The Tell Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe

PLOT

This crazy dude lives in a house with this old man. He doesn’t like the old man especially his weird eye. So he decides to kill the old man. So one day he goes into his room and kills the guy. Then he cuts the guy up and buries him under the floorboards. Then the police come. They search the house and don’t find anything, so they are convinced. The only problem is, is that this crazy dude keeps hearing the old man’s heartbeat. This drives him nuts and then he confesses to the cops.

THINGS TO MAKE YOU LOOK SMART

  • The heart beating symbolizes guilt. When someone does something wrong "sound" of guilt can drive you crazy.
  • This is Poe’s usual style of story. Strange and scary.