The Murders in the Rue Morgue as the first detective fiction story, the character of Dupin became the prototype for many future fictional detectives, including Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. The genre is distinctive from a general mystery story in that the focus is on analysis. Poe's role in the creation of the detective story is reflected in the Edgar Awards, given annually by the Mystery Writers of America. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" also established many tropes that would become common elements in mystery fiction: the eccentric but brilliant detective, the bumbling constabulary, the first-person narration by a close
The Masque of the Red Death (play) Friday and Saturday nights throughout the run were "Red Death Lates", an open after-party for show attendees and others, involving members of the cast together with changing external entertainment. The move from the main theatre show through to the afterparty was handled seamlessly by virtue of the fact that the final scene in The Masque Of The Red Death involved a party in the main hall in celebration of the passing of the eponymous plague. Although the main elements of the show were a collaboration between Punchdrunk and the Battersea Arts Centre, the production also commissioned other artists and groups