, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.]

Written by Shanté Cosme (@ShanteCosme)

Follow @ComplexPopCult

25. "The Premature Burial" (1850)

Not Available Interstitial

24. "Morella" (1835)

Not Available Interstitial

23. "The Murders In The Rue Morgue” (1841)

Not Available Interstitial

22. "The Gold Bug" (1843)

Not Available Interstitial

21. "The Imp Of The Perverse" (1850)

Not Available Interstitial

20. "Eleonora" (1850)

Not Available Interstitial

19. "William Wilson" (1839)

Not Available Interstitial

18. "The System Of Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether" (1856)

Not Available Interstitial

17. "Berenice" (1835)

Not Available Interstitial

16. "The Balloon Hoax" (1844)

Not Available Interstitial

15. "Hop-Frog" (1845)

Not Available Interstitial

14. "The Oval Portrait" (1842)

Not Available Interstitial

13. "The Spectacles" (1850)

Not Available Interstitial

12. "A Descent Into The Maelström" (1845)

Not Available Interstitial

11. "Never Bet The Devil Your Head" (1850)

Not Available Interstitial

10. “The Black Cat" (1842)

Not Available Interstitial

9. "The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar" (1845)

Not Available Interstitial

8. "MS. Found In A Bottle" (1833) 

Not Available Interstitial

7. "The Purloined Letter" (1845) 

Not Available Interstitial

6. “The Pit And The Pendulum” (1843)

Not Available Interstitial

5. "Ligeia" (1838)

Not Available Interstitial

4. “The Fall Of The House of Usher” (1839)

Not Available Interstitial

3. "The Masque Of The Red Death" (1850)

Not Available Interstitial

2. "The Cask Of Amontillado" (1846)

Not Available Interstitial

1. “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843)

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Pop Culture