About

The Cask of Amontillado^[1] is a short story by American fiction writer Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1846. Jokes and humorous references about the story and its dark plot grew popular on Tumblr in the fall of 2016.

Plot Summary

"The Cask of Amontillado" is told from the narrative perspective of Montresor, an Italian nobleman relating the tale of how he murdered his friend Fortunato, who he believes insulted him in an unspecified way. On the night of a carnival, Montresor lures Fortunato, who is dressed as a jester, down to his wine cellar on the pretense of having him try a cask of rare amontillado sherry wine. Montresor brings the inebriated Fortunato to a niche in his cellar and quickly chains him to the wall. Montresor then builds a wall sealing the niche with Fortunato inside as Fortunato reacts with first nervous laughter, then terror. The story ends with the reveal that the murder happened 50 years ago and Fortunato's body still hangs down there.

Legacy

"The Cask of Amontillado"^[2] is one of Poe's most famous short stories. At only five pages, it has been widely adapted and regularly assigned to high school english students.^[3] It has also grown into a popular reference in television shows including The Simpsons, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and, perhaps inadvertently, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Online Spread

Several posts^[5][6] have compared the story of Henry from Thomas the Tank Engine to Fortunato's plight in "The Cask of Amontillado," and for a while, these sorts of jokes were the most popular online reference to Poe's short story.

An image macro also appeared on a Buzzfeed^[9] collection of literary memes.

Tumblr Surge

References to "The Cask of Amontillado" surged in popularity on Tumblr in October 2016. On October 3rd, 2016, Tumblr user popularlesbian^[4] uploaded a text post referencing Cask of Amontillado that read "im not petty and i dont see the point in holding a grudge. Anyway would you like to come into my cellar and taste a fine vintage." The post has gained over 32,000 notes as of October 14th, 2016, and is credited by Vox^[7] as the post that sparked the surge.

Over the coming week and a half, hundreds of jokes about and images referencing "The Cask of Amontillado" appeared on Tumblr, causing one high school english teacher on Tumblr^[8] to write an explainer offering theories on its sudden popularity. She theorized that it being a literary reference gave Tumblr users in on the joke a sense of "smug satisfaction," it's adaptability to current memes like Caveman Spongebob and Clap Emoji, and its relevance to current events such as Creepy Clown Sightings and Donald Trump's promise to build a wall on the United States/Mexico border.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References