?Edgar Allan Poe The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales?.
Roderick Usher - A mentally deranged man who suffers from an illness which causes the senses to be intensified. He has only one friend which he requests to see.
Madeline Usher - The twin sister of Roderick. She suffers from an illness unknown to the doctors. She and Roderick share a type of psychic bond.
Narrator - Boyhood friend of Roderick Usher. He was invited by Usher to visit him at the House of Usher due to Roderick's poor mental state. .
Plot/Summary: .
This short story begins with the narrator approaching the House of Usher after being requested to visit by his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher. Upon approaching the House, he has an overwhelming feeling of fear. The fear is intensified when he actually meets his friend. .
He has not seen his friend Roderick Usher for many years. Although he recognizes Usher, he now has aghastly pallor? and strange glare in his eyes. He has major mood swings. One minute he is depressed, the next minute he is excited and enthused. Usher tells the narrator his illness may be due to his twin sister's ongoing illness which the doctors cannot figure out. The narrator gets a look at Madeline, Usher's sister just before she dies. .
Usher wants to temporarily seal his sister's body in a coffin in a vault until he can take her to the family cemetery. So they do. Roderick's condition worsens after the death of his sister. This scares the narrator.
One very stormy night the narrator wakes up with a horrible uneasy feeling. Roderick comes to his room which somewhat relieves the feelings of the narrator. However, Roderick is out of it. In an effort to revive his friend, the narrator begins to read him the story from theMad Trist?. It seems that the events in the story are remotely heard within the house. This continues until Roderick jumps up and yells,Madman, I tell you that she now stands without the door.? At that moment the doors to the room open and Madeline stands there with blood all over her gown.
