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Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is a collection of previously-published short stories from the dark pen of Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1840. In his preface, Poe wrote the now-famous quote defending himself from the criticism that his tales were part of Germanism . He wrote, If in many of my productions terror has been the thesis, I maintain that terror is not of Germany but of the soul . The collection was dedicated to Colonel William Drayton, anonymous author of The South Vindicated from the Treason and Fanaticism of the Northern Abolitionists. Poe probably had seen the terms used by Sir Walter Scott in his essay On the Supernatural in Fictitious Composition . Both terms refer to a type of Islamic art used to decorate walls, especially in mosques. These art styles are known for their complex nature. Poe had used the term arabesque in this sense in his essay The Philosophy of Furniture .