There are five stories in this book. 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and 'The Barrel of Amontillado' are stories of madness; 'The Maelstrom' describes fear of death during a storm on the ocean; and in 'The Murders of the Rue Morgue' and 'The Stolen Letter' meet C. Auguste Dupin, Poe's famous Parisian detective.