The Masque of the Red Death: Prince Prospero's Fate

The Terror of the Red Death

The Red Death was a kind of virus that had always terrorized the whole country. It was named so because it left red, horrible blood on the body of each person it visited. Everyone feared it, except Prince Prospero, who lived his life quietly while everyone else was terrified.

The Prince's Secluded Masquerade

One day, the Prince decided to host a party in one of his castles, built specifically for the occasion, far from the borders of the country where the virus could not enter. He invited thousands of his strongest and bravest friends. It was a magnificent party, filled with drinks, musicians, and dancers. While the castle was full of life inside, outside lurked The Red Death.

The Seven Colored Rooms

In the castle, there were different rooms, each of a specific color. These rooms did not communicate with each other as in other castles; instead, they faced a common corridor. Each room had a window of the same color that faced that corridor. There were seven rooms of different colors:

• Blue
• Purple
• Green
• Orange
• White
• Violet
• Black

In the latter, the most terrifying room, there was an old clock. Every hour it sounded, and all the guests at the dance smiled at each other as if they were not afraid, before returning to their dancing. All the people were disguised, and each time they changed rooms, the color of their costumes appeared to change.

The Midnight Visitor

At midnight, the clock in the black room rang. Everyone became aware, with a sense of sadness and discomfort, of a strange person they had not seen before. This figure, The Red Death, differed from the others because it was dressed in white, and its mask was real—the face of a dead man.

The Final Confrontation

The prince turned pale and began to flee from one room to another, pursued by The Red Death toward the black room. Although the prince drew a sword, the stranger turned and looked at him, and the prince fell dead instantly.

The Triumph of Death

The Red Death hid behind the clock. When the guests found the figure, they tried to strip away the clothes and mask, but there was nothing inside. Then the revelers realized that Death itself was there. It did not leave until all the guests had died, leaving only darkness and decay within the castle walls.