Devin

True!-Nervous-Very, very dreadfully nervous...

Poe's story of a delusional killer who is driven to insanity by the sound of his dead victim's beating heart is essential reading. It is written from the point-of-view of this madman who fixates on specifics and attempts, in earnest, to persuade us of his sanity. Poe's prose is full of rhythm, especially through the use of repetition, which is also linked to insanity. This repetition builds as the tension swells until the narrator has an emotional outburst, first of violence, then of delirium. This is a masterful short narrative, and the first-person writing is utterly captivating, from the moment those first words make contact with our own eyes.

Horror arrives to those who are most unexpecting. Saki's short story of two rich land owners, who have generational grudges against one another find each other trapped in each other's company within the forest area they have been disputing over. The Interlopers is a brilliant little read, equal parts horror and comedy, as Saki renders the human capacity for bitterness and pettiness as small needless things that consume people's lives until they are faced with the possibility of death. My only qualm with this short work is that these characters transform their beliefs too fast for my taste. I would have loved to read a slightly more gradual approach to this, but I do admire the sharpness and wittiness with which Saki can convey his ideas. The bluntness of the final line is hilarious, but also a horrific realization, and the what might have occurred afterwards was left to my imagination. The first question that may come to mind after reading this is, is 'Who are the real interlopers?' however, the follow-up question, 'Why are they the interlopers?' is an even better approach to understanding this short piece.

Makes for an interesting companion piece with William Golding's Lord of the Flies, but it is very much dated with the sentiments of its own time.