The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Fall of the House of Usher was originally published in 1839.

One of his most famous and chilling tales, it is the story of an unnamed narrator who is compelled to visit his sickly friend, Roderick Usher. Upon arrival, the narrator realises that Roderick and his sister seem to be suffering from alarming symptoms, which Roderick attributes to house being alive. A gripping and veritably terrifying story, The Fall of the House of Usher will not disappoint fans of Poe’s classic horror fiction.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American author, editor, poet, and critic. Most famous for his stories of mystery and horror, he was one of the first American short story writers, and is widely considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre.

We are republishing this vintage text, The Fall of the House of Usher , in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

Extract from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher :

DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was — but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me — upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain — upon the bleak walls — upon the vacant eye-like windows — upon a few rank sedges — and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees — with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium — the bitter lapse into everyday life — the hideous dropping off of the veil.

***

Here, at edgarallanpoe.co.uk, you can find the best of this fantastic author’s novels, short stories, essays, and poems.

You can also find a biography of Edgar Allan Poe, along with some of his most famous quotes and loved poems.

Through republishing works such as ‘The Fall of the House of Usher ’, it is hoped that the writing of this author of mystery and the macabre, can continue to delight – almost two centuries after its initial publication.

Share