But my love of literature did make me dive back into Edgar Allen Poe for this week.So I thought I would indulge a little of this master writer and editor- a tortured man who died on 'election day' in Baltimore.
Poe’s stories and poems reach beyond simple horror, pulling readers into the mind’s darkest recesses where terror is a state of being rather than mere fright. Over the years, my favorite works have been "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Raven", and "The Black Cat"- (though I could write about many more and especially poetry). Poe’s characters grapple with guilt, madness, and despair, revealing the human psyche’s unnerving complexities. Here’s a look at each work, featuring quotes that capture Poe’s genius in psychological horror.
Let's remember a few of my favorites:
"The Cask of Amontillado":
In this tale of revenge and deception, Montresor lures his friend Fortunato into the depths of a catacomb under the guise of sampling a rare wine, Amontillado. But Montresor’s intent is far darker, and Fortunato soon finds himself chained and bricked into a wall, left to die in a stone tomb of Montresor’s making. As he places the last stone, Montresor describes the finality of his horrific act:
“I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labor. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up.”
Poe subtly reveals Montresor’s darkness, a twisted satisfaction masked by rationalizations. His disregard for Fortunato’s suffering and detachment from remorse make this story a study in the chilling nature of revenge and the horrors of a conscience silenced.
"The Fall of the House of Usher":
In this gothic tale, Poe brings readers into the decaying Usher mansion, where the house itself seems alive with dread. Roderick Usher, who resides there, is haunted by extreme sensitivities and a family curse. When his twin sister, Madeline, is buried alive, the horror escalates as she returns, leading to a climactic confrontation that ends with both siblings’ deaths and the mansion’s collapse. Roderick’s descent into madness is marked by a ghostly smile that never reaches his heart:
“But the period was nevertheless marked by an habitual trepidancy—an excessive nervous agitation... His voice varied rapidly from a tremulous indecision... to that species of energetic concision... that leaden, self-balanced, and perfectly modulated guttural utterance, which may be observed in the lost drunkard, or the irreclaimable eater of opium.”
Roderick’s haunted expressions and unstable speech reflect the psychological decay that ultimately consumes both him and the house, illustrating Poe’s belief in the destructiveness of isolation, fear, and guilt.
The poem Poe includes within the story- "The Haunted Palace" is one of my favorites. It serves as a symbolic reflection of Roderick Usher’s deteriorating mind and the crumbling Usher family estate. The poem describes a grand, once-beautiful palace that has fallen into ruin, overtaken by “evil things” that taint its halls. Once filled with life and joy, the palace becomes a dark, haunted place, where distorted faces peer from its windows, symbolizing the mind’s descent into madness and despair. This mirrors Roderick’s tragic decline, with the palace standing as a metaphor for both his mind and the cursed Usher lineage.
The last line is so memorable and mesmerizing:
And travelers now within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows (two evil eyes), see
Vast forms, that move fantastically
To a discordant melody; (haunted mind)
While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever,
And laugh—but smile no more.
(When you laugh without smiling... it is insanity)
"The Raven":
This poem is one of Poe’s most famous works, a haunting portrayal of grief, longing, and despair. A man mourning his lost love, Lenore, is visited by a raven that perches ominously above his door, repeating a single, haunting word: “Nevermore.” The raven’s relentless refrain brings the narrator’s grief and descent into madness into stark relief:
“And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!”
The raven, with its sinister, unyielding presence, symbolizes the permanence of the narrator’s despair, leaving him trapped in his sorrow, haunted by the specter of his own mind.
"The Black Cat":
In this chilling tale, Poe explores themes of guilt, cruelty, and madness as the narrator’s alcoholism drives him into ever more violent and heartless acts. He abuses his beloved cat, Pluto, in a fit of rage, but guilt soon follows when he sees the image of the hanged cat on the charred wall of his home. The narrator’s descent reaches a horrifying climax when he murders his wife and conceals her body, only to be haunted by a second black cat. Reflecting on his initial violent act, he confesses:
“The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fiber of my frame.”
This horrifying self-awareness reveals the full extent of his psychological unraveling as guilt manifests through supernatural torment. The cat, embodying his conscience, becomes an inescapable reminder of his sins.
Well, again- sorry if I offend anyone with a writing devoted to a celebration of darkness.... but it's my blog- LOL
I wrote the lyrics and then published two songs to correspond to this blog- Usher is the better one IMO
You can hear them here:
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