The prince and ruler of the country, the one with power and resources, decided not only to send no help or aid to the population, but to gather only a few healthy and selected friends and isolate themselves from the horrors of the the red death that was surrounding them.

And there they stayed, with no respect for the dying ones, they went into a crazy frenesi for months, laughing and living the best of the life they believed they deserved.

Regardless the desolation, Prince Prospero organized and opulent masked ball, where him and his followers would fulfill even more of their dreams and hedonism.

Until at midnight, the twelveth clang of the chiming clock, an unknown guest started walking among the dancers and sparkled doubt, but foremost, disgust, as the figure was like a living corpse, with a mask that none had seen before.

Prospero was filled with rage and attacked the presence, but with a glare, fell to the ground, montionless and dead.

The guests had little time to assimilate what had just happened in front of their eyes… and also one by one, each succumbed to the same state of “deathness” of their leader.

The pestilence reclaimed its souls, as no one could ever escape The Red Death.

casements - type of window

shrouded - to hide, to cover

brazier - braseiro

gaudy - bright colors

ghastly - frightening

countenances - someone’s expressions

to hark - listen closely

giddiest - dizziness

fête - special celebration

piquancy - excitement or spicy taste

wanton - to cause harm

writhe - make twisting movements

waning away - become weaker

sable - dark brown or black color

jests - jokes

gaunt - thin because of illness or hunger

latter - something previously mentioned

throng - large group of people

cerements - a cloth to wrap the dead

• Blue: Birth

• Purple: Youth

• Green: Adolescence

• Orange: Adulthood

• White: Old age

• Violet: Imminent death

• Black/scarlet: Death

In Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, the ebony clock symbolizes the passage of time and the inevitability of death

• Time

  The clock strikes the hour, reminding the guests that their revels must end and that time is passing. 

• Death

  The clock's chimes are so loud that they silence everyone in the estate, and when the clock strikes midnight, death appears among the guests. 

• Fear

  The guests are afraid of what the clock brings, and their reaction to the clock's striking indicates their fear of death

Since a very young age, me and my family would read stories from Agatha Christie, Sidney Sheldon and many other authors with an intriguing narrative to tell.

With Allan Poe being pretty much the inventor of the genre, I searched for some of his books, but I was too young and didn’t understand how deep his tales would go.

And most important: I read in Portuguese, in a time when I knew nothing about good translations and didn’t read in English unless it was for my English course.

The opportunity this exercise brought, made me excited to finally give it a try and that’s why I ended up doing a whole padlet about it.

Some words I had never heard before, but realizing that I was able to read and understand that level of English, made me and the little Carol from the past really proud.

Having also enough maturity today to understand what goes behind an eerie Poe’s story, I’m sure my journey reading his incredible life work has only started. 🖤🩶

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He was born in 1809 in Massachussets, but his death in 1849 is still a puzzle.

He is generally considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre.

Poe's earnest attempts to make a living as a writer were mostly unsuccessful. However, he eventually managed to earn a living by his pen alone, becoming one of the first American authors to do so.

The mystery surrounding his death started with the fact that he was found semiconscious, in great distress and in need of assistance. He was not coherent long enough to explain what had happened to him and why he was wearing clothes that weren’t of his own.

The night before his death he was repeatedly calling out the name “Reynolds”, but no one knows to whom he was referring.

The hospital’s physician said his last words were “Lord help my poor soul”.

The medical records and the death certificate have been lost, therefore, the actual cause of his death remains a mystery.