The Oval Portrait is the rhythmical creation of beauty, and that the most poetical topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman (see "The Philosophy of Composition"). "The Oval Portrait" suggests that the woman's beauty condemns her to death. Poe suggests in the tale that art can reveal the artist's guilt or evil and that the artist feeds on and may even destroy the life he has modeled into art. "The Oval Portrait" was first published as a longer version titled "Life in Death" in "Graham's Magazine" in 1842. "Life in Death" included a few introductory paragraphs explaining how the
Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales with a cover by Robh Ruppel. Rick Swan reviewed "Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales" for "Dragon" magazine #216 (April 1995). He declares that "Masque of the Red Death" is cause for celebration, especially for players whose "AD&D" game campaigns have gone stale. Not exactly the Ravenloft setting and not exactly a new game, Connors' little mutant is the most provocative "AD&D" variant since the Spelljammer campaign." He commented: "Balancing blood-soaked imagery with humorous flourishes [...] "Masque" deftly combines the gloom of White Wolf's "" game and the whimsy of R. Talsorian's "Castle Falkenstein" game. Though "Masque" would've