The narrator is haunted by the sound of his own heartbeat, which he believes will betray his guilt and reveal the murder he has committed.

Della is the main character in "The Gift of the Magi", a young woman who sacrifices her long hair to buy her husband a Christmas present.

The family's wish for wealth is granted, but it comes at a terrible cost: their son is killed in an accident.

The King is the mysterious stranger who presents the protagonist with the choice between two doors, one of which contains a lady and the other a tiger.

Mathilde Loisel loses a diamond necklace that she had borrowed from a friend, and she and her husband spend years working to repay the debt.

Montresor is the protagonist of "The Cask of Amontillado", a man who seeks revenge on his friend Fortunato for an insult.

Prospero is the prince who hosts the masquerade ball in "The Masque of the Red Death", a story about a group of people who try to escape the plague by locking themselves in a castle.

The narrator is the protagonist of "The Fall of the House of Usher", a man who visits his friend Roderick Usher and his sister Madeline at their crumbling mansion.

The protagonist of "The Pit and the Pendulum" is held in a prison called "The Pit and the Pendulum", a dark and sinister place where he is tortured.

C. Auguste Dupin is the protagonist of "The Purloined Letter", a detective who is hired to find a stolen letter from the French Minister of Police.

The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" kills his landlord, an old man with a "vulture eye" that he believes is watching him.

Della is the main character in "The Gift of the Magi", a young woman who sacrifices her long hair to buy her husband a Christmas present.

The family's wish for wealth is granted, but it comes at a terrible cost: their son is killed in an accident.

The King is the mysterious stranger who presents the protagonist with the choice between two doors, one of which contains a lady and the other a tiger.

Mathilde Loisel loses a diamond necklace that she had borrowed from a friend, and she and her husband spend years working to repay the debt.