Gothic Horror - Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher

I've decided to do away with the Gothic and Horror Master posts, as no one (including me) utilizes them. For a wider audience's sake (if I have a wide audience...lol), I will do individual posts and anyone is welcome to discuss in the comments and/or share stories you've been reading.

BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD

This is one of my favorite Poe stories. Probably in large part due to my love of Vincent Price and having seen the movie long before I read the story (I've read this many times). Of course, I can also credit Price with sparking my entire love of and fascination with Poe's works. I've read and reread so many of his stories, and my favorite poem of all time, Annabel Lee.

At the center of this story, in my humble opinion, is mental illness, and some of the factors that can bring about "madness" as they called it back then. Fear, dread, guilt. All are apparent and so expertly illustrated in Poe's Gothic tones. Also, the fear of being buried alive (Taphophobia), which was prevalent in the days before modern medicine. So much so that in the 18th and 19th centuries there were "Safety Coffins." William Tebb and Edward Perry Vollum even published a book titled Premature Burial and How It May Be Prevented. There were coffins affixed with a string attached to a bell outside the grave. If a person found themselves buried alive, they could simply ring the bell (surely not so simple, and how many of those bells were actually heard...yikes!). Later inventions were more elaborate. (Read the entire article on Tebb's book and the various inventions here.)

SPOILER

So, why am I talking about premature burial? Precisely because that is what happens to Usher's sister. But for her there is no escape because she is not buried in a grave. She is entombed in a vault in the donjon keep! There is no bell for her to ring, or some other apparatus to make someone aware. Yet, when she somehow finally breaks free from her tomb, we learn that Usher had heard her..."I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them--many, many days ago--yet I dared not--I dared not speak!" Why did he not speak up? Was it the guilt of burying her alive in the first place? Who knows, but she does manage to break out and the state of her, of what she endured, scares Usher to death. As Usher's friend flees, the house literally cracks apart and falls into the ground. A metaphor for the destruction of mental illness, and the fear of death? Those are my thoughts anyway. 

The reason I wanted to read this story again is because one of my favorite horror (TV) series creators is bringing a new take on the story to Netflix. Mike Flanagan, the mastermind behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass, does it again with "A contemporary horror series based on multiple works by Edgar Allan Poe. To secure their fortune — and future — two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one." 

Here's a short trailer. Get ready to watch...the series premiere is October 12. 

This post is a part of...

Cover Reveal - Usher House Rising by Don Roff

The first of a brand new trilogy and a modern retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." This trilogy will entice fans of American Horror Story, Bates Motel, and American Psycho.

Life after her high school graduation sucks for Mads Bland—her foster mother has died, her boyfriend has broken up with her, she can't afford community college, and it seems that she'll work in a grocery store forever.

When a mysterious invitation to Usher House arrives at her door, however, everything changes. Mads soon learns that her real name is Madeline Usher and that she has inherited the crumbling mansion in a remote part of Georgia. What's more, she discovers that she has a twin brother, the quick-witted and devil-may-care Roderick Usher. At first, things seem excellent—Mads meets a beautiful guy, Liam Delaney, who operates his father's farm down the road, she has inherited the remainder of the Usher fortune, and she now has a sprawling home, a place of her own.

However, Mads finds out that she's a pawn in a deadly game—her narcissistic brother is jealous of her romantic relationship with Liam, so he gaslights and imprisons his new-found sister within the haunted confines of the manor. Mads must battle against the inherited insanity that every Usher family member has succumbed to and embrace her hidden strengths that she didn't know she had to survive the madness of Usher House. (Goodreads)

About the author

Don Roff is no stranger to scary and suspenseful fiction. Over the past 12 years, his terrifying yarns have been published under the Scholastic banner with titles like Scary Stories, Werewolf Tales, Dragon Adventures, and Terrifying Tales. In adult fiction, he has written two bestselling works—Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection, published by Chronicle Books/Simon & Schuster UK, as well as the supernatural thriller, Snowblind, published by Brambleberry Books. Snowblind a chilling story about four Army Rangers snowbound in a haunted lodge, is currently in development as a major motion picture starring Karl Urban (Thor: Ragnarok, Star Trek), Ashley Greene (Twilight), and Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant). In addition, his darkly humorous YA novel, CLARE AT 16, will be published in 2019, as well as a major film. His suspense radio series Darkside Drive, on CJSW 90.9 FM radio (now available on iTunes), has completed its second season. He also writes a popular monthly "Monster in the House" screenwriting blog for the Save the Cat website based on Blake Snyder's ubiquitous, blockbuster book. A former US Army Ranger, Don resides in the Pacific Northwest. (Website)

Gothic September - Edgar Allan Poe #GothicSept #Poe (and more upcoming events)

Gothic September is here...and that means fall is just around the corner! One of my most favorite times of year! It has become a tradition for us to read Poe during this month and so that is what we're doing again. The stories and schedules are listed below.

Week One - Berenice: A Tale
Week Two - William Wilson: A Tale
Week Three - The Imp of the Perverse
Week Four - A Descent into the Maelstrom

Discussion for each story will go up by the weekend at the end of each week on this blog.

More upcoming events this fall here at Castle Macabre, over at Seasons of Reading and at Gather Together and Read!

In October, Season of the Witch is back. We will be reading stories about witches by Algernon Blackwod, George Brewer (a short novel) and Shirley Jackson. I will post the reading schedule and more specific details in the starting post on the first of October.

The Witch by Shirley Jackson,
Ancient Sorceries by Algernon Blackwood - You can get a Kindle copy of Blackwood's Complete Works on Amazon for 99 cents. The Blackwood Stories site is back up! You can download a PDF copy of the story, or any of Blackwood's stories, at their site here.
The Witch of Ravensworth by George Brewer for Kindle on Amazon $2.99

The FrightFall Readathon is back and I've made it a month long event! Sign up is open now so head over and add your name. Would love to have you join us!

Everyone knows I'm a huge Anne Rice fan (my favorite author) and she has written a sequel (with her son, Christopher Rice) to one of my favorites of her books, The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned. The new book is titled Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra. So, I've decided to host a read-along of the first book (October) in honor of the sequel's release in November. This will be a reread for me and frankly, I'm pretty excited. Rereading a favorite is always fun! Check out the announcement post and express your interest HERE.

That's it! Let's get the fall fun under way!

Kicking off Season of the Witch featuring #Poe and #Lovecraft Read-Alongs #witchseasoncm

Today's the day! Happy October and Halloween season! For some reason, I'm especially psyched this year. How about you?

Here's a refresher on the Poe and Lovecraft stories we will be reading and the schedule.

Week One - The Mask of the Red Death, Poe - Discussion on October 7/8
Week Two - The Dunwich Horror, Lovecraft - Discussion on October  14/15
Week Three - The Pit and the Pendulum, Poe - Discussion on October 21/22
Week Four - The Dreams in the Witch-House, Lovecraft - Discussion on October 28/29

In addition, I'll be reading a TON of scary books this month and sharing reviews. I'm also looking for guest reviews on scary reads, and/or guest posts on favorite spooky topics. Get in touch!

It's going to be a frightfully awesome Autumn!

Don't forget, the FrightFall Read-a-Thon starts Monday. You can sign up here at Seasons of Reading.

I'm also hosting a read-along of Stephen King's Salem's Lot over at my new reading community site, Gather Together and Read. Check it out here.

#Poe Read-Along - The Mask of the Red Death #witchseasoncm

Yesterday was the anniversary of Poe's death.
On September 27, Poe left Richmond for New York. He went to Philadelphia and stayed with a friend named James P. Moss. On September 30, he meant to go to New York but supposedly took the wrong train to Baltimore. On October 3, Poe was found at Gunner's Hall, a public house at 44 East Lombard Street, and was taken to the hospital. He lapsed in and out of consciousness but was never able to explain exactly what happened to him. Edgar Allan Poe died in the hospital on Sunday, October 7, 1849. (PoeStories.com)

I was first curious abou the spelling of the title of this story, as I was seeing it spelled online as "Masque" of the Red Death. However, in my unabridged anthology (published by Running Press in 1983), the title is The Mask of the Red Death. I believe it is a play on words on Poe's part. At the beginning of the story, he says, "The scarlet stains...especially on the face of the victim, were the best ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-man." There is a kind of scarlet "mask" that is a dead giveaway of someone with the disease. But then, Prince Prospero also holds a masquerade (masque) within his seclusion. I feel that was Poe's intent...for mask to represent both.

I'll admit to this being one of Poe's stories that was pretty deep so I did some analysis reading about it online. The first thing I read was the symbolism of the seven rooms of seven different colors representing the stages of life, the black room with the scarlet windows representing death. It makes sense and is quite clever, especially when the Red Death makes its appearance, walking from room to room, blue room all the way to finally black. When Prospero and his revelers follow, it is like they are going through life, and then they finally reach death at the hands of the disease.

There has been much analysis of Poe's works and this one is no different. They really dig in deep with the symbolism. For instance, the line "a thief in the night" is from the Bible and many scholars align the Red Death as the apocalyptic Jesus figure and the castle with Prospero and his revelers represents the world. And so, the Red Death brings about the end of the world. Interesting idea.

My final take is that these wealthy people seal themselves away to escape the Red Death, only to succumb to it in the end anyway. The lesson...you can't escape what's inevitable, or what proves to be a virulent disease. I'm quite sure I remember reading about households during the Black Death that sealed themselves off from the rest of the city/town, but ended up contracting and dying from the disease anyway.

A great story, in my opinion, but not overly scary. What did you think about what I discussed above and/or did you like the story?

On a side note, and I'm sure I mentioned this last year, but I'm a huge Vincent Price fan. Price starred in a bunch of films based on Poe's works. This one was no exception.

The Masque of the Red Death/1964
A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.

I'm not sure if I have seen this one or not. If I have, I don't remember it. You can watch it on Amazon Prime for $2.99, or here's the full movie from YouTube. Fun!

This post is part of....

Gothic September/Season of the Witch - Read-Along Info/Schedules #MissPeregrines #Poe #Lovecraft

Gothic September is just around the corner! Can't wait to get started reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Below is the reading and discussion schedule. On discussion days, I will do a general post of my thoughts and you can post yours in the comments, or on your blog and post the link in the comments, or you can do both. It's all casual.

Here's the schedule...

September 1st - Start Reading - through the end of Chapter 4 (page 103)
September 9th - stop by here for a discussion over the first section
September 9th - start reading section 2 - Chapter 5 through the end of Chapter 7 (page 206)
September 16th - section 2 discussion
September 16th - start reading section 3 - Chapter 8 through the end of Chapter 9 (page 268)
September 23 - section 3 discussion
September 23 - start reading section 4 - Chapter 10 through end of book (page 382)
September 30 - final discussion (section 4/book as a whole)

Note: My edition of the book - trade paperback, 382 pages
This post will be linked to the event button in the sidebar.

In addtion to the read-along, I'm hoping to share a little bit of Gothic all month so if you happen to be reading other Gothic literature (or poems) and would like to do a guest review, or write a guest post, let me know. Would love to have you!

Season of the Witch is going on here in October for the scariest month of the year. I'll be hosting read-alongs of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft stories each week.

Here's what we're reading:

Week One - The Mask of the Red Death, Poe - Discussion on October 7/8
Week Two - The Dunwich Horror, Lovecraft - Discussion on October  14/15
Week Three - The Pit and the Pendulum, Poe - Discussion on October 21/22
Week Four - The Dreams in the Witch-House, Lovecraft - Discussion on October 28/29

Note: I will post a reminder closer to October and share the schedule again.

I'm hoping to share the scary all month long so I'm looking for guest reviews on scary reads, and/or guest posts on favorite spooky topics. Get in touch!

It's going to be a frightfully awesome Autumn! Don't forget, the FrightFall Read-a-Thon will be going on the first week in October over at Seasons of Reading.

Edgar Allan Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher - Discussion

I'm quite behind with this final Gothic September read-a-long discussion. The month got away from me.

So, I finished reading last night and I was struck by how much I confused this story with some other story...I'm not even sure which. It's my pesky Vincent Price obsession again. I think he had starred in another movie that I thought was this, besides starring in the actual production of the Fall of the House of Usher film, which I watched last night as well.

I enjoyed this story, but I have to admit that I actually liked Ligeia best out of all three stories read for this event. Poe is a genius, as always, evoking a gloomy and Gothic atmosphere and a sense of something hidden beneath the surface of what shows in the daylight.

In the book version, the narrator is an old friend of Usher's from school and he visits to find his old friend in a not so healthy state, along with his twin sister. In the movie version, the narrator (or main character) is an acquaintance of Madeline, Usher's sister. He is intent on taking her from the house with the big crack in the facade (weird), saving her from her fate. It seems that the Ushers' health is directly tied to the health of the house, and as the house decays, so do they. At least, that was my observation.

***********Spoiler Alert**************
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So, in both versions, things escalate and someone is buried alive (you can probably guess who). In the book version, entirely by accident. In the movie, not so much. In both cases, revenge ensues and at end, we are treated to the "Fall of the House of Usher"...hence the name. 

I have really enjoyed reading these Poe tales and I plan to continue sharing some of his works during Season of the Witch this month. I hope you will visit and perhaps join us for The Bell Witch read-a-long.

I'm also hosting a read-a-long of Stephen King's Salem's Lot at my Stephen King challenge blog. Feel free to join in.

And don't forget about the FrightFall Read-a-Thon coming up next week!

October is here!!!

Also read for (and movie watched for)...

Edgar Allan Poe - The Cask of Amontillado - Discussion

This is a short one, but really no less profound. Funny how Poe understood human nature. Obviously, as we learn very early in the story, Montresor has been wronged by Fortunado, but how was he wronged? Was it a wrong hearkened to being continually cut off in traffic, or was it more of a constant injury of pride? We shall never know. But, as I said, Poe knew human nature, and knew it wouldn't be hard for the reader to believe this revenge plot, which really is a brilliant one.

So, as usual, I did my Google searches and came across some tidbits. Of course, I must touch on the Vincent Price version of the story. This story is portrayed along with two other tales (Morella, one of my favorites, and The Case of M. Valdemar) in a 1962 film titled, Tales of Terror. Amontillado in this film is actually told as a kind of mash up with another story and is titled The Black Cat. I remember this one well and I kind of liked this variation on the story, although it's a bit more comical.

I then came across this YouTube video of the story, kind of a short film. It's pretty good and I swear I think that's John Heard portraying Montresor, but I'm not sure. The video is poor quality, but I embedded it below, in case your might want to watch. I enjoyed it nonetheless. (My goodness, the way Montresor mocks Fortunado by making those screaming sounds...quite made me shudder)



Shmoop had some interesting discussion questions. I'll paste them below and then attempt to answer them as to my own thoughts. Feel free to do so as well in the comments, if you like.

1. What if Montresor is a woman? Most people assume Montresor is a man. Why? Would it change the way you think about the story if Montresor is a woman?
2. What kind of clown is Fortunato? We see lots of scary clowns in the movies and in books. Is Fortunato a scary clown? If so, what is scary about him? If not, why?
3. How do you feel when you read "The Cask"? Claustrophobic? Tired? Something else? What about the story makes you feel this way?
4. Could Fortunato narrate this story? Why, or why not? Make an argument for both sides of this debate.

If Montresor was a woman, I think it would be pretty kick ass. I, for one, think a woman would be quite adept at devising this kind of plot. Men, even enemies, seem to revert to good ole boy buddies when they're drinking and seem to temporarily forget past wrongs. The only thing that Montresor being a woman would change my thinking about the story is I would believe that Fortunado had wronged her by corrupting her innocence, or something to that effect.

I think Fortunado is portrayed as dressed up as a clown as a symbolism of his clown-like nature. What I'm thinking of is the person who is always clowning around and insulting people, thinly disguised as joking around. You know the type of person I'm talking about. I don't find him scary at all (well, unless was dressed as a circus clown. Yes, I have a phobia of those kinds of clowns).

I feel a bit bothered because I don't know how someone could kill another human being. And then I wonder what could Fortunado have done to Montresor to make him kill him in this way. And claustrophobic...yes! Who would ever want to be walled up alive. Ack! 

I suppose it would be interesting for Fortunado to narrate since he really has no idea how much Montresor hates him and so it would be equally suspenseful, perhaps more. Feeling the horror of being walled up from his point of view would be pretty creepy. Also, we might get some insight into how Fortunado really feels about Montresor. He might say, in his narrative, "Montresor is such a prat. He knows nothing about good Amontillado." And so we would get a glimpse of why Montresor can't stand him. 

I hope you will share your thoughts in the comments, or leave a link to your blog post.

Looking forward to next week and The Fall of the House of Usher!

Another story under my belt for R.I.P. X!

Edgar Allan Poe - Ligeia - Discussion

So, who else envisions Vincent Price as the male protagonist and hears Price's voice as the narrator? I can't help it! Every time I read Poe stories, I picture and hear Vincent Price. I guess it's because my earliest exposure to Poe's works were indeed from Price's movies. And I still love them to this day.

This was an interesting story. I don't think I've read it previously. And I was thinking that it was never made into a film because I don't remember seeing it. Wrong! As I did my Google search, I came across The Tomb of Ligeia, starring (guess who?) Vincent Price. It was a 1964 film. The IMDB description: "A man's obsession with his dead wife drives a wedge between him and his new bride." Even better, here's what the movie poster said, "Even on her wedding night, she must share the man she loved with the 'female thing' that lived in the tomb of the cat." Sounds good! I'm going to see if my library has it, or maybe I'll just buy it. I've found that I like owning Vincent Price films. The House of Wax still creeps me out to this day. (Addendum: Turns out there is a more recent film based on this story that I have seen. It was pretty good, as horror films go. Now that I know it's based on this story, I will have to watch it again. I do remember, upon reading the synopsis, that it does veer off from the original story quite a bit. 2009 film, The Tomb)

I found some discussion questions online that I thought might help facilitate our discussion. Feel free to answer them in the comments, or if you feel like sharing your thoughts without answering the questions, be my guest.

1) "Ligeia" is an evocative name. What does it suggest?
2) What effect does the notion that the narrator does not know the paternal name of his wife
have on us?
3) Ligeia's eyes are so prominent, so compelling. Why?
4) What does the poem about the conqueror worm have to do with her character / the story?
5) What does the Lady Rowena have in common with Ligeia? How?

My thoughts on the questions, etc...

I wasn't sure of the name of Ligeia and what it suggests so I did a search of its meaning: Derived from Greek λιγυς (ligys) meaning "clear-voiced, shrill, whistling". This was the name of one of the Sirens in Greek legend. This gave me an interesting thought. Ligeia in the story is a siren and she has the narrator firmly under her spell, even after death. I believe that she used her powers to cause him to poison Rowena and he was so firmly under her spell (and high on opium) that he didn't realize that he indeed killed her. 

I'm not even sure why #2 is relevant. I did not find myself asking why we did not learn, nor does the narrator know, Ligeia's paternal name. What about you? Do you find that strange? I'm thinking perhaps, going back to the siren idea, that she is actually a daughter of a god (like the Greek gods, for instance).

When I came to this question, I went back and read about her eyes again. It seems to me that the narrator is most compelled by her eyes. Perhaps her eyes are where her siren powers actually derive, or perhaps it's the old adage for him, "The eyes are the window to the soul"? The issue with the eyes also makes me think of her as a divine being, such as an angel. Which would also tie into the poem in the story, The Conqueror Worm.

This question got me thinking. The audience watching the play in The Conqueror Worm are angels, and so are immortal beings, and the players (mimes) on stage represent the human race. The worm then is death, devouring the humans and the audience (angels) are forced to watch this play out over and over in their immortality. And yet she laments to God in the passage directly after the poem about mortality (at least that's what I got from it) so perhaps she decides then and there that she will not give into to death. She will resist it with her sheer will and so she decides to get rid of Rowena and take over her body and life. There really could be so many interpretations here!

One similarity I noticed is that the narrator does not know or remember where or how he met Ligeia and again the same with Rowena. He isn’t sure how it happened that the family of the bride allowed their daughter to marry him. Another similarity is that both Ligeia and Rowena take ill and die. So perhaps, in the long run, the narrator is psychotic and is, in fact, a wife murderer. Food for thought.

I really enjoyed this story. I'm going to watch some movies based on it, as I mentioned above. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it.

Next up we have The Cask of Amontillado. Watch for the discussion post next week.

I forgot to add that this counts for R.I.P. X

Gothic September Is Here! #GothicSept

Today is the official kick-off of Gothic September here at Castle Macabre! This year, I'm featuring read-a-longs of three Edgar Allan Poe short stories.

Here are the stories and discussion schedule:

Ligeia 

Week of Sept. 7 - 13

The Cask of Amontillado 

Week of Sept. 14 - 20 

The Fall of the House of Usher 

Week of Sept. 21 - 27

*The schedule can also be found in the sidebar*

So, start reading Ligeia and next week, on Monday, I will put up a discussion post. Stop by at your leisure all week to discuss. I will follow this model for all three stories. (Each week's discussion post will be a sticky post.)

What else is going on this month? I'm hoping to post more about Edgar Allan Poe and his poems. If you're reading anything Gothic this month, I'd love for you to do a guest review. Just let me know if you'd like to share anything at all Gothic related this month. You can be my guest! 

The blogoversary giveaway is still going on at the announcement post so be sure to check it out. 

Happy (Gothic) September!

Announcing Gothic September and I missed my four year blogoversary!

BLOGOVERSARY WINNER - RACHELLE!

That's right, folks. This humble little horror arena turned four on August 15th. Where does the time go? I thought I would mark the occasion by announcing Gothic September! This year, I'm doing all Edgar Allan Poe. Specifically, there will be read-a-longs of his short stories, Ligeia, The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of the House of Usher. I will also share some of his poetry and other tidbits throughout the month. I'm hoping I will get some people willing to guest post too. You will find the read-a-long discussion schedule after I tell you about the giveaway...

Why, yes...a giveaway! My sister site, True Book Addict also celebrated a blogoversary in August. As of August 5th, True Book Addict has been online for SIX YEARS! Wow! So, this will be a dual giveaway between both blogs. Here's how it will work. If you comment here on this post (either telling me you'll be joining in for Gothic September and/or the read-a-longs, or just to tell me how much you love Poe) and on this post at True Book Addict, you will get two entries into the giveaway.

What's the prize? You will have the chance to win a $10 digital Amazon gift card OR $10 worth of books from the Bargain Bin at Better World Books (these are gently used books and let me tell you...I love the site. You can get 3 books for $10 from the bargain bin! I order from them all the time and purchases benefit literary causes around the world. Check them out!).

To enter, as I mentioned above, comment on this post AND on this post at True Book Addict and then fill out the form below with the name you used to comment. You only have to fill out the form once so if you fill it out here, don't fill it out again at True Book Addict. This giveaway will end on September 10, 2015 at 11:59pm CST. Open internationally.

Thanks for entering, in advance for joining me for Gothic September (if you plan to) and for being a loyal follower/reader of this blog.




The read-a-long discussion schedule is as follows. I will put the post up for the full week to enable plenty of time for people to stop by and discuss. I'll also post the schedule in the sidebar.

Ligeia
Week of Sept. 7 - 13
The Cask of Amontillado
Week of Sept. 14 - 20
The Fall of the House of Usher
Week of Sept. 21 - 27