The Masque of the Red Death — Edgar Allan Poe

Within their refuge from a terrible plague called the Red Death, Prince Prospero and his court hold an opulent masquerade ball. But one uninvited guest means death for everyone. A pioneer of the short story genre, Poe's stories typically captured themes of the macabre and included elements of the mysterious. His better-known stories include The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Masque of the Red Death and The Tell-Tale Heart.