This has happened numerous times. At midnight the clock struck again and everyone stopped. This time the bell tolled twelve. Before the sound could escape the presence of the revelers, people noticed a masked figure. The chatter had turned to undefined terror. Some even assumed that this figure did not exist under his hideous mask that resembled a corpse. One hypothesis among the crowd was that this masked figure must be the embodiment of the Red Death. Poe wrote: “But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His robe was soaked in blood, and his broad forehead, with all the features of his face, was sprinkled with the scarlet horror. This suggests something more sinister and disturbing. Prince Prospero had ordered this masked figure to be captured. Everyone was too terrified to make a move. Suddenly, this hideous figure began to leave. Prince Prospero, enraged, chased him with a dagger. Prospero let out a cry as the dagger fell to the sable carpet, only to be followed by Prospero's example. With the death of the prince, the revelers found the courage to capture this demon. As they attacked this being, they gasped in terror as they tried to hold onto an intangible