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The tell-tale heart

1

True

!

--

nervous

--

very

,

very

dreadfully

nervous

I

had

been

and

am

;

but

why

will

you

say

that

I

am

mad

?

The

disease

had

sharpened

my

senses

--

not

destroyed

--

not

dulled

them

.

Above

all

was

the

sense

of

hearing

acute

.

I

heard

all

things

in

the

heaven

and

in

the

earth

.

I

heard

many

things

in

hell

.

How

,

then

,

am

I

mad

?

Hearken

!

and

observe

how

healthily

--

how

calmly

I

can

tell

you

the

whole

story

.

2

It

is

impossible

to

say

how

first

the

idea

entered

my

brain

;

but

once

conceived

,

it

haunted

me

day

and

night

.

Object

there

was

none

.

Passion

there

was

none

.

I

loved

the

old

man

.

He

had

never

wronged

me

.

He

had

never

given

me

insult

.

For

his

gold

I

had

no

desire

.

I

think

it

was

his

eye

!

yes

,

it

was

this

!

He

had

the

eye

of

a

vulture

--

a

pale

blue

eye

,

with

a

film

over

it

.

Whenever

it

fell

upon

me

,

my

blood

ran

cold

;

and

so

by

degrees

--

very

gradually

--

I

made

up

my

mind

to

take

the

life

of

the

old

man

,

and

thus

rid

myself

of

the

eye

forever

.

3

Now

this

is

the

point

.

You

fancy

me

mad

.

Madmen

know

nothing

.

But

you

should

have

seen

me

.

You

should

have

seen

how

wisely

I

proceeded

--

with

what

caution

--

with

what

foresight

--

with

what

dissimulation

I

went

to

work

!

I

was

never

kinder

to

the

old

man

than

during

the

whole

week

before

I

killed

him

.

And

every

night

,

about

midnight

,

I

turned

the

latch

of

his

door

and

opened

it

--

oh

so

gently

!

And

then

,

when

I

had

made

an

opening

sufficient

for

my

head

,

I

put

in

a

dark

lantern

,

all

closed

,

closed

,

that

no

light

shone

out

,

and

then

I

thrust

in

my

head

.

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4

Oh

,

you

would

have

laughed

to

see

how

cunningly

I

thrust

it

in

!

I

moved

it

slowly

--

very

,

very

slowly

,

so

that

I

might

not

disturb

the

old

man

's

sleep

.

It

took

me

an

hour

to

place

my

whole

head

within

the

opening

so

far

that

I

could

see

him

as

he

lay

upon

his

bed

.

Ha

!

would

a

madman

have

been

so

wise

as

this

,

And

then

,

when

my

head

was

well

in

the

room

,

I

undid

the

lantern

cautiously-oh

,

so

cautiously

--

cautiously

(

for

the

hinges

creaked

)

--

I

undid

it

just

so

much

that

a

single

thin

ray

fell

upon

the

vulture

eye

.

And

this

I

did

for

seven

long

nights

--

every

night

just

at

midnight

--

but

I

found

the

eye

always

closed

;

and

so

it

was

impossible

to

do

the

work

;

for

it

was

not

the

old

man

who

vexed

me

,

but

his

Evil

Eye

.

And

every

morning

,

when

the

day

broke

,

I

went

boldly

into

the

chamber

,

and

spoke

courageously

to

him

,

calling

him

by

name

in

a

hearty

tone

,

and

inquiring

how

he

has

passed

the

night

.

So

you

see

he

would

have

been

a

very

profound

old

man

,

indeed

,

to

suspect

that

every

night

,

just

at

twelve

,

I

looked

in

upon

him

while

he

slept

.

5

Upon

the

eighth

night

I

was

more

than

usually

cautious

in

opening

the

door

.

A

watch

's

minute

hand

moves

more

quickly

than

did

mine

.

Never

before

that

night

had

I

felt

the

extent

of

my

own

powers

--

of

my

sagacity

.

I

could

scarcely

contain

my

feelings

of

triumph

.

To

think

that

there

I

was

,

opening

the

door

,

little

by

little

,

and

he

not

even

to

dream

of

my

secret

deeds

or

thoughts

.

I

fairly

chuckled

at

the

idea

;

and

perhaps

he

heard

me

;

for

he

moved

on

the

bed

suddenly

,

as

if

startled

.

6

Now

you

may

think

that

I

drew

back

--

but

no

.

His

room

was

as

black

as

pitch

with

the

thick

darkness

,

(

for

the

shutters

were

close

fastened

,

through

fear

of

robbers

,

)

and

so

I

knew

that

he

could

not

see

the

opening

of

the

door

,

and

I

kept

pushing

it

on

steadily

,

steadily

.

7

I

had

my

head

in

,

and

was

about

to

open

the

lantern

,

when

my

thumb

slipped

upon

the

tin

fastening

,

and

the

old

man

sprang

up

in

bed

,

crying

out

--

"

Who

's

there

?

"

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8

I

kept

quite

still

and

said

nothing

.

For

a

whole

hour

I

did

not

move

a

muscle

,

and

in

the

meantime

I

did

not

hear

him

lie

down

.

He

was

still

sitting

up

in

the

bed

listening

;

--

just

as

I

have

done

,

night

after

night

,

hearkening

to

the

death

watches

in

the

wall

.

9

Presently

I

heard

a

slight

groan

,

and

I

knew

it

was

the

groan

of

mortal

terror

.

It

was

not

a

groan

of

pain

or

of

grief

--

oh

,

no

!

--

it

was

the

low

stifled

sound

that

arises

from

the

bottom

of

the

soul

when

overcharged

with

awe

.

I

knew

the

sound

well

.

Many

a

night

,

just

at

midnight

,

when

all

the

world

slept

,

it

has

welled

up

from

my

own

bosom

,

deepening

,

with

its

dreadful

echo

,

the

terrors

that

distracted

me

.

I

say

I

knew

it

well

.

I

knew

what

the

old

man

felt

,

and

pitied

him

,

although

I

chuckled

at

heart

.

I

knew

that

he

had

been

lying

awake

ever

since

the

first

slight

noise

,

when

he

had

turned

in

the

bed

.

His

fears

had

been

ever

since

growing

upon

him

.

He

had

been

trying

to

fancy

them

causeless

,

but

could

not

.

10

He

had

been

saying

to

himself

--

"

It

is

nothing

but

the

wind

in

the

chimney

--

it

is

only

a

mouse

crossing

the

floor

,

"

or

"

It

is

merely

a

cricket

which

has

made

a

single

chirp

.

"

Yes

,

he

had

been

trying

to

comfort

himself

with

these

suppositions

:

but

he

had

found

all

in

vain

.

All

in

vain

;

because

Death

,

in

approaching

him

had

stalked

with

his

black

shadow

before

him

,

and

enveloped

the

victim

.

And

it

was

the

mournful

influence

of

the

unperceived

shadow

that

caused

him

to

feel

--

although

he

neither

saw

nor

heard

--

to

feel

the

presence

of

my

head

within

the

room

.

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