1001+ Books:
#3 - The Fall of the House of Usher
by: Edgar Allen Poe (1839)
Sometimes, in this time of gore-splattered sequel-spun frightless and biteless jump scare embellishing marketing, you need a really good fright to get the blood flowing again. Such is the Fall of the House of Usher; a mainstay in the Gothic horror genre and staple in the literary genius of Edgar Allen Poe, as well as literature in general. And it is frightening. Not in a momentary surprise or grizzled violent sort of way, but in something much more... undefinable almost. Morbid. Haunting. Grotesque, on a level somewhere close to the soul. It makes you physically uncomfortable. It leaves an impression, one I'm having too hard a time shaking. Even now I find my eyes gazing back towards my bedroom door, trying not to let it happen, in preposterous yet creeping dread that I may just see something I don't want to. It's somewhat a relief after crawling through Lord Jim, but the feeling of occupying my time with writing so as not to have to turn the light out is not comforting either.
Rating: B+
