The Masque of the Red Death (1964 film) said he always felt "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" were the two best Poe stories. After the success of "House of Usher" (1960), he strongly considered making "Masque" as the follow-up. In 1961, Corman announced he would make "Masque" from a script by Charles Beaumont to be produced for his Filmgroup Company. However, he later said was reluctant to move forward because it had several elements similar to "The Seventh Seal" (1957), and Corman was worried people would say he was stealing from Bergman. "I kept moving "The Masque of the
Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales of the Red Death setting combines real-world history with legends and literature. Thus, necromancers practice dark arts among the slave traders of New Orleans, while Buenos Aires agricultural barons attempt to squelch rumors of monstrous winged serpents. Spirit creatures stalk the settlers of the American West. Sherlock Holmes shares a railroad car with Count Dracula. Unlike the basic Ravenloft setting, where mysterious mists divide the realm into distinct settings, the Gothic Earth setting has no divisions. "Masque" begins by replacing the traditional character classes with soldiers (like fighters, but can’t specialize in favored weapons), adepts (wizards with limited magic and