"I neither expect nor ask you to believe the very wild, yet very homely, tale I am about to write. I would be mad if I expected it, in a case where even my senses reject their own evidence. However, I am not mad, and with great certainty I can say that I do not dream. But tomorrow I shall die, and today I shall ease my soul." Thus begins the story of "The Black Cat." In it—as in "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Premature Burial," stories that make up this selection—the everyday is invaded by a dark and disconcerting nature. Rational understanding proves meager in the face of the power of the implausible and the irruption of the supernatural element. The stories collected here are crafted by a pen that highlights the most atrocious and gloomy features. The illustrations by the celebrated Argentine artist Luis Scafati explore the play of chiaroscuro in compositions where ink stains merge with blood stains, recreating the macabre atmospheres and characters of Poe's dark universe.