The Tell - Tale Heart
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Summary By: Abby Davidson
The story takes place in a old house in 1843. The Killer is very disturbed by the old mans pale blue eye and can not take it any longer''.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.'' So every night at midnight he would go into the old mans room and try to examine it but he was always asleep. So finally in the eighth night he poked his head though but when he went to open the lantern he made a loud shriek and woke up the old man.''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?" ''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.'' . He stood there for hours waiting for the old man to go to sleep, but he never did. Finally he could not take it any more the sound of the old mans heart beat ringed in his ears. So finally he ran in and turned the bed over and smothered the old man and killed him. He put the body parts under three wooden planks. Soon there was a knock at the door it was the police they were told by a neighbor that there was a shriek so they asked to search the house.''It grew louder --louder --louder!'' Finally he thought that was going to get away with until they stayed and he kept hearing the old mans heart beat and then he finally admitted to what he did and they took him away.