The Fall Of The House Of Usher

For several days, I was busy in earnest endeavors to alleviate

The melancholy of my friend. We painted and read together

Or I listened, as if in a dream, to the wild improvisations

Of his squeaking guitar. I shall always remember the many

Solemn hours I spent trying to persuade him to return to a

Civilized world with me. But his fear -- his ungrounded, yet

Omnipresent fear -- held him tenaciously to the place of his birth

One morning, with an unnatural firmness, Roderick abruptly informed

Me that the Lady Madeline was no more -- that the strange disease

Had claimed her at last. Before I could state my profound sorrow at

This ghastly news, he stated his intention of preserving her corpse

For a fortnight, before the final burial, in one of the numerous

Vaults within the main walls of the building. So at his request

I personally aided in the arrangements for the temporary entombment

The body having been encoffined, we two alone bore it to its rest

The vault in which we placed it was small, damp. It was more of a

Dungeon than a vault -- a dungeon which had most likely seen many

Horrors in the past centuries. We opened the door -- a massive iron

Gate which was so immensely heavy that it caused an unusually

Sharp grating sound as it moved on its hinges. Once inside, we

Placed our mournful burden upon trestles, and partially turned

Aside the yet unscrewed lid of the coffin, looking upon the young

Face of the Lady Madeline. The disease had left the mockery of a

Faint blush upon the bosom and the face, and that suspiciously

Lingering smile upon the lip which is so terrible in

Death. We replaced the lid and closed the door of iron

We made our way with toil into the scarcely less

Gloomy apartments of the upper portion of the house

For the next week, Usher was strange. I saw him gazing upon

Vacancy for long hours in an attitude of the profoundest

Attention, as if listening to some imaginary sounds. It was

No wonder that his condition terrified, that it infected me

I felt creeping upon me, by slow yet uncertain degrees, the

Wild influences of his fantastic yet impressive superstitions

It was more than a week after we had placed the Lady Madeline within

The vault that he burst into my room late one night. He stared about

The room in silence for a moment, and then he abruptly turned to me

And he said, "You have not seen it! You have not seen it! Oh, but you

Shall! You shall!" And so speaking, he hurried to one of the windows

And threw it open to the storm. The fury of the entering gust nearly

Lifted us from our feet. A whirlwind had apparently centered around

The castle, blowing wildly, raising a tremendous noise. The clouds

Were exceedingly dense and low -- so low that they touched the

Turrets of the house. Yet in all of this, there was a light

Under the surfaces of the huge masses of vapor which swept around

Madly, was an unnatural light of a faintly luminous phosphorescence

Which paled everything in a ghastly unnatural yellow. It rose from

The stagnant swamp which surrounded the castle. I closed the window

And then I told Usher I would read to him from one of his favorite

Volumes. This I did, but as I read, Roderick sat in the chair

Beside me. He rocked from side to side with a gentle yet constant

And uniform sway, and as I read, I thought I heard strange scraping

Noises coming from the inner parts of the house. Becoming more

Unnerved, I leaped to my feet, but the measured rocking movement

Of Usher was undisturbed. But as I placed my hand upon his shoulder

There came a strong shudder over his whole body. A sickly smile

Quivered about his lips, and I saw that he spoke in a low, hurried

And gibbering murmur, as if unconscious of my presence. Bending

Closely over him, I understood the hideous import of his words

"Here it is. Hear the noise -- the noise from the vault below. Yes

I hear it and have heard it long, long, long -- many minutes, many

Hours, many days have I heard it. Yet I dared not -- I dared not

Speak. I tell you, old friend, we have put her in a living tomb."

"Roderick, what are you saying?"

"Yes, I have heard -- I heard them many, many days ago. Yet I dared

Not -- I dared not speak. Have you

Not heard the rending of her coffin?"

And the grating of the iron hinges of her prison

And her struggles within the archway of the vault

Roderick! Do you mean the Lady Madeline?

Yes, where shall I go? She will be here soon, soon, soon!

She'll scold me for my haste in burying her

She'll be here! Have I not heard her footsteps in the stair?

Do I not hear that heavy and horrible beating of her heart?

No! No! She is just outside the door! Just outside the door!

As if in the superhuman energy of his utterance

There had been found the potency of magic

The huge antique panels of the door swung slowly back

There was the Lady Madeline of Usher

There was blood upon her white robes

And the evidence of some bitter struggle

Upon every portion of her emaciated frame

For a moment, she remained trembling and reeling

To and fro upon the threshold

And then, with deliberate slow steps, she walked toward her brother

Who stood petrified with fear

Finally, with a low moaning cry, she fell heavily upon Roderick

And in her final death agonies, bore him to the floor

A corpse and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated

From that chamber of the dead and from the mansion, I ran

Ran with all my strength

The storm was blinding in its fury

I ran out over the old causeway, crossing the swamp

And as I did, I suddenly heard a tremendous shock

I turned to see what caused it

God in Heaven! The great building actually divided in two!

Something blinding burst in the center of the castle

And it came tumbling down, down, down!

The mighty walls burst into a million pieces

There was a long tumultuous shouting sound

Like the voice of a thousand waters

And the deep and dank tarn at my feet

Closed sullenly and silently

Over the fragments of the House of Usher