The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado is a horror story by writer Edgar Allan Poe published in 1846.
This tale, set during carnival in an unnamed Italian city, tells a story of revenge. In the past, Fortunato humiliated Montresor and he is left hurt by said humiliation. At the beginning of the story, Montresor looks for Fortunato to consummate his revenge. He finds him drunk and dressed in motley, and lures him along with the promise of a cask of amontillado waiting to be tasted.
Montresor leads him down into the family vaults, deeper into the niter and the bones, and there he carries out the revenge he has been planning: he chains Fortunato into a recess in the wall and closes it up with brick and mortar, tier by tier.
The Cask of Amontillado is one of the last stories Poe wrote, shortly before the death of his wife and his own decline. This story reveals the perfection in the narrative achieved by Poe, knowing all the tools and skills of that job. In addition, it allows us to glimpse that process of vital disenchantment which even added more artistic excellence to his work.
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Public domain (US)·No sign-up·DRM-free·Real text, not scans
Copyright note. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading The Cask of Amontillado in PDF or EPUB.
- Pages
- 9
- Reading time
- 12 minutes
- Pace
- Fast
- First published
- 1846
- Language
- English
- Downloads
- 3,084
180 years later, still timely
Why Read The Cask of Amontillado in 2026?
A revenge sealed brick by brick. Poe compresses pride, insult, and dread into nine unforgettable pages—proof that terror doesn’t need spectacle. It’s a masterclass in voice: the calmest narrator in the darkest corridor.
Today's connection
Short attention spans still crave precision. This tale teaches unreliable narration, irony, and pacing you can feel in your pulse—useful for writers, students, and anyone who loves craft that leaves a lasting chill.
Voice as trap
Trust erodes line by line.
Catacomb logic
Plans that become prisons.
Quiet shock
Dread built, not shouted.
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About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
Precision of mood and method that invents detective logic and the claustrophobia of obsession.
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From The Cask of Amontillado
I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.
Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris.
A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.
A million candles have burned themselves out. Still I read on.