The story was first published in May 1842 in Graham’s Magazine. State and county case rates per 100,000 (over two weeks) are updated weekly on Thursdays. Many different interpretations have been presented, as well as attempts to identify the true nature of the titular disease. Deaths are assigned to their appropriate date of death. The story follows many traditions of Gothic fiction and is often analyzed as an allegory about the inevitability of death, though some critics advise against an allegorical reading. Prospero dies after confronting this stranger, as do the guests. In the midst of their revelry, a mysterious figure enters and makes his way through each of the rooms. He, along with many other wealthy nobles, has a masquerade ball within seven rooms of his abbey, each decorated with a different color. The story follows Prince Prospero’s attempts to avoid a dangerous plague known as the Red Death by hiding in his abbey. When other party-goers enter the room to attack the cloaked man, they find that there is nobody beneath the costume.From Wikipedia: “The Masque of the Red Death”, originally published as “The Mask of the Red Death” (1842), is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. As soon as he confronts the figure, Prospero dies. Prospero finally catches up to the new guest in the black-and-red room.

The other guests, however, are so afraid of this masked man that they fail to prevent him from walking through each room. Prospero becomes angry that someone with so little humor and levity would join his party. His mask looks like the face of a corpse, his garments resemble a funeral shroud, and his face reveals spots of blood suggesting that he is a victim of the Red Death. Most guests, however, avoid the final, black-and-red room because it contains both the clock and an ominous ambience.Īt midnight, a new guest appears, dressed more ghoulishly than his counterparts. When the clock is not sounding, though, the rooms are so beautiful and strange that they seem to be filled with dreams, swirling among the revelers. When the clock rings each hour, its sound is so loud and distracting that everyone stops talking and the orchestra stops playing. The seventh room is black, with red windows. The rooms continue westward, according to this design, in the following color arrangement: green, orange, white, and violet. The next room is purple with the same stained-glass window pattern. The easternmost room is decorated in blue, with blue stained-glass windows. For this celebration, he decorates the rooms of his house in single colors. After several months, he throws a fancy masquerade ball. He decides to lock the gates of his palace in order to fend off the plague, ignoring the illness ravaging the land. Even though this disease is spreading rampantly, the prince, Prospero, feels happy and hopeful. A disease known as the Red Death plagues the fictional country where this tale is set, and it causes its victims to die quickly and gruesomely. The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe.

The masque of the red death read online