Edgar Allan Poe is still giving audiences a good scare even 169 years after his death. Everyone needs a scare every now and again or else life would be boring. Edgar Allan Poe gives audiences the scare that they need in an entertaining way. He also sparks people's imagination by leaving gaping holes in his writing so that one  can piece together there own opinion about what is happening. Poe uses suspense to create his element of horror and to give the reader something to think about.

In any work that belongs to Edgar Allan Poe a large amount of suspense and mystery can be found. In the Cask of Amontillado the end is a cliffhanger which could go many ways in the end there was “ no answer” from Fortunato when Montresor called for him (Poe,14). The only thing readers can get from this was Fortunato died after being enclosed in the catacombs. But readers do not know how he died and there are several possibilities that he had a heart attack or burnt to death or died of alcohol poisoning or poison in the alcohol montresor gave him. This is a prime example of suspense from Edgar Allan Poe because he leaves enough evidence in the story for theories to be made but never answered.

One thing Poe does is make things seem one way but then he twists them in the end making his readers go through the suspenseful process of waiting for the twist. In the “Tell Tale Heart” the murderer seems like he will get away with the crime until at the end he”shrieked ’dissemble no more! I admit the deed!-tear up the planks!-here,hear-it is the beating of his hideous heart.”(Poe, 6). In this the murderer seems very confident in himself and even lets the police search in the house as they please. When the murderers confidence is at an all time high he starts hearing what he identifies as a bothersome and maddening sound. This scene lasts for a long time making readers wonder how the story will end until he confesses to the crime. Poe bends stories in unexpected ways and often makes readers wait until the end of the story to find out.

Edgar Allan Poe’s attention to detail creates suspenseful moods. In “The Black Cat” Poe describes everything that he sees to help the reader see. In the story he describes the car as” a remarkably large and beautiful animal, entirely black”(Poe, 27). The description of the cat makes the readers suspicious because black cats often have a negative connotation. It also makes readers wonder why the author chose to describe this detail. If the author puts in the effort to explain something then you know that it is an important part of the story. The mood of the story can build up suspense without giving any hints.