Poe's story "The Masque of the Red Death" begins with a description of a plague, the "Red Death." It is the most deadly plague ever, as "no pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous." The symptoms of the plague include "sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores." The "scarlet stains" on the body, and especially the face, of its victims are the "pest ban" or first visible signs of the disease. Once the stains appear, the victim has only thirty minutes before death.

In order to escape the spread of the plague, Prince Prospero invites "a thousand hale and lighthearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court" to seal themselves "in deep seclusion" in an abbey of his castle, allowing no one to enter or leave. With adequate provisions, Prospero and his privileged guests attempt to...