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
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