The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

The story begins with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his help. As he arrives, the narrator notes a thin crack extending from the roof, down the front of the building and into the lake.

The narrator is impressed with Roderick's paintings, and thus attempts to cheer him by reading with him and listening to his improvised musical compositions on the guitar. Roderick sings a song, then tells the narrator that he believes the house he lives in to be alive. Eventually The narrator flees the house, and, as he does so, notices a flash of moonlight behind him, causing him to turn back in time to see the moon shining through the suddenly widened crack of the house. As he watches, the House of Usher splits in two and the fragments sink into the sea.

Printing History

Written by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

Burton's Gentleman's Magazine

September 1839

Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque

1840

Roger Corman film from 1960

Vincent Price as Roderick Usher

Mark Damon as the Narrator 

Myrna Fahey as Madeline