Edgar Allen Poe's the Fall of the House of Usher

My favorite sentence in the entire English language is the opening line of Edgar Allen Poe's melancholy, Gothic short-story, The Fall of the House of Usher. I can't resist but to refresh your memory here:

"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher." (1)

Fabulous, isn't it?!!! Poe's choice of words and the gloom that seeps from his description are wonderfully disquieting and dark. It is as if an enormous shadow slowly engulfs me each time I lose myself in the dreary world created in that forlorn sentence. It has a rhythm, a heartbeat, and hints of the madness that is about to unfold, that draws the reader in, and makes one hungry to read on!

The foreboding and danger in the tone of that first sentence in this classic American Gothic short story makes one want to shout to the rider/narrator, "Run away! Run away, now!!!!!"

It is also a fun sentence to repeat aloud, putting feeling and drama into one's tone. I dare you to try to get through it aloud without one mistaken word or inflection. The sentence is so long, but so brilliant. Yes, a run-on sentence (60 words long) but a run-on by a poetic genius. If only my writing could invoke half of the emotion Poe's words conjure in the mind!

Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) first officially published The Fall of the House of Usher in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine (2). It is considered to be a masterpiece of the American Gothic genre. Supposedly, it was inspired by Usher House, an actual home on Boston's Lewis Wharf. Mr. Usher supposedly buried his wife and her lover alive under the house. Years after, during demolition of Usher House in 1800, their skeletal remains were found, still embracing each other (2).

In Poe's world, the tale of Usher House contains the narrator, boyhood friend of a highly nervous and ailing Roderick Usher, Roderick, his mysterious and cataleptic sister, Madeline, and of course the House of Usher, a palpable entity in and of itself.

The genius of The Fall of the House of Usher is that it suggests a thousand other stories-sequels, prequels- probable continuations of this twisted tale that keep one's mind busy churning out scenarios with such unholy themes as vampirism, incest, and murder. I will not do the story further injustice by revealing any more of it here, but if I have awakened your curiosity, you may read the entire story online at Bartleby.com/195/10. I give you fair warning: you might not want to be home alone during its reading!

Sources: 1. The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe, compiled by Random House, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1938.

2. "The Fall of the House of Usher", Wikepedia.org.