Gothic literature was influenced by Gothic architecture of the Middle Ages: "Cavernous Gothic cathedrals with their irregularly placed towers and their high stained- glassed windows were intended to inspire awe and fear in religious worships." (352) Edgar Allen Poe was the master of the Gothic form in the United States. In many of Poe's stories, such as The Masque of the Red Death, he used dark medieval castles to show the Gothic architecture and give the story Gothic style. To give the story its style, Poe describes the placement of the rooms, the windows, and the clock.

Poe set this story in a castellated abbey cleverly designed by Prince Prospero. In this story, there were seven irregular rooms which represented the seven stages of life. The rooms were situated from east to west, the westernmost being the black room and the easternmost being the blue room. The east to...