Supernatural Fiction Readers discussion

The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales

from Werner:

In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Poe doesn't make any reference to a supernatural curse; but the narrator mentions "a peculiar sensibility of temperament" that runs in the family, as well as the odd fact that it never had put forth any collateral branches --the line had always run from father to only son. He undoubtedly wants the reader to view this as a hereditary factor. And yes, the insane Roderick and his sickly sister are the last of the family.

from John:

What a great tale, Usher.

I tried Baskervilles a loooong time ago but it didn't hold my interest. Maybe I should give it another chance.

from Alice:

Yes, I agree, John, it always gives me the shivers and I feel so sorry for them. The descriptions are truly incredible.

Thanks Werner, I must have overlooked that one. Great cut and paste!

Right on about the descriptions, Werner.

And the atmosphere of the story ... everything seems stifling from the get-go. As a reader, I immediately got the impression something bad, perhaps horrible, was going to happen. Poe once again at his best.

John, actually that comment about the descriptions was from Alice --I just moved it to this thread. I'd sure agree with it, though (and with your thought about the story's atmosphere)!

Alice, thanks for the compliment, but I didn't cut and paste that one. I was at work at the time, and your helpful cut-and-paste directions were at home; so since the comment was short, I just wrote it down and re-copied it. When I get time, though, I'll try to cut-and-paste one or two things to the new threads.

Does everybody like having the Poe threads together in a folder? The idea seemed to make sense to me; and I've even thought that, since we're a big group now and have a lot of discussions, maybe we could use some more folders to organize and display them better. Any suggestions? How would you feel about having a folder for our common reads threads?

I do like having the Poe threads together in a folder.

If there's a common theme for other threads, maybe we should do likewise. I defer to you Werner, since your organizational skills honed as a day-job librarian doubtless exceed my own.

Thanks, John, your feedback is helpful. (I don't know if my organizational skills are all that great, but it's nice to know that somebody thinks so! :-))

This story was what inspired me to write horror!

Poe actually deserves his own folder as far I am concerned. The Tell Tale Heart as well as his other stories hold a certain fascination for readers that has never died. The psychological aspects alone in his work was at the least far ahead of his time.

Maybe if the lazy mods would get around to cleaning things up...
;-)

What do you know? There is a Poe folder! It only has 2 of his stories as topics right now. Feel free to make more to discuss any or all of his stories & poetry.

I love this story and everything Edgar Allen Poe (can't you tell?). When I first read this story I was very little and I remember trying to fall asleep but being unable to because I kept waiting for the sounds from the story and expecting to see a ghost at my bedroom door. :)