Illustration for Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” by Harry Clarke. Published in 1919.

“…his whole frame at once—within the space of a single minute, or less, shrunk—crumbled—absolutely rotted away beneath my hands. Upon the bed, before the whole company, there lay a nearly liquid mass of loathsome—of detestable putrescence.”

I carried this anthology with me all during my junior year in high school, thinking how cool I was. Happy birthday, Mr. Poe, and thanks for your drug-fueled nightmares.