This book contains Edgar Allan Poe’s 1844 short story, “The Premature Burial”. The narrator describes his life-long obsession and a resulting disorder that sees him slip in and out of death-like trances. His true fear is being mistaken for dead during a trance and buried without his knowledge—a situation that he takes numerous precautions against. After finding himself waking in a claustrophobic and confined space, he is able to confront his fears and embrace the inevitable. Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American author, editor, poet, and critic. Most famous for his stories of mystery and horror, he was one of the first American short story writers, and is widely considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre. Many antiquarian books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.