Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American novelist and short-story writer who was a master of the allegorical and symbolic tale. One of the greatest fiction writers in American literature, he is best known for the novels 'The Scarlet Letter' (1850) and 'The House of the Seven Gables' (1851). His greatest supernatural tales are: “The Minister’s Black Veil,” “Dr. Heidegger's Experiment,” “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” “The Wedding-Knell,” and “Young Goodman Brown”.