The Fall of the House of Usher Classical gothic imagery is used throughout the story. Drippingly dark surroundings and terrifying ghostly symbols are used throughout to evoke a sense of fear. When the narrator approaches the house, he says he was struck by an overwhelming sense of gloom as he entered the ivy- covered, decaying old house. The very sight of the house caused him “an illness, a sickening feeling of the heart, an unredeemed …showed first 75 words of 251 total…

…showed last 75 words of 251 total…brother looked just alike. Throughout the story the narrator is amazed by everything he is seeing. It is a dark, gloomy place filled with illness. It talks of things decaying, dungeons, and medieval trappings. All through the story the reader is feeling a sense of fear from all of the horrid details. In the end the blood may have suggested that Madeline was a vampiress. The horrid mental images brings on a wonderfully grim suspense.