The Masque of the Red Death

My Thoughts

This tale was particularly brutal due to the similarities that it had to real historical connotations. An extremely deadly plague is ravaging the country. This affliction goes from inception to death in the matter of half an hour. It is named the Red Death due to the profuse bleeding it causes through the orifices of the human body. An extremely wealthy prince decides to invite a thousand of his friends to hold out at his walled-in castle to avoid any chance of getting the contagion. While he and his guest are there, they throw lavish masquerade parties while the rest of the country dies in agony.

Rather than saving perhaps tens of thousands of people, the prince allows the lower classes die while he enjoys luxurious parties. This is, of course, until the Red Death shows up in costume to wreak havoc upon the aristocrats. What mysterious powers bring this affliction to life in some physical form is unknown, but it is likely fueled by the agony of his kingdom that he let suffer so terribly. By the end of the party, everyone became inflicted with the plague and died writhing in pain.

My Rating

I would rate this story a 4.1 out of 5. The story contains class struggle, supernatural revenge, and a bit of poetic justice. I thought the aristocratic attitude was hauntingly well portrayed. The lack of sympathy from the elites towards the lower class was exceptionally well written and filled me with anger knowing how much of a good time they were having as the lower class suffered ever so greatly. The physical conjuration of the Red Death, in my opinion, was built up by the malice and anger of the victims. It manifested into a physical form composed of pain and anguish and was programmed to welcome the aristocracy to reality.