The Tell-Tale Heart

By Edgar Allan Poe

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by cutting it into pieces and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately the narrator's guilt manifests itself in the hallucination that the man's heart is still beating under the floorboards.

It is unclear what relationship, if any, the old man and his murderer share. It has been suggested that the old man is a father figure or, perhaps, that his vulture eye represents some sort of veiled secret. The ambiguity and lack of details about the two main characters stand in stark contrast to the specific plot details leading up to the murder.

The story was first published in James Russell Lowell's The Pioneer in January 1843. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is widely considered a classic of the Gothic fiction genre and one of Poe's most famous short stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WS
• Release date: May 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9782291066002

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809. His parents, both touring actors, died before he was three. He was raised by John Allan, a prosperous Virginian merchant. Poe published his first volume of poetry while still a teenager. He worked as an editor for magazines in Philadelphia, Richmond and New York, and achieved respect as a literary critic. In 1836, he married his thirteen year-old cousin. It was only with the publication of The Raven and other Poems in 1845 that he achieved national fame as a writer. Poe died in mysterious circumstances in 1849.

Reviews for The Tell-Tale Heart

[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. :)

[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.

[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.