Editing Masquerade ball (section)

== Cultural references ==
The picturesque quality of the masquerade ball has made it a favorite topic or setting in [[literature]].

*[[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s short story "[[The Masque of the Red Death]]" is based at a masquerade ball in which a central figure turns out to be his costume.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Poe|first1=Edgar Allan|title=[[The Mask of the Red Death]]: A Fantasy|journal=[[Graham's Magazine]]|date=May 1842}}</ref>
*A ball in [[Zürich]] is featured in the novel ''[[Steppenwolf (novel)|Steppenwolf]]'' by [[Hermann Hesse]].
*A masquerade ball is central to the plot of [[Mikhail Lermontov]]'s 1835 play ''[[Masquerade (play)|Masquerade]]''. The play was censored and never staged during Lermontov's lifetime, partly because of the implied criticism of the masquerade balls staged by the aristocratic [[Engelhardt family]].
*The book, musical and most film adaptations of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' have a scene at a masked ball. The Phantom's (Erik's) costume is that of the Red Death from the aforementioned Edgar Allan Poe story ''The Masque of the Red Death''.
*In the play ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' by [[William Shakespeare]], Romeo meets Juliet at a masquerade ball.
*The video game ''[[Dishonored]]'' has a mission called Lady Boyle's Last Party, taking place at a masquerade where the primary objective is discerning the identity of Lady Boyle, a masked party-goer.
*The video game ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' has a series of missions called Carnevale set during [[Venetian Carnival]] where the primary objective is to gain access to one of the more prestigious masquerade balls, ending in the mission which primarily takes place in the masquerade ball.
*The video game ''[[The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'' features a mission set at a masquerade ball, on the Vegelbud estate, where the primary objective is to find the owner's son who is wearing a panther mask. 
*In [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s erotic drama [[Eyes Wide Shut]], protagonist Bill Harford's life is upturned by a chain of events as he secretly treads into a orgiastic masquerade ball. 
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