This is one of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe short stories. The tinkling of the bells on drunken Fortunato's jester cap as revenge is taken upon him is a wonderful touch. Much of Poe's work is dark. But his dark works are even darker when the deeds in them are being done against a backdrop of festivity and merriment. Reading The Cask of Amontillado is like walking into a fun house from which you can't escape, and where depravity rules the day.