The Tell-Tale Heart

Written by Edgar Allan Poe

Narrated by B. J. Harrison

It was the eye. The dull, sightless, vulture's eye that shredded his final nerve. But the murder was done so carefully, so perfectly, that only one thing could reveal the whereabouts of the body. B. J. Harrison gives a masterful reading of the famous murder that wouldn't keep quiet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B.J. Harrison
• Release date: Aug 17, 2007
• ISBN: 9781937091781

Edgar Allan Poe

New York Times bestselling author Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the Department of Economics. He has also held a visiting professorship at MIT’s Media Lab. He has appeared on CNN and CNBC, and is a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s Marketplace. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.

Reviews for The Tell-Tale Heart

[the_literary_jedi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A master of the Gothic short story, this tale of delusion and madness makes for great reading. Often used in conjunction with other tales for exploring themes of loneliness, psychological understanding, dark and gloomy settings, memory, loss, suffering, and death.

Many of Poe's stories have a connection to his own life and paint the picture of the writer as a sad and lonely man lost amidst ghosts of his past.

The Tell-Tale Heart focuses on a young man who is a caretaker of an older gentleman. The older gentleman has two different eyes (perhaps from age or disease) one of which is described as "vulture-like" by the narrator. The young man grows obsessed with this eye and cannot stand it. He commits an act against the old man and spends much of the tale protesting to authorities about how sane he is while describing the cold, calculated, and methodical things he did. In the end, the young man is more driven mad by his own psychosis than anything else.

Recommended for readers as young as middle-grades (6-8).

**All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

[meandmybooks-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My three star rating is not actually for "The Tell-Tale Heart," which is perfect for what it is -- a tightly composed narration of a mad act -- but, rather, for the collection I just read, No. 31 in Penguin's Little Black Classics series. The (short) book starts with "The Tell-Tale Heart," but also includes "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Cask of Amontillado." The "Cask," like "Tell-Tale Heart," is a story I read first in high school, and then a time or two since, and I know it made quite an impression on me when I first read it, as it's stuck with me all these years. Didn't grab me this time, for some reason, but I blame "The Fall of the House of Usher," which came before and bored the heck out of me. It just seemed like the build up lasted Forever, and the payoff failed to dazzle. The gloomy , isolated old mansion, with the dripping trees and miasmas, and the family curse were all awesome, but ... well. I think maybe the "hints" were just so clear that there was no surprise.

[thecrow2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Three classic short stories from E.A.Poe. What can I say what hasn’t been told countless times about them. Perfection.

[shahnareads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent.
I love Poe so much. I had no idea these comics existed.

I love the new way these stories are being portrayed. Brings new life to old classics.

[philsyphe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Here we have a narrator who keeps telling the reader he's not mad yet in doing so he comfirms his insanity!

[scerakor-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great short story that epitomizes the short story and Poe's horror genre.

[maheswaranm-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very Short.
Very Very Thrilling story.

Brings up the excitement with full acceleration in just a paragraph.
Then keeps it up till the very end - ending with a big bang.

I think I did hear my heart.
My adrenaline must have been pumping it fast. :)

[joybee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great, short horror tale. It begins with the narrator trying to convince the reader he is not mad. He does this by telling how he planned and concealed the killing of an old man, (with whom he lives)not for gold or insult, but because of his eye. Once the deed is done he hides the body under the floor boards just in time to answer the door, the police are calling, there was a report of a shriek coming from the house. The narrator smugly shows the police around, telling them the old man is away, thinking he has gotten away with murder. Then he hears a faint heartbeat that gets louder and louder until he confesses all.