The Premature Burial

The story unanimously voices Poe’s obsessive concern with premature burial. Dwelling on humanity’s fear of being buried alive, Edgar Allan Poe provides not only examples of such dire practices, but engages the protagonist in a similar one as well. The story finishes with a plot twist – eerily claustrophobic and abnormally real for the narrator. And despite the fact that horror gives way to the voice of reason in the end, perhaps it is better to buy some cord and a small bell, just in case.



Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet, author, and literary critic. Most famous for his poetry, short stories, and tales of the supernatural, mysterious, and macabre, he is also regarded as the inventor of the detective genre and a contributor to the emergence of science fiction, dark romanticism, and weird fiction. His most famous works include "The Raven" (1945), "The Black Cat" (1943), and "The Gold-Bug" (1843).