Mental Horror

Edgar Allan Poe made great contribution to horror fiction. This paper aims to interpret the specific artistic charm based on the analysis of the background, theme, form and aesthetics of terror in Poe's horror fictions.Poe's inheritance of gothic fiction and American literature tradition combined with his living experience forms the background of his horror fictions. Poe inherited the tradition of the gothic fictions in the 18th century and made innovations on it, so as to penetrate to subconsciousness. Poe's horror fictions became the origin of Southern fictions, to a certain degree. In his works, he revealed people's horror towards supernature, nothingness, death, evil and disintegration of personality. He tried to demonstrate that horror originates from our soul. By means of symbol, suspense, first person narrator, exaggeration of atmosphere and anti-closure, Poe tried his best to construct an intact and uniform, mysterious and shaking effect. Poe's fictions feed readers with aesthetic enjoyment. In the portrait of evil and horror, he achieves the sublimation and purification of man's inner world.