The Tell-Tale Heart is a chilling tale about guilt and confession. It reminds us that our own conscience can be the scariest thing of all.
True! Nervous — very, very nervous I had been. But why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed them. Above all was the sense of hearing. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth.
It is impossible to say how the idea first entered my brain. But once it was there, I could think of nothing else. There was an old man who lived in the house with me. He had never wronged me. He had never insulted me. I loved him.
And so, slowly, I made up my mind to take the old man's life.
Now this is the point. You think me mad. But madmen know nothing. You should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I prepared. I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.
Every night, at midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it — oh, so gently! And then, when I had made an opening big enough for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed so that no light shone out. Then I thrust in my head. I moved it slowly, so slowly, that I might not disturb the old man's sleep.
And this I did for seven long nights.
On the eighth night, I was more careful than usual. I moved more slowly than the minute hand on a clock. I had never felt so powerful, so strong. I could barely contain my feelings of triumph.
I kept still and said nothing. I stood there for a long moment, and still he did not lie back down. Then I heard a groan — a low, stifled sound. It was not pain or grief. Oh, no! It was the sound of mortal terror. I knew that sound well.
And now a new anxiety seized me. I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling. But it continued and gained in strength.
Oh God! What could I do? I foamed — I raved — I swore!
It grew louder — louder — louder!
“Villains!” I shrieked. “Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!”
About the Author: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of American literature and the inventor of the detective fiction genre.
Age Rating: 10+ (psychological suspense, themes of guilt) | First Published: 1843 | Edition: Adapted for young readers