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Usher II
Short story
14 pages
First published April 1, 1950
2 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,561 books25.3k followersRay Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 26, 2022
From Poe’s Gothic horror to subversive dystopian comedy. I strongly suggest (re)reading Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher immediately before reading this. The long opening sentence is the same in both.
This was published in 1950 and set in 2005. It’s very optimistic on the tech front, but pessimistic in everything else.
William Stendhal is a super-rich man, with an irreverent and sometimes puerile sense of humour, and an interest in space, but he resists societal norms and government overreach (remind you of anyone?). He is receiving the key to his new house on Mars. The architect built it to Stendhal’s detailed, specific, and very odd requirements, including a “desolate and terrible” color, a “black and lurid” tarn, and the ability to cause “an iciness, a sickening of the heart”. The sun is blocked out so it’s always twilight, and the land made barren by DDT.
The architect is relieved to have finished, but still baffled. He’s never heard of Poe, let alone Usher, because of the Great Fire of 1975, when “all the tales of terror and fantasy and horror and, for that matter, tales of the future were burned”.
Image: A pile of burning books. (Source)
“Every man, they said, must face reality.”
Moral Climates enforce the law, and there’s also a Society for the Prevention of Fantasy:
“No books, no houses, nothing to be produced which in any way suggests ghosts, vampires, fairies, or any creature of the imagination.”
So far, so 451. But then it takes a very different turn into comic horror that reminded me of the film, Sleuth, with a dash of The Great Gatsby. The ending returns to the source material by a clever route.
The power of a wealthy uber-fan
Stendahl is a man of conviction, with the means to do something about it. His house is a concrete manifestation of his beliefs and specifically his love of Poe. His passionate and expensive defence of the right to imagination is one most readers would support, even if they balk at his specific tactics. But what if the obscenely wealthy person has a darker agenda to impose on others? That would be a far more disturbing tale.
Quotes
Bradbury is famous as a visionary sci-fi author, but he's poetic too.
• “On the walls were shadows with no people to throw them, and here or there were mirrors in which no image showed.”
• “Full grown without memory, the robots waited. In green silks the color of forest pools, in silks the color of frog and fern, they waited. In yellow hair the color of the sun and sand, the robots waited. Oiled, with tube bones cut from bronze and sunk in gelatin, the robots lay. In coffins for the not dead and not alive, in planked boxes, the metronomes waited to be set in motion. There was a smell of lubrication and lathed brass. There was a silence of the tomb yard. Sexed but sexless, the robots. Named but unnamed, and borrowing from humans everything but humanity, the robots stared at the nailed lids of their labeled F.0.B. boxes, in a death that was not even a death, for there had never been a life.”
See also
• Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, which I reviewed HERE.
• Usher II is included in some editions of The Martian Chronicles. I reviewed the rest HERE.
• Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 also explores book-burning, but for the opposite reason. In Usher II, it’s to make people face reality, but in 451, it’s so people watch soporific stuff on their screens instead of thinking for themselves and questioning authority. See my review HERE.
• For a different sort of crazy sci-fi architecture, see Robert A Heinlein’s And He Built a Crooked House, which I reviewed with Edwin Abbott’s Flatland, HERE.
• You can read this short story HERE.
This was published in 1950 and set in 2005. It’s very optimistic on the tech front, but pessimistic in everything else.
William Stendhal is a super-rich man, with an irreverent and sometimes puerile sense of humour, and an interest in space, but he resists societal norms and government overreach (remind you of anyone?). He is receiving the key to his new house on Mars. The architect built it to Stendhal’s detailed, specific, and very odd requirements, including a “desolate and terrible” color, a “black and lurid” tarn, and the ability to cause “an iciness, a sickening of the heart”. The sun is blocked out so it’s always twilight, and the land made barren by DDT.
The architect is relieved to have finished, but still baffled. He’s never heard of Poe, let alone Usher, because of the Great Fire of 1975, when “all the tales of terror and fantasy and horror and, for that matter, tales of the future were burned”.
Image: A pile of burning books. (Source)
“Every man, they said, must face reality.”
Moral Climates enforce the law, and there’s also a Society for the Prevention of Fantasy:
“No books, no houses, nothing to be produced which in any way suggests ghosts, vampires, fairies, or any creature of the imagination.”
So far, so 451. But then it takes a very different turn into comic horror that reminded me of the film, Sleuth, with a dash of The Great Gatsby. The ending returns to the source material by a clever route.
The power of a wealthy uber-fan
Stendahl is a man of conviction, with the means to do something about it. His house is a concrete manifestation of his beliefs and specifically his love of Poe. His passionate and expensive defence of the right to imagination is one most readers would support, even if they balk at his specific tactics. But what if the obscenely wealthy person has a darker agenda to impose on others? That would be a far more disturbing tale.
Quotes
Bradbury is famous as a visionary sci-fi author, but he's poetic too.
• “On the walls were shadows with no people to throw them, and here or there were mirrors in which no image showed.”
• “Full grown without memory, the robots waited. In green silks the color of forest pools, in silks the color of frog and fern, they waited. In yellow hair the color of the sun and sand, the robots waited. Oiled, with tube bones cut from bronze and sunk in gelatin, the robots lay. In coffins for the not dead and not alive, in planked boxes, the metronomes waited to be set in motion. There was a smell of lubrication and lathed brass. There was a silence of the tomb yard. Sexed but sexless, the robots. Named but unnamed, and borrowing from humans everything but humanity, the robots stared at the nailed lids of their labeled F.0.B. boxes, in a death that was not even a death, for there had never been a life.”
See also
• Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, which I reviewed HERE.
• Usher II is included in some editions of The Martian Chronicles. I reviewed the rest HERE.
• Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 also explores book-burning, but for the opposite reason. In Usher II, it’s to make people face reality, but in 451, it’s so people watch soporific stuff on their screens instead of thinking for themselves and questioning authority. See my review HERE.
• For a different sort of crazy sci-fi architecture, see Robert A Heinlein’s And He Built a Crooked House, which I reviewed with Edwin Abbott’s Flatland, HERE.
• You can read this short story HERE.
October 30, 2017
The House of Usher is brought to life in this Ray Bradbury story.
Arthur Rackham illustration of the House of Usher
4.5 stars. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature. (check out the other horror story reviews in that column - I put it together and am proud of it). :)
William Stendahl, a fan of fantasy and horror books and films, has spent $4 million recreating the House of Usher on the planet Mars. It’s always twilight on the property; the color is desolate and terrible; the walls are bleak; tarn is black and lurid. It’s perfect … and it’s completely illegal. Earth’s government turned against all speculative fiction years ago, in an excess of commitment to realism, and in the Burning of 1975 all books and films containing fairy tales, science fiction, fantasy or horror were destroyed. Stendahl knows the enforcers of Moral Climates are spreading their rules and restrictions from Earth to Mars and that he’ll only be able to enjoy his expensive creation for days, if not hours. But he has plans to fight back in an extremely creative ― and appropriate ― way.
The story does require quite a lot of suspension of disbelief. For starters, it was written in 1950, and the “future” in which “Usher II” is set is the year 2005. Four million dollars would buy a lot today, but certainly not a house filled with the sophisticated robots and technology described here. While censorship may be a problem, it hasn’t really touched upon the speculative fiction genre as a whole … though the current swell of power of Twitter social justice warriors and self-appointed content police does give one pause for thought. And Stendahl’s plan isn’t precisely the thing to make the morality enforcers rethink their position.
So it’s entirely possible that because of the nostalgia factor (I first read this story at a young, impressionable age) my rating is higher than it would otherwise be, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly on reread. I recommend listening to this 1975 recording of Leonard Nimoy reading "Usher II".
Arthur Rackham illustration of the House of Usher
4.5 stars. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature. (check out the other horror story reviews in that column - I put it together and am proud of it). :)
William Stendahl, a fan of fantasy and horror books and films, has spent $4 million recreating the House of Usher on the planet Mars. It’s always twilight on the property; the color is desolate and terrible; the walls are bleak; tarn is black and lurid. It’s perfect … and it’s completely illegal. Earth’s government turned against all speculative fiction years ago, in an excess of commitment to realism, and in the Burning of 1975 all books and films containing fairy tales, science fiction, fantasy or horror were destroyed. Stendahl knows the enforcers of Moral Climates are spreading their rules and restrictions from Earth to Mars and that he’ll only be able to enjoy his expensive creation for days, if not hours. But he has plans to fight back in an extremely creative ― and appropriate ― way.
The robots, clothed in hair of ape and white of rabbit, arose: Tweedledum following Tweedledee, Mock-Turtle, Dormouse, drowned bodies from the sea compounded of salt and whiteweed, swaying; hanging blue throated men with turned-up, clam-flesh eyes, and creatures of ice and burning tinsel, loam-dwarfs and pepper-elves, Tik-tok, Ruggedo, St. Nicholas with a self-made snow flurry blowing on before him, Bluebeard with whiskers like acetylene flame, and sulphur clouds from which green fire snouts protruded, and, in scaly and gigantic serpentine, a dragon with a furnace in its belly reeled out the door with a scream, a tick, a bellow, a silence, a rush, a wind. … The night was enchanted.“Usher II” is an homage to Edgar Allan Poe‘s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Cask of Amontillado” and several other classic fantasy and horror works. Bradbury’s lyrical, evocative language lends itself well to the plot. It’s darkly enjoyable to watch Stendahl and his friend Pike, an out-of-work character actor, execute their twisted and vengeful plans.
The story does require quite a lot of suspension of disbelief. For starters, it was written in 1950, and the “future” in which “Usher II” is set is the year 2005. Four million dollars would buy a lot today, but certainly not a house filled with the sophisticated robots and technology described here. While censorship may be a problem, it hasn’t really touched upon the speculative fiction genre as a whole … though the current swell of power of Twitter social justice warriors and self-appointed content police does give one pause for thought. And Stendahl’s plan isn’t precisely the thing to make the morality enforcers rethink their position.
So it’s entirely possible that because of the nostalgia factor (I first read this story at a young, impressionable age) my rating is higher than it would otherwise be, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly on reread. I recommend listening to this 1975 recording of Leonard Nimoy reading "Usher II".
May 26, 2022
"Usher II," a story from Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles," is a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic horror story, "The Fall of the House of Usher."
In 1975, the government on Earth had burned all the books and films containing horror, fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales. The moral police decided that everyone must face reality! Wealthy William Stendhal was angry that his prized collection of books had been burned, especially the books by Poe. So he had an architect recreate the House of Usher on Mars, and populate it with robots.
When Mr Garrett from Moral Climates inspects the Usher II, he threatens to dismantle and burn the mansion. But Mr Stendhal has a diabolical plan using sophisticated technology.
Readers will recognize references to "The House of Usher," "The Cask of Amontillado," "Fahrenheit 451," many fairy tales, and other stories of imagination. Bradbury's story is a humorous work written in 1950 (when the political moral police were busy in Congress), and set in 2005. He was quite skillful in weaving references to Poe's horror stories into "Usher II."
In 1975, the government on Earth had burned all the books and films containing horror, fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales. The moral police decided that everyone must face reality! Wealthy William Stendhal was angry that his prized collection of books had been burned, especially the books by Poe. So he had an architect recreate the House of Usher on Mars, and populate it with robots.
When Mr Garrett from Moral Climates inspects the Usher II, he threatens to dismantle and burn the mansion. But Mr Stendhal has a diabolical plan using sophisticated technology.
Readers will recognize references to "The House of Usher," "The Cask of Amontillado," "Fahrenheit 451," many fairy tales, and other stories of imagination. Bradbury's story is a humorous work written in 1950 (when the political moral police were busy in Congress), and set in 2005. He was quite skillful in weaving references to Poe's horror stories into "Usher II."
October 28, 2022
This is a story based on the Edgar Alan Poe story “The house of Usher”. I could never do it justice by describing it . I will just say that Ray Bradbury knows how to tell a story. Beautiful words and sentences and magical ideas.
““Does the name Usher mean nothing to you?”
“Nothing.” “Well, what about this name: Edgar Allan Poe?”
Mr. Bigelow shook his head.
“Of course.” Stendahl snorted delicately, a combination of dismay and contempt.
“How could I expect you to know blessed Mr. Poe? He died a long while ago, before Lincoln. All of his books were burned in the Great Fire. That’s thirty years ago—2006.” “Ah,” said Mr. Bigelow wisely.
“One of those!” “Yes, one of those, Bigelow. He and Lovecraft and Hawthorne and Ambrose Bierce and all the tales of terror and fantasy and horror and, for that matter, tales of the future were burned. Heartlessly. They passed a law. Oh, it started very small. In 1999 it was a grain of sand. They began by controlling books of cartoons and then detective books and, of course, films, one way or another, one group or another, political bias, religious prejudice, union pressures; there was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves.” “I see.” “Afraid of the word ‘politics’
““Does the name Usher mean nothing to you?”
“Nothing.” “Well, what about this name: Edgar Allan Poe?”
Mr. Bigelow shook his head.
“Of course.” Stendahl snorted delicately, a combination of dismay and contempt.
“How could I expect you to know blessed Mr. Poe? He died a long while ago, before Lincoln. All of his books were burned in the Great Fire. That’s thirty years ago—2006.” “Ah,” said Mr. Bigelow wisely.
“One of those!” “Yes, one of those, Bigelow. He and Lovecraft and Hawthorne and Ambrose Bierce and all the tales of terror and fantasy and horror and, for that matter, tales of the future were burned. Heartlessly. They passed a law. Oh, it started very small. In 1999 it was a grain of sand. They began by controlling books of cartoons and then detective books and, of course, films, one way or another, one group or another, political bias, religious prejudice, union pressures; there was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves.” “I see.” “Afraid of the word ‘politics’
October 20, 2012
Rereading this in preparation for my teaching, I was struck anew by what a gift it is: a love letter to the imagination and speculative fiction of all varieties, written by a man who was both a true fan and a true master. This is brilliant and darkly satisfying tale about what happens when the small-minded, in the effort to protect others from what they themselves disapprove of and fear, become the victim of their own intolerance. Bradbury lauds the nursery school rhyme and the fairytale, the works of Gothic terror and joyous fantasy, and of course science fiction itself as the sources of what truly makes us human. Most of all, this is a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe (whose "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Murders at the Rue Morgue," "The Hop-Frog," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Premature Burial," "The Black Cat," and "The Telltale Heart" all get their due praise and emulation here), ably executed (pun intended).
Ignorance is fatal, indeed.
Ignorance is fatal, indeed.
February 3, 2021
Truly one of Bradbury's best! Though portrayed through horror, the themes about ignorance, censorship, and the importance of fiction are deep, impactful, and still applicable today. It was a thriller both to read and to watch in its episode of Ray Bradbury Theater. Usher II is a wonderful addition to Fahrenheit 451 and Bradbury's other science fiction or dystopian works. Ray Bradbury really was one of the most insightful writers of all time and this is one of the best stories I have ever read.
October 5, 2017
I loved the Usher II because of how Ray Bradbury incorporates some of Edgar Allen Poe's stories into this short story. I recommend this book to all who love Mr.Poe's short stories.
July 20, 2018
Wonderful!!
This story is a cyber punk science fiction anthem especially for those who admire Edgard Allan Poe, Lovecraft and Bierce and also for those who love the literary genre of fantastic reality.
It is as if Bradbury tows us from his readiness in writing with a beautiful narrative that exposes the execution of a redemptive strategy against the generalities and the critical scam that diminishes the freedoms of thought and literary tastes.
And where does this happen? Inside one house called Usher, on the planet Mars!
That's right, a replica of Poe's Usher house.
But the homage does not stop there. A series of references of other works of Poe appear, setting the narrative in a climax of happiness and redemption.
If there is a day to celebrate Poe, this Bradbury story could be a speech of thanks.
_______
Maravilha!!
Essa história é um hino punk cibernético de ficção científica especialmente para aqueles que admiram Edgard Allan Poe, Lovecraft e Bierce e também para os que amam o gênero literário de realidade fantástica.
É como se Bradbury nos brindasse a partir de sua presteza na escrita com uma bela narrativa que expõe a execução de uma redentora estratégia contra as generalidades e o embuste crítico que diminui as liberdades de pensamento e gostos literários.
E onde isso acontece? Dentro de uma casa chamada Usher, no planeta Marte!
Isso mesmo, uma réplica da casa Usher de Poe.
Mas a homenagem não para por ai. Uma série de referências de outras obras de Poe vão surgindo, ambientando a narrativa em um clímax de felicidade e redenção.
Se houver um dia para celebrar Poe, essa história de Bradbury poderia ser um discurso de agradecimento.
This story is a cyber punk science fiction anthem especially for those who admire Edgard Allan Poe, Lovecraft and Bierce and also for those who love the literary genre of fantastic reality.
It is as if Bradbury tows us from his readiness in writing with a beautiful narrative that exposes the execution of a redemptive strategy against the generalities and the critical scam that diminishes the freedoms of thought and literary tastes.
And where does this happen? Inside one house called Usher, on the planet Mars!
That's right, a replica of Poe's Usher house.
But the homage does not stop there. A series of references of other works of Poe appear, setting the narrative in a climax of happiness and redemption.
If there is a day to celebrate Poe, this Bradbury story could be a speech of thanks.
_______
Maravilha!!
Essa história é um hino punk cibernético de ficção científica especialmente para aqueles que admiram Edgard Allan Poe, Lovecraft e Bierce e também para os que amam o gênero literário de realidade fantástica.
É como se Bradbury nos brindasse a partir de sua presteza na escrita com uma bela narrativa que expõe a execução de uma redentora estratégia contra as generalidades e o embuste crítico que diminui as liberdades de pensamento e gostos literários.
E onde isso acontece? Dentro de uma casa chamada Usher, no planeta Marte!
Isso mesmo, uma réplica da casa Usher de Poe.
Mas a homenagem não para por ai. Uma série de referências de outras obras de Poe vão surgindo, ambientando a narrativa em um clímax de felicidade e redenção.
Se houver um dia para celebrar Poe, essa história de Bradbury poderia ser um discurso de agradecimento.
October 3, 2019
I am not a Ray Bradbury fan, mostly because I don't like his style of dialog, but on the recommendation of a colleague I read it this morning. Also, and more importantly, I realized it was a story my wife has been telling me about for YEARS.
It is SO good! It is an homage to Edgar Allan Poe. It is a protest against an excessive dedication to rationalism. It is twisted and creepy. And I love it!
It is SO good! It is an homage to Edgar Allan Poe. It is a protest against an excessive dedication to rationalism. It is twisted and creepy. And I love it!
February 24, 2017
"Ignorance is fatal, Mr. Garrett."
December 28, 2018
It's fascinating to see how much Bradbury's writings of worries of the future are slowly becoming reality.
April 8, 2020
Leonard Nimoy reads Ray Bradbury's "Usher II" from "The Martian Chronicles" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHqS_...
June 19, 2021
It feels almost naïve in retrospect to fear that Society would take away our escapist stories rather than mass-produce soulless monopolies of them.
August 21, 2021
4.5 out of 5
February 22, 2023
my favorite story from Ray Bradbury's"the martian chronicles" hands down!
A wonderful plea for the importance of fantastic/macabre fiction and imagination in the face of censorship!
A wonderful plea for the importance of fantastic/macabre fiction and imagination in the face of censorship!
June 4, 2023
So good. Love this so much.
October 19, 2023
This is one of the best tributes to the Master I've ever read, with a dystopian pinch. Brilliant work!
March 12, 2024
Bradbury channeling Poe is back in this story. A gem for all to read! Quickly, before he walls us into the catacombs! :rofl.
Read
July 25, 2024Not sure if I read this in 1969 or 1970.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2024
I just love the cask of amortillado and how obsessed the main character was
December 14, 2024
Súper divertido. Recomiendo leerlo a la par de La caída de la casa Usher, de Edgar Allan Poe.
January 12, 2025
Classic Bradbury. Fun to read immediately after Poe.
October 29, 2025
Good short story for Halloween!
December 17, 2025
had to read for school not bad tho
November 14, 2024
Usher II is Bradbury at his best – angry, imaginative, and a little over the top. It’s a perfect reminder of why censorship will always fail: you can outlaw books, but you can’t kill stories.
Five stars for robot gorillas, spiteful architecture, and making the literary canon fight back.
Five stars for robot gorillas, spiteful architecture, and making the literary canon fight back.
November 4, 2020
Increíble. Todas las referencias a Poe perfectamente encajadas y la reencarnación de la ficción asesinada en una sociedad represiva es brillante.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2012
This is a short story from The Martian Chronicles, which in itself is a loosely connected set of stories about settling on Mars. William Stendahl creates his own house of Usher on Mars, a treasure house of horrors and mystery all stemming from Edgar Allen Poe's writing. When a representative from the Moral Climate Police shows up to evaluate the house, we learn that fantasy, the supernatural, and horror were all banished long ago in The Great Burning.
I was lent Leonard Nimoy's audio reading of this story and it is no exaggeration to say that I was blown away by his fine reading. What a talent he has for infusing character with the slightest changes of his voice. I can't say when I've enjoyed a reading so much.
Also, I really didn't remember the pure rage against the (censor) machine with which Bradbury invested this. I now see this is a continual theme. And considering the way things are going today, I have to concur that it is supremely important.
I was lent Leonard Nimoy's audio reading of this story and it is no exaggeration to say that I was blown away by his fine reading. What a talent he has for infusing character with the slightest changes of his voice. I can't say when I've enjoyed a reading so much.
Also, I really didn't remember the pure rage against the (censor) machine with which Bradbury invested this. I now see this is a continual theme. And considering the way things are going today, I have to concur that it is supremely important.
July 23, 2013
A worthy ode to Mr. Poe
November 1, 2013
Me: Mind-blown and, still, repulsed by the criminal acts.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews