An unnamed narrator marries Morella, a woman who delves into mysticism. As a result of her experimentations her soul can never die, but her physical form continues to deteriorate. She spends her time in bed and teaches her husband the black arts. Realizing her curse, her husband, the narrator, becomes frightened and wishes for his wife's death and eternal peace. She dies in childbirth but her soul passes into the new baby. As the daughter gets older the narrator notices she bears an uncanny resemblance to her mother, but he refuses to give the child a name. By her tenth birthday the resemblance to Morella is frightening. Her father decides to have her baptized to release any evil from her, but this event brings the mother's soul back into her daughter. At the ceremony, the priest asks the daughter's name, to which the narrator replies, "Morella." Immediately, the daughter replies, "I am here!" and dies. The narrator himself bears her body to the tomb and finds no trace of the first Morella where he lays the second.
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"It doesn't get any better than this, folks. Edgar Allan Poe is the unchallenged master of horror and what got me into reading books. His short stories always deliver and are imbued with a unique horror aura. The stuff of legends, ladies and gentlemens. "
— Alessandro (5 out of 5 stars)
" As far as I will go when it comes to reading horror. I love Poe. He lived such a sad yet fascinating life, it's interesting to me to read his works and see a product of such a life he lived. "
— Kristina, 3/11/2011" Some good stuff in there; mostly a lot of second-rate stuff (in my opinion). I learned from reading this book that I don't much care for Poe. More power to those who do. "
— Sam, 11/30/2010" So many books I've read lately referred to Poe that I felt I ought to re-read some of the short stories. In the end, I've opted for three stars, as the good ones are really good, and for the most part balance out the stories which grabbed me less. "
— Trish, 10/6/2010" Poe was a HUGE influence in my writing short fiction. His tales are brilliant and psychologically chilling. "
— Rosalía, 7/30/2010" I think this book is really good! I recomend everyone to read this if the are interested into the life of Edgar Allen Poe. He is a really creppy person but his stories have a way of pulling me in and keep me reading. "
— Taylor, 1/11/2010" I really hate Poe. I'm only reading this because I have to. "
— Laurinda, 1/11/2010" This book is decent ... I read the English edition... They only thing lacking is his amazing collection of poems... this was a poet who was very deep and dark at times but the short stories only show his lighter side.. But great work to say the least.. "
— Damon, 8/12/2009" Many of the stories in this collection tend towards the monotonous and dull. There are the odd one or two which are engaging but overall the writing comes across as laboured and grinding. A great little dust collector, this one. "
— Sean, 1/14/2009Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1848) transformed the American literary landscape with his innovations in the short story genre and his haunting lyrical poetry, and he is credited with inventing American gothic horror and detective fiction. He was first published in 1827 and then began a career as a magazine writer and editor and a sharp literary critic. In 1845 the publication of his most famous poem, “The Raven,” brought him national fame.
Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.