First published 2016
William Wilson sits down to tell his story, though he refuses to reveal his true name. He wants listeners to hear how he fell into terrible evil and perhaps feel sympathy for his plight. Wilson insists that fate dealt him circumstances beyond his control. His troubles began early. As a child, Wilson possessed an overactive imagination that set him apart from others. He also showed a strong will that would later prove dangerous. Most troubling of all, he displayed a natural tendency toward vice from his youngest years. Now, as an adult looking back, Wilson presents himself as a victim of forces he could not resist. He asks for understanding as he recounts the events that led to his moral downfall. The confession that follows will trace how a willful child with dark inclinations grew into a man consumed by evil.
Genres: american-fiction, horror, 19th-century, gothic
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: unreliable-narrator, victim-of-circumstance
Period: 19th-century
Paperback · Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: mental-illness