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The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales
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All Hallows Read Readalong The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe (Amber, Denise ,Tracey, Charbel, Faye, Pam, Katy and anyone else who wants to join) Oct 20-31
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Alannah
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Oct 26, 2013 01:21AM
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Alannah wrote: "I studied The Masque of the Red Death for my Gothic class last year, I should have it somewhere. I really want to read it again."It was as if I was there among all the people at the masquerade! The atmosphere was so real!
Charbel wrote: "The Tell-Tale Heart is so far my favourite. The Masque of the Red Death was chillingly good, and I found The Black Cat incredibly disturbing because I'm an animal lover!"So hard to choose a favorite! The ones I found particularly good were "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Masque of the Red Death", and "The Black Cat". Poe certainly was the master of the creepy or sinister short story!
I started this yesterday. I have a complete collection of Poe on my kindle so I'm reading the stories in this collection in order and then I might go back and read some if the others. Any recommendations for good stories not in this readalong?
I liked the second half of 'The Balloon Hoax' but the technical start was a bit dull. It read very much like an article in a paper as others have said.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the sea in both 'Ms in a bottle' and 'A descent into the Maelstrom'. The skill displayed in these is to really use worse to conjure up an image of a stormy sea in the readers head. I didn't find either story particularly interesting though
On to 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' which sounds like it might be more to my taste
I liked the second half of 'The Balloon Hoax' but the technical start was a bit dull. It read very much like an article in a paper as others have said.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the sea in both 'Ms in a bottle' and 'A descent into the Maelstrom'. The skill displayed in these is to really use worse to conjure up an image of a stormy sea in the readers head. I didn't find either story particularly interesting though
On to 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' which sounds like it might be more to my taste
The Cask of Amontillado - I wish we'd seen more of Fortunato's awfulness so we'd feel he deserved his fate. Not one of my favourites.The Assignation - This one lost me somewhere, so I had to read it twice and then was disappointed. It wasn't creepy, just melodramatic.
The Tell-Tale Heart - Ahhh, now we're back to true Poe-tasticness! Utterly creepy from beginning (vulture eye) to end (the heart! THE HEART!!). Love it!
Heather wrote: "I started this yesterday. I have a complete collection of Poe on my kindle so I'm reading the stories in this collection in order and then I might go back and read some if the others. Any recommendations for good stories not in this readalong?"Absolutely! My absolute faves of the ones I've read, aside from the ones we're covering here, are Some Words With a Mummy (which is HILARIOUS), William Wilson, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether (also hilarious), Thou Art the Man, and the uber-creepy The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.
Basically, Poe is fantastic. Enjoy!
Charbel wrote: "Alannah wrote: "I studied The Masque of the Red Death for my Gothic class last year, I should have it somewhere. I really want to read it again."It was as if I was there among all the people at t..."
Anybody else seen Phantom of the Opera? I always picture the Phantom and the big Masquerade number when I read Masque of the Red Death. It makes the scene in Phantom all the creepier when you know the context of his costume.
Awesome everyone! I'm about to read Tell-tale heart today and will discuss my thoughts on it later, but in the film An evening with Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Price does a great job at reciting and performing the tale. You can see the different emotions he conveys including horror. I'm enjoying the collection and am almost finished with the short stories. Only the narrative of A. Gordon Pym will be left after tell-tale heart, diddling, and the man that was used up. Yes, the masquerade scene in phantom does remind me of masque of the red death. They have a similar scene in the 1989 Dwight Little film version where Robert Englund who plays the phantom wears a Red Death costume with a grotesque red skull mask to a masquerade ball.
Haha, Vincent Price reciting Tell-Tale Heart would be TOO scary for me!
Amber wrote: "Awesome everyone! I'm about to read Tell-tale heart today and will discuss my thoughts on it later, but in the film An evening with Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Price does a great job at reciting and ..."Hey Amber, what channel will Vincent Price be on?
Hey Leslie, I saw that film an evening with edgar allan poe with Vincent Price on youtube. I didn't watch it on tv. Lol. :-) Anyway, here's my thoughts on the tell-tale heart. Tell-tale heart is about a man who kills an old man because he doesn't like his vulture eye. In a fit of madness and guilt, he confesses to the Police that the old man was in the house the whole time and that he killed him. He kept on asking why we think he is mad. He thought it was because he was nervous but was mad. He heard the dead man's beating heart too which made him mad. I enjoyed this tale. Like the Black Cat, this story is also a tale of murder and madness.
Read through a few more of these stories. I like how sharp and snappy most of them are. I find the writing style difficult, I have to really concentrate but it's fine as the stories are short enough to keep my attention. I'm not sure I'll read the novella though.
I did enjoy The Murders in the Rue Morgue more than the sea-tales. I liked the conclusion, it was quite comical but I can imagine may have been more frightening to a Victorian audience (view spoiler).
I found The Purloined Letter a little boring. The mystery wasn't very exciting and it seemed a fairly logical conclusion. Think I might have missed something there
The Black Cat was very creepy. I liked how it all rounded off nicely with the black cat having some responsibility for his cruel owners demise. (view spoiler)
I enjoyed the descriptions in The Fall of the House of Usher . Poe was masterful in creating a really good image of a haunted house. I loved it so much I highlighted a couple of passages.
' the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling'
'The windows were long, narrow and pointed, and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether inaccessible from within. Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their was through the trellised panes'
The Pit and the Pendulum is my favourite so far. How wonderfully terrifying! Some of the description was chilling and this was the 1st story that I was properly scared by. It was a very claustrophobic story and the description of the pendulum swinging closer and closer to the prisoners chest build up so much suspense. (view spoiler)
I can see why The Masque of the Red Death is a popular story. I loved the description of the ball and the clock causing everybody to stop with the passing of each hour, you knew it wasn't going to end well for the Prince and his guests!
Overall I am enjoying this collection. I think I will read another 2 tomorrow. I'm looking forward to The Tell-Tale Heart as I know the storyline vaguely
I did enjoy The Murders in the Rue Morgue more than the sea-tales. I liked the conclusion, it was quite comical but I can imagine may have been more frightening to a Victorian audience (view spoiler).
I found The Purloined Letter a little boring. The mystery wasn't very exciting and it seemed a fairly logical conclusion. Think I might have missed something there
The Black Cat was very creepy. I liked how it all rounded off nicely with the black cat having some responsibility for his cruel owners demise. (view spoiler)
I enjoyed the descriptions in The Fall of the House of Usher . Poe was masterful in creating a really good image of a haunted house. I loved it so much I highlighted a couple of passages.
' the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling'
'The windows were long, narrow and pointed, and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether inaccessible from within. Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their was through the trellised panes'
The Pit and the Pendulum is my favourite so far. How wonderfully terrifying! Some of the description was chilling and this was the 1st story that I was properly scared by. It was a very claustrophobic story and the description of the pendulum swinging closer and closer to the prisoners chest build up so much suspense. (view spoiler)
I can see why The Masque of the Red Death is a popular story. I loved the description of the ball and the clock causing everybody to stop with the passing of each hour, you knew it wasn't going to end well for the Prince and his guests!
Overall I am enjoying this collection. I think I will read another 2 tomorrow. I'm looking forward to The Tell-Tale Heart as I know the storyline vaguely
In 2004, we adopted two tortoise shell litter mates. One is named Raven, so this is the time of year when she receives a slam poetry interpretation as she consumes her cat food.
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Anyway, here's my thoughts on the tell-tale heart. Tell-tale heart i..."
I think it's more his guilt that drives him towards madness than anything else. That idea that he's worried he can't cover up his crime and will be found out soon enough. ''It is the beating of his hideous heart!''
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Raven is a lovely name.
Portia wrote: "In 2004, we adopted two tortoise shell litter mates. One is named Raven, so this is the time of year when she receives a slam poetry interpretation as she consumes her cat food."LOL That is awesome. :D
We went to see EA Poe's house in Richmond, VA, "many and many a year ago." They had a tape of a reading of "The Raven". The actor pronounced "Nevermore" the way a parrot would. :P
Oh that is really spooky, Portia.
That's great Heather. I'm going to be reading/posting my thoughts on the story Diddler tonight and then do the man that was used up tomorrow before reading A Narrative of A. Gordon Pym. If you want, you can read the novel with us since that was only one of two longer works by Poe but the short stories are all pretty good and we were going to read the novel for the last three days of the readalong. Or you can go to http://www.poestories.com and read more of his short stories there. That's pretty cool Portia and I agree Alannah on the Tell-tale Heart that it was more his guilt that he was going to get caught than anything! ^_^
I seem to remember a very atmospheric reading of "The Tell-tale Heart" by Joss Ackland, with dramatised snippets incorporated, and all filmed in black and white. Don't know if maybe it'll be on youtube or somewhere but it's definitely worth watching.
Okay, awesome Jean! If you watch the film An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe starring Vincent Price, he does a great recitation of the tell-tale heart as well and you can watch it on Youtube.
We watched a series this past Spring called "The Following" about a serial killer English professor who was obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. I thought the show was pretty creepy but I watched every episode!
Jean wrote: "Oh that is really spooky, Portia."Actually, Jean, it came off as awfully funny. If you think about saying,"Nevermore" like a parrot, it can sound pretty ridiculous. (Brrraaak, whew whoo, Nevermore!")
Cool Portia! I didn't enjoy Poe's story Diddling not the diddler. It was just about a scoundrel conman who conned people at every turn just like snively whiplash from the cartoon dudley do right does. It wasn't scary or anything. Just a dull tale about a con man.
Right, yes, I see. I'd thought it might be more like a sort of mechanical marionnette sort of thing. Almost human-sounding. That would scare me anyway!
Alannah wrote: "Portia wrote: "In 2004, we adopted two tortoise shell litter mates. One is named Raven, so this is the time of year when she receives a slam poetry interpretation as she consumes her cat food."R..."
Thank you, Alannah. Wish I could take credit for it but she came with it and was already 5 years old so we decided not to confuse her even more by changing her name. She has the markings above her eyes that many tortoiseshells have, which make her look angry even when she is purring, so she fits in beautifully at Halloween.
I'm going to read/discuss the man that was used up tomorrow then will start A narrative of A. Gordon pym starting Tuesday through Halloween. I hope everyone has had a great time at my first ever readalong of Poe's stories though for all hallow's read for Halloween. The next one I will host with this book club will be in December of City of Bones and then I may plan to do another one in 2014 but we'll see what happens. I've had a fun time hosting this readalong online discussion and discussing the stories with all of you so thanks for participating with me everyone! :-)
Diddling - I think this story showed off Poe's sarcastic wit really well, but considering the modern slang definition of "diddling," I found it kind of difficult to read, heh.
Hey Faye, I didn't like Diddling either. It was too much of a conman story than anything. I hope the man that was used up will be easier to read though and is good. A Narrative of A. Gordon Pym should be good too. Hey Heather what did you think of the cask of amontillado? Just curious.
Just read the next 3 books.
The Cask of Amontillado was another creepy story. Poe really does like to use small spaces and claustrophobia in is terror. I thought it was particularly horrible because I couldn't work out why the narrator wanted to kill Fortunato. This seems to be a running theme with Poe
I wasn't as big a fan of The Assignation All throughout this read so far I've enjoyed Poe's descriptions but I find this one a bit dull and it took me 2 reads to figure out the storyline. I still don't get the thing with the baby and where that fits in to the story of the two lovers. Anybody help?
And then The Tell-tale Heart . As good as I had heard. Again, a minimal motive for a brutal murder. I enjoyed how sharp and short this was, it meant the ending packed a great punch. And what a line!
The Cask of Amontillado was another creepy story. Poe really does like to use small spaces and claustrophobia in is terror. I thought it was particularly horrible because I couldn't work out why the narrator wanted to kill Fortunato. This seems to be a running theme with Poe
I wasn't as big a fan of The Assignation All throughout this read so far I've enjoyed Poe's descriptions but I find this one a bit dull and it took me 2 reads to figure out the storyline. I still don't get the thing with the baby and where that fits in to the story of the two lovers. Anybody help?
And then The Tell-tale Heart . As good as I had heard. Again, a minimal motive for a brutal murder. I enjoyed how sharp and short this was, it meant the ending packed a great punch. And what a line!
Awesome Heather! I just finished the last short story in this collection before you get to A narrative of A. Gordon Pym called the man that was used up and I thought it was weird. All through this tale this man hears others tell him how great this general john a.b.c. smith is and when he goes to him, he has his valet put him together because he got mauled by indians that he has to have someone screw his body parts in. So it was an okay and weird story. I'll start on A narrative of A. Gordon Pym tomorrow. It's on pg. 200-381 in my edition. This collection has been pretty good except for the last two short stories.
The Man Who Was Used Up - I enjoyed the humour in this one, and the image he painted of Smith's true state was macabre but hilarious at the same time. I love that Poe was able to mix the two extremes so seamlessly!
Faye wrote: "The Man Who Was Used Up - I enjoyed the humour in this one, and the image he painted of Smith's true state was macabre but hilarious at the same time. I love that Poe was able to mix the two extrem..."Absolutely! Very well said!
Hey guys! Tonight I will start on the last story of The Fall of the House of Usher and other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe called A Narrative of A. Gordon Pym. I will be reading this one through Halloween so may not have time to discuss it for the Poe readalong so I will save my thoughts for it when I finish and will post it on my goodreads review of the collection so please stay tuned for that. It is on page 200 of 381 in my edition so am 181 pages away from finishing this book. This has been a pretty good collection for my first Poe ever! I enjoyed all of the stories except for the last two. If you guys are reading this story too, I hope you enjoy it. I heard it is a nautical tale so can't wait to dive into this last tale in the collection. I hope you guys had fun with this readalong! I had a blast hosting and participating in this readalong of Poe's works. I can't wait for my next readalong in December now and I hope to do well with that one of City of Bones with the book club. Wish me luck! I hope you guys enjoy Poe's stories and have a great rest of your Halloween week! ^_^
Well, I finished. I'm glad I participated because I learned a lot about Poe. I never understood the diversity of his work. I thought it was all horror without the mystery and the science fiction. I have to admit, I'm really not a big Poe fan. While I enjoyed many of his horror stories I would not seek him out to read. That being said, I thought the discussions on this thread were great and I am happy that I had the chance to participate. I look forward to more. Nice job, Amber!
Thanks Katy I'm glad you participated too. ^_^ If you ever want to do another readalong with me, let me know. I'm doing City of Bones in December with a bunch of the book club members here and then may do another one in 2014 but we will see how it goes. It was a lot of fun!
Can I put in a request per...leeease? I am so behind with my reading, and having been away for a week last week have not got onto this yet. I love all the comments on this thread and vaguely remember some of the stories from reading before, dramatisations etc. I really want to join in!!Is it possible to keep this thread going a bit after your intended finish date Amber?
I'll understand if you all want to move onto other stuff though, no worries! ;) And here's a link to my review of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" for anyone who might like to read it, to prove that I really do like Poe!!
Yeah, go ahead and keep posting here Jean and discuss the stories when you get done reading them as well as everyone else who has not caught up yet. I am going to try and get done with A Narrative of A. Gordon Pym by Halloween night then will post my review on the collection afterwards (I'm starting that one tonight anyway) then I got to get back to Deception by C.J. Redwine because it is due back to the overdrive ebooks library on November 6th and then go from there. If you need any other stories to read there are a bunch of short stories at http://www.poestories.com which features some poetry too.
Great, Amber, thanks! I was hoping a few others might want to continue, as it's only an 11-day slot. And they feel good to read all Winter don't they, not just for Halloween.I've already got a couple of Poe collections on my Kindle so thought I'd select the ones you're all talking about first. Thanks for the extra link. And for doing such a great job. :)
No problem Jean and I hope you enjoy reading Poe's stories. Since I will be done with this collection by Halloween night and will post my full review of the book afterwards, you guys can continue until you are all done reading the stories. I'll be getting to my other reads after this and doing my city of bones readalong after that but this readalong was fun! I had a blast hosting it. I was so nervous about it when I first was about to do it because I did it here and on facebook with my friends there and because it was my first readalong I've ever hosted. It was a 12-day slot from the 20th to the 31st, LOL. ^_^ I might do another readalong in 2014 after my city of bones one but don't know what yet. I'm glad everyone had fun though.
Oops - miscounted there, sorry!
That's okay, Jean. ^_^
Jean, I plan on trying to continue reading some other Poe throughout the winter as I'm really enjoying the short stories. I'd like to still post on this thread if that's alright!
That's fine too Heather. ^_^ You ladies have fun with your Poe reading this Holiday season with everyone else who is still reading the stories. I had a blast doing it for All Hallow's Read for Halloween. Just got A Narrative of A. Gordon Pym to go and I'll be done. I think most of the people in the readalong had already finished already.
Great to link up again Heather - almost another readalong then!
Just to add my thanks have read lots and loved many of the stories. I too am going to read more Poe this autumn. Thank you Amber for a great idea and you did brilliantly.
It was a well organised readalong with lots of participants. Thanks Amber! Did any of your Facebook friends join in? Would be interesting to read any interesting comments
No problem Tracey and I'm glad you had fun! Enjoy more poe! Thanks Heather. It was no problem at all and I had a few join in and posted a little . One of them was the author of the horror movie society mike patton and he shared his thoughts on cask of amontillado which was his favorite poe story and on pit and the pendulum. You can find him online as the host of the online radio show Body Count Podcast out of Nashville, TN at http://www.bodycountpodcast.com . He also does an indie horror zine by the same name. He's the editor of the indie zine. Here's his thoughts-Cask of Amontillado is my favorite poe story. The best part about it is we don't know what kind of "insults" and "injuries" Fortunato has in fact inflicted upon the narrator! I don't think the insults are so bad, honestly, whatever they may be. At the very least, Fortunato himself does not for a minute believe that he has insulted the narrator. Is he an obnoxious jerk. I think so. But that's not a reason to kill someone and then not show one bit of regret 50 years later which we find out at the end is when we are being told the tale.
Think about it. Fortunato asks about the family crest. Montresor tells him it is a snake biting a foot while the foot is crushing the snake. He then tells him the motto which is something like no one shall injure me without punishment! Would Fortunato venture into the dark and damp catacombs if he had any belief that Montresor had a reason to seek revenge? Even as drunk as he was, I don't believe he would.
And how insane is Montresor? If he is crazy enough to kill, to remember each detail for "half a century" and to still be bragging about it...isn't he crazy enough to just have made the whole thing up.
This was my fave comment from mr. Patton from the poe facebook readalong. He also commented on Pit and the pendulum: So to me, the main question about Pit and the Pendulum is this: How realistic is the ending? I really liked this story most of the way through. But the ending just always feels off to me. How likely is it that the victim is saved in time? And why have a happy or good ending in a story that is obviously not very happy?
I had a few other friends that posted but only on the balloon hoax. One loved it and the other two said it was too technical to them but I did a good job anyway. Out of 7 people that joined the invite only facebook event, only 4 participated with me.
I do agree with both those comments. From the small amount I've read it seems quite unPoe-like to save a character like in the Pit and the Pendulum. Is it something to do with the politics of the civil war?
I also liked the comments about The Cask. Realising how mad Mercateor is (sorry if I spelt that wrong!) makes the story more chilling. Fortunate must have had no idea he had insulted him and in any case, insulting someone is never worthy of a death like that!
I also liked the comments about The Cask. Realising how mad Mercateor is (sorry if I spelt that wrong!) makes the story more chilling. Fortunate must have had no idea he had insulted him and in any case, insulting someone is never worthy of a death like that!
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Some Words With a Mummy (other topics)Thou Art the Man (other topics)
The Premature Burial (other topics)
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (other topics)
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales (other topics)
