The Black Cat and Other Short Stories

By Edgar Allan Poe & illustrations by Luis Scafati
Translated from English to Korean by Kang Mi-kyung.
Munhak: 107 pp., 9,500 won

This is no storybook for children. Accompanied with Luis Scafati’s stylistic yet harrowing black and white drawings, Edgar Allan Poe’s horror stories make violent graphic novels for adults, such as ``Watchmen,’’ look rather tame.

This year marks the bicentennial of the birth of the late American writer (1809-49), and Munhak provides reliable Korean translations of ``The Black Cat,’’ ``The Pit and the Pendulum’’ and ``The Premature Burial.’’

Poe achieved fame posthumously. During his short lifetime he suffered from constant poverty, nervous breakdown, depression and inebriety. The short stories explore the dark side of human nature, from irrational rage to insanity, and dream up the greatest nightmares like being buried alive and flirting with death.

The line-by-line translation transports the reader into the macabre world of Poe.