Metzengerstein

The nameless third-person narrator of the story takes place at an unknown time in Hungary. The Metzengersteins and the Berlifitzings are two affluent families who have been at odds for centuries according to the introductory verses. Nobody is certain of the exact origins of the two families savage animosity. Its genesis according to the narrator is based on a old prophecy that predicts: A lofty name shall have a horrible fall when as the rider over his horse the mortality of Metzengerstein should win over the immortality of Berlifitzing. Young Frederick Baron of Metzengerstein who at age 18 inherited the family fortune after becoming an orphan at an early age (though the age changes throughout its many re-publications). With immense riches and power he begins to exhibit particularly cruel behavior.