entering the house, the narrator sees the inside of the house as well as the odd behavior and personality of its inhabitants and is increasingly convinced that the house has some supernatural effect on those who live there. For example, while walking through the passages he is confused as to why familiar objects such as the tapestries on the wall or the trophies fill him with a feeling of increased superstition and he even describes the armorial trophies as “phantasmagoric” (666). Upon meeting Usher, the narrator remarks, “…the physique of the gray walls and the turrets, and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had at length, brought about upon the morale of his existence” (668). The narrator is remarking on Usher’s strange behavior in the house. He later describes his own superstition late one night before going to bed, “I endeavored to believe that mush, if not all of what I felt, was due to the phantasmagoric influence of the gloomy furniture of the room…”(673). He also describes feelings of alarm which he has as causeless, perhaps indicating that the house may in fact be having some effect on him.Throughout the story, Poe’s imagery of the house and the inanimate objects almost life-like characteristics, he is giving the house a supernatural quality. Fear is a basic element of human emotion that is caused by the expectation or realization of danger. The existence of fear is essential for establishing our beliefs and the actions we take throughout our lives. “The Fall of the House of Usher: revolves around this realm of fear, and reveals the importance of facing and overcoming our fears. Poe suggests in the story that the denial of our fears can lead to madness and insanity. This message is especially clear as we follow the deterioration of Roderick Usher’s mind and the resulting impact on the narrator of the story. Upon entering the house, t...
