The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe

A wounded man seeks shelter in an abandoned château and becomes fascinated by a lifelike portrait of a young woman. As he reads the story behind it, he learns that the painter, obsessed with capturing his wife’s beauty, poured his soul into the work—at the cost of her life. She died as he completed the painting, her vitality drained into the canvas. The story is a haunting reflection on the relationship between art and life. Poe explores obsession, creation, and sacrifice in this brief but chilling tale.