Lora Hates Spam

by Edgar Allen Poe

This story is classic Poe and fairly well known, but I'll try to avoid spoilers anyway. It's about a man who has endured constant insults by a man named Fortunado. The Horror aspect is the coldness within which he plans a premeditated murder out of revenge.

The two men are ostensibly friends and Fortunado is invited to enjoy a special wine, Amontillado, secretly in the dark cellar that serves as both wine cellar and catacomb. What could go wrong?

In a way I was disappointed by the lack of emotion put into the latter part of the story. I knew it from a song written by the Alan Parsons Project by the same title. If you're read the story but not heard the song, I strongly recommend going to YouTube to have a listen. It captured the despair of the victim in a haunting manner that was actually missing from the written story.

There is no supernatural aspect to this particular Poe story. It is pure human cruelty to his own species. If torture and torment are your thing, Poe can always be trusted to deliver.