loking for a book/short story

greenspun.com : LUSENET : The Work of Edgar Allan Poe : One Thread

About 30 yrs ago I watched a dramatized version of an Edgar Allan Poe story or book on T.V. about a man who had a strange condition which caused him to slip into a coma like sleep which could cause people to think he had died. The story was woven around the mans fear of being buried alive and how this turned him into an unpopular figure with those around him and how, despite taken every precaution he was still buried alive. I dont know the title and was wondering if the story sounds familiar to any E.A.Poe admirers out there. I'd like to read the actual story. Ta Narcoleptus

-- Anonymous, November 10, 2004

Answers

What you are remembering seems to be Roger Corman's totally unfaithful horror movie version of Poe's short story "The Premature Burial", with the same title. Corman, during the sixties, made many films from Poe's tales, some with real merit and inspiration, others with too popular appeal for mere thrills, and too far from Poe's actual plots. Nevertheless, Corman was very clever when often mingling both "grotesque" and "arabesque" in his Poe adaptations, in perfect keeping with Poe's own art. His "Mask of the Red Death" remains very effective. Sometimes he used matters from several Poe's tales in a single scenario. The funniest one was probably his unusual interpretation of "The Raven", humourously staging Peter Lorre. Yours sincerely, Raven's Shade (Belgium).

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2004

Ta very much

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2004

Moderation questions? read the FAQ