The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

As one of the earliest American writers to embrace the short story as an art form, Edgar Allan Poe has also been credited with inventing a distinct genre for the medium: the detective story. 

The Black Cat, narrated by Lee Purcell, features a protagonist whose sanity—which was not that strong to begin with—is pushed to the limits because of a series of mysterious events precipitated by a black cat in his home.

To learn more about Poe and his writing, read this Biography article.