Learning to Write Horror from Edgar Allan Poe (Reading and Analysis of “The Cask of Amontillado”)

As a tale of heartless revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous and lauded works. If you’d like to skip past the story, you can jump to 14:22 for the background information and my writing takeaways.
You can read a text version of my analysis on Medium: / learning-to-write-horr...
Read the text version of the short story here, with interactive definitions: poestories.com/read/amontillado
Love my channel? Treat me to a cup of coffee at ko-fi.com/quotidianwriter.
Behind-the-scenes notes for this video: ko-fi.com/Blog/Post/“The-Cask...
Twitter: / quotidianwriter
Title and End Music: “Clockwork” by Vindsvept - • Fantasy Music - Vindsv...
Background Music by Vindsvept:
+ “The Dead Marshes”
+ “Daylight’s End”
+ “Lycanthrophy"
MORE BACKGROUND INFO:
Writers often draw inspiration from each other, and Poe seemed to take his from the 1844 short story “A Man Built in a Wall” by Joel Tyler Headley. A critical essay by J. Gruesser from the collection “Poe and Place” notes the similarities, stating, “Headley tells a tale of vengeance in which the man was sealed alive behind the wall as his bitter enemy looked on,” and he “emphasizes the placing of the final stone to complete the entombment.” Poe makes the story his own by having Montresor carry out the burial himself instead of simply observing as a bystander. “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Like Poe, you can recycle elements from your favorite stories and add your own twist.
The story was also fueled by Poe’s desire for revenge. At the time, he had a feud with fellow author Thomas Dunn English. The two former friends had a falling out over a relationship scandal, which led to a fistfight. Poe, who was also a literary critic, later bashed English’s work in a magazine and called him, “a man without the commonest school education busying himself in attempts to instruct mankind in topics of literature.” As revenge, English created a caricature of Poe in one of his novels, a drunkard named Marmaduke Hammerhead who says things like “Nevermore,” in reference to Poe’s “The Raven.” In response to English’s caricatures of him, Poe sued the tabloid newspaper for libel and won. In further retaliation, Poe modeled Fortunato after his enemy…and then essentially buried him alive. As the saying goes, “Don’t piss off a writer. They’ll put you in their book, and then they will kill you.”
Introduction (0:00)
Story Narration (0:42)
Background Information (14:22)
1. Narrative Focus (17:04)
2. Purposeful Details (19:00)
3. Building Suspense (22:21)
4. A Murderer's Perspective (23:42)
5. Room for Mystery (26:05)

[@mgoogleuser8011]

"I shall not die of a cough." "True true" i replied- brilliance of Poe

[@cjpreach]

My 9th grade English teacher used "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Telltale Heart" and "A Tale of Two Cities" to get us interested in literature. It worked.

[@CeramicQuill]

For me, I was always taught to avoid scary stories. But reading these ones opened the door for me, and since then discover it as a fantastic genre.

[@anaveras5451]

I miss your content when it takes too long for you to upload. But you always make it worth with meticulious and superb videos. Thank you.

[@cjpreach]

2,355 views as of 4/26/2020. Not Enough. This ought to be part of every American Lit class in high schools across the country.

[@guilden4170]

"I shall not die of a cough." that didn't age well... HAHA

[@jchinckley]

So few (as I write this only my own and one other) thumbs up for this comment. Apparently, too many can't wall in the subtle meaning of this well-conceived pun. Or perhaps foiliyy didn't realize the full implications of the comment?

[@guilden4170]

@@jchinckley 🤷 it's for you to find out

[@notatall2237]

Unlike the wine.

[@raphaelsaint-saes6850]

The plot of The Stand.

[@jackfelldown1]

true true

[@stevenbosch429]

The arms of the Montressor family seems to have an additional aspect. “If you poison me, I will kill you even if it is the last thing I ever do.”

[@kentjennifernelson685]

I've listened to this five or six times and went and read it again for the first time in years. Very good reading. Kent

[@juancamilogomezmunera1260]

Weeks ago was looking for tips about this topic, didn't found this video, even with key terms like horror and Poe. Thx to pure luck ended watching other video from this channel and now I'm here. Really grateful for this amazing video.

[@alexandrawilliams896]

An odd combination of your soothing cadence and Poe's thematic writing. But I like it just the same. Thank you for the tips. It will definitely help with the manuscript I'm working on.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Hi there, viewers! You can now read an adapted text version of the writing lessons portion on Medium: medium.com/@quotidianwriter/learning-to-write-horror-from-edgar-allan-poe-a20f2854c97e And you can check out my behind-the-scenes notes for this video on my Ko-fi page! ko-fi.com/Blog/Post/“The-Cask-of-Amontillado”-Reading-and-Analysis-fo-B0B51651I

[@jasperdent4363]

The original Mean Girls plot 😂😱

[@jchinckley]

My thoughts? Well, it inspired Eric Woolfson, the main composer/writer for The Alan Parsons Project to create the music and lyrics for his song "The Cask of Amontillado" for their "Tales Of Mystery And Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe" album. For fans of Poe and good music, I recommend it highly along with all of their other albums.

[@MxZui]

I'm so happy you're back ^^

[@noizetv4240]

With the holidays approaching I hope that there will be atleast one more narration by you. I'd love it having enjoyed this video.

[@nicolearetz2703]

You have read the story in a great way. I like the pictures, accompanying your reading. Where do they come from? Tomorrow I will go further with your analysis. Stay healthy, Diane, whereever you are!

[@QuotidianWriter]

Thank you very much! The pictures come from three different graphic novel adaptations of Poe's stories, including "Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation" by Gareth Hinds, "Manga Classics: Stories of Edgar Allan Poe," and "Graphic Classics" illustrated by Pedro Lopez. Take care, Nicole! :)

[@nicolearetz2703]

I now see the story with different eyes. I did not know how much is in it. Your analysis has been done with love to the story and Edgar Allan Poe's literature, added by the choice of the beautiful pictures. I had a lot of fun and thrill following your video. I take some great inspiration from it. Thank you!

[@Jessica-ej9tm]

fave short story!

[@ismirdochegal4804]

It is like a painting that is satisfyingly complete with the few strokes of colour. Your narrating gives the whole thing a nice framework. Somehow I can't do anything with the story. It's just like a book that you put down and think: anyway, now for something completely different.

[@maninironmask7925]

Marvelous Review! Thanks for this informative and delicious sip of Red Gory Poe.

[@Master_Blackthorne]

Maybe Montresor walled up Fortunato because he critiqued his short story. It's happened before.

[@Negentropy.]

Can we get more Story/poetry readings like "Amontillado"?

[@reemaw4133]

Thank you so much for making such informative and useful videos. They have helped me a lot. I have become your fan.

[@Thenoobestgirl]

The catacombs of Paris are really cool and interesting to see in person. 10/10 recommend a visit :)

[@coralreeves4276]

I honestly thought Montressor was not right in the head when he carried out his revenge because of the lack of a clear motive. Fortunato seems like a fool who likes to annoy people to the point of madness. That lack didn't change the fact that him bricking his 'friend' into a wall disturbed the hell out of me.

[@BenAC75]

I have a question and I'm hoping it makes sense. First, I'm writing a story in the fantasy genre. It's not a horror story but does have horrific elements. It will have some horrific scenes as well. Does it being a fantasy story change how I write the horrific elements and horrific scenes? I'm just asking because in my mind it seems like there would be an overall tone to the story. Is it going to hurt the story for the horrific scenes to deviate from the overall tone? The general tone of the story is going to be a bit on the darker side so, maybe it wouldn't hurt for some scenes to be horrific? I think there was a shorter way to say all of that but I can be a bit wordy when writing/typing.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Dark fantasy often combines horror with a fantastical setting! In fantasy, the horror more often stems from the world-building, like how the prologue to "A Game of Thrones" has the White Walkers. If you establish the story's darker tone in one of the opening scenes, I don't think the horrific scenes will hurt the reader's experience, since you've created the expectation upfront that it will be a darker tale. Victor LaValle is a great contemporary author of the type of fiction you're describing, especially his novel "The Changeling." You can also read short stories with that dark fantasy/horror blend in "Nightmare Magazine" to see how other writers execute their horrific scenes. Keep writing! :)

[@rajveersinhrajput83]

👍👍👍👍

[@stevenbosch429]

The Merchant of Venice has Shylock may help us understand Montressor’s motivations. Like Shylock Montressor believes he is beset on all sides by idiots: “possessions s” and the petty crooks and quacks who prey on the gullible wealthy foreigners. The Montressor family seems to have faded from their stations in society. Maybe Montressor blames Fortunato for his fall from society. Montressor may fancy himself a true descendant of the Borgias who paid back their tormentors with poison and torture.

[@thomaslarson459]

For the love of God, Montresor! -- Best utterance was by Walter Koenig.

[@arnav3642]

Therapeutic as always haha

[@AMNG1994]

For all we know the only thing Fortunato did to Montressor was not like his last post on Instagram.

[@nicklaslouie5693]

Amontillado? Amontillado? Amontillado?

[@QuotidianWriter]

Amontilladooooo.

[@NeroVuk]

Are you disappointed when some of your videos get not as many views as some othhers? 😅

[@QuotidianWriter]

I'm thankful for every single view and comment I receive, so I'm happy to see you venture toward this video. :)

[@NeroVuk]

@@QuotidianWriter I think I've seen all of your videos. Good stuff. Mostly :P Keep up the good work.

[@peterdollins3610]

I know and hate this story.

[@QuotidianWriter]

Haha, it's one of the stories I was forced to read in school and felt indifferent toward but came to appreciate later. What do you hate about it?