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“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

This horror story by Edgar Allan Poe is also told from the perspective of a first-person narrator and, like “The Oval Portrait,” uses words economically to explore the psyche of its protagonist. Where “The Oval Portrait” explores the psychology of love and obsession, “The Tell-Tale Heart” explores paranoia and madness. Neither narrator is aware of their own neuroses, but both reveal them to the reader through their own narration.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

“The Lottery” is a masterpiece of the short story form which employs a similar surprise ending as “The Oval Portrait.” While the build toward the story’s shocking conclusion is not as obvious as Poe’s foreshadowing, “The Lottery” achieves one of Poe’s ideals of short fiction: a revelation about the human condition through horror and loss.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Faulkner’s classic short story is written in the Southern Gothic style, which was heavily influenced by early Gothic writers like Edgar Allan Poe. Set in a similarly grand yet decaying home, “A Rose for Emily” explores the darkness of human psychology and focuses on themes related to love and obsession.

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