Horror | Lecturia

Edgar Allan Poe: The Masque of the Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in 1842, immerses the reader in an allegory about the inevitability of death. Set in an indeterminate time plagued by a devastating plague known as the Red Death, the kingdom’s prince decides to isolate himself in his fortified abbey along with other nobles, seeking to escape the disease. He organizes a luxurious masked ball in his refuge, ignoring the suffering ravaging the outside world. However, some guests do show up, even if they are not called.

H. P. Lovecraft: The Nameless City

In “The Nameless City,” a story by H. P. Lovecraft published in 1921, the protagonist recounts his terrifying exploration of an ancient and forgotten city lost in the Arabian desert. Despite local warnings and fears about this cursed place, whose history is lost in antiquity, the man ventures into its ruins. He discovers vestiges of an unknown and deeply disturbing civilization that practiced strange rites and venerated reptilian beings there. As he explores underground temples and descending passages, he is confronted with evidence of a chilling reality that defies human comprehension.

H. P. Lovecraft: The hound

“The Hound” is a horror story by H. P. Lovecraft, published in 1924. The narrative follows two fans of the macabre who seek extreme emotions to relieve their boredom. Both are collectors of esoteric artifacts and practice grave robbing to obtain rare and mystical objects. During one of their expeditions to a Dutch cemetery, they unearth an ancient amulet shaped like a winged hound linked to dark and nefarious rituals described in the Necronomicon. The moment they possess it, a wave of supernatural events is unleashed around the two friends.

H. P. Lovecraft: Dagon

In “Dagon,” a short story by H. P. Lovecraft published in 1919, a man recounts a traumatic experience that has brought him to the brink of madness. After escaping from a ship during the First World War, he finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean until a strange geological phenomenon transports him to a desolate landscape, where he discovers a monolith and witnesses the appearance of a gigantic and abominable creature. “Dagon” is an early Lovecraft story that establishes the guidelines for what will become the distinctive hallmarks of his literary universe, which led him to become a renowned master of cosmic and ancestral horror.

H. P. Lovecraft: Cool Air

Cool Air is a story by H. P. Lovecraft published in 1928 in the magazine Tales of Magic and Mystery. It narrates the experience of a man who moves into a boarding house in New York, where he meets Dr. Muñoz, who lives on the floor above him. The doctor is cultured and refined, but suffers from a mysterious illness that forces him to keep his room at a very low temperature. Over time, the relationship between the two grows closer, allowing the man to discover the mystery behind the doctor’s strange behavior.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Rappaccini’s Daughter

Rappaccini’s Daughter, a gothic tale by Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells the story of Giovanni Guasconti, a young student who arrives in Padua and settles in a modest room overlooking a mysterious garden. This garden belongs to Dr. Rapaccini, a scientist renowned for experimenting with poisonous plants. Giovanni soon becomes fascinated by Beatrice, the doctor’s beautiful daughter, who seems to live in symbiosis with the garden’s strange plants. As Giovanni approaches Beatrice, he discovers that her beauty hides a deadly danger.