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Edgar Allan Poe created the first of what is known now as horror stories with The Fall of

the House of Usher. He incorporates the feeling of horror into the story by using imagery

throughout. One of the most important aspects of the story is the Usher house. It is

explained in explicit detail to set the mood of the story. The narrator describes the house

as deteriorating with 'extraordinary dilapidation'. "No portion of the masonry had fallen;

and there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts,

and the crumbling condition of the individual stones." (p196-197) Fungi was growing on

the exterior, the woodwork was rotting and there was a large crack down the middle of

the house. As the narrator enters the house he notices the dieing elegance of it. Things

were out of order and some things were scattered about. Seeing the trophies and the

tapestries on the walls, fill him with a sense of superstition. Roderick's room had dark

draperies on the walls, making it even more gloomy. The house is describes as having

supernatural characteristics. It reflects the condition of Madeline and Roderick - they are

both deteriorating.

Another important part in the story that includes imagery is the entombment of

Madeline. "At the request of Usher, I personally aided him the arrangements for the

temporary entombment." (p202) The description of the vault in which Madeline is

entombed is small, damp, and with no light at all. They heavy iron door that closes the

vault has distinct squeaky hinges. The basement is further described as being an old

'donjon-keep' which makes you visualize how eerie the setting is. This further develops

the intense mood of the story and creates a terrifying effect.

Madeline's appearance at the end of the story is the climax and the height of the

story. Roderick had been hearing her in his mind and he knew that she was coming. "It

was the work of the rushing gust - but then without those doors there did stand the lofty

and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher" (p206) Her robes were covered in

blood and there was evidence that she has had a struggle getting out of the vault as it

seems. It seems that Poe wants you to draw your own conclusions of weather she actually

got out of the vault or not. It could have been all in Roderick and the narrator's mind due

to the circumstances. It may have been Madeline's ghost coming back to get Roderick.

Once you draw a conclusion in your mind it's easy to visualize what is happening. The

fright of Madeline in essence scared Roderick to death and he dies along with her. After

they die and the narrator has left the house it crumbles to the ground. The Ushers and

their house have fallen.