For the second best short horror story of 1800-1849 I choose "The Mysterious Mansion" by Honore de Balzac (1799-1850). This horrific story of "entrapment" rises far above Edgar Allan Poe's best tale of a similar nature, "The Cask of Amontillado." You can read the story along with my annotations and story background in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology.
Posted via email from Best Classic Horror Short Stories Blog
