"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – tear up the planks! – here, here! – it is the beating of his hideous heart!"
I had exposed their hypocrisy, their fraud! And at that very instant, the devilish heartbeats stilled. An awesome silence filled the void, and chased all demons from my mind. I was in control once more, but more! – more so, that I ever was and ever will be! My senses were ablaze. Aha! My heightened senses - the symptoms of the disease - were but a prelude to this moment – this awakening of divine consciousness! This all-consuming fire vitalized me, ignited every fibre of my being – ho! For I had transcended! Transcended from this physical world and its petty realities. Ha! Ha! Yes! It would be them. These officers, these mortals who would bear witness to my ascendance! Dumbstruck, the officers began questioning me. Alack! It annoyed me, this senseless chatter – how it irked my delicate senses! Such trivialities had not the right to intrude upon my ears. But it mattered not! No doubt those mere mortals were astonished by my intellect and thus eager to learn of my deed. Oh yes, my deed! I smiled, for I would astound them all – ha, ha! All! With my calm logic, I would reason with them, I would educate them! Enlighten them!
I began, carefully recounting the events of the day. I had killed the old man. True! I had slyly stalked him to his deathbed. Eight nights! Eight nights in all I cautiously spied upon him, each time, opening the door silently – oh! So silently. For these eight nights His Eye had tormented me, vexed me, yes! – it was that blue-white Eye! Wretched Vulture Eye, God! How it froze my blood; how it paralysed my heart! I shudder to think of it still. And so, it was on the eighth – the eighth night! – that I was driven to vanquish the Eye for ever.
Do not misunderstand me. I had killed the old man not for his treasures, no! Oh, no. I was indifferent to his possessions. Why should I concern myself with such petty worldly matters? Indeed! Such trivialities were beneath me. I did not hate him. I bore him no malice. No! Not at all! He was kind, mild-mannered and amicable in every aspect – save that Evil Eye! That evil vulture Eye! It was on this eighth night, just as I had opened the door that I saw! Oh imagine! – where the light fell – the vulture eye staring into me! The Eye! The Eye! The old man I could not see, but that fated ray struck, oh! Precisely upon that festering eye! Oh!
The officers seemed not to comprehend. They missed my point – the reedy one, the officer with the long nose – he was the worst! Did he pretend not to see? Truly! The Eye would have driven us all mad had I not destroyed it. I suffocated the old man with all due caution, a shriek! – once, and that was all. That had sent these officers to my doorstep. I then described, in the minutest detail, the careful precision and exactness I had taken in dissecting the old man such that the corpse fit the hole beneath the floorboards. Now, ho! My reasoning was supreme! And knowing thus, I smiled in triumph at the officers. Hearken! Listen to my brilliance! Hear! Hear!
I had convinced them – of this, I was sure, for my explanation was perfect. Yet my sharpened senses detected a strange murmur amongst the officers! Alas! They were troubled by my flawless brilliance. There was questioning, drumming of fingers and piercing of eyes. But did they comprehend? No! There was more questioning, more drumming of fingers and more piercing of eyes. The officers smiled at each other. I grew angry at their mockery – for they disturbed the atmosphere of reverence that comes after great revelations. But I forgave them, for they did not know and would never know. How could they? Such are the reactions common men give when hearing profundities, and I was accustomed to such things. The fools recognized not the higher dimensions of my existence and knowledge! They knew not the danger his Eye brought. And so I pardoned their ignorance. Controlling my frustration, as every wise man would, I coolly welcomed them to tour the house once more. I was determined to reveal to the world the cunning with which I had planned it all.
Confidently, I declared that they tear apart the floorboards here! Herein lies the body! I cried. I bid them hurry, but they moved slowly – ever so slowly! – to unmask my greatness. The answer lay right beneath – beneath the floorboards! Two of the officers went to the kitchen fetch a jack. The other one, the officer with the hooked nose remained with me. I observed him quietly. He eyed the accursed spot, oh! – A glint in his eye told all! – He knew exactly what lay within! So he knew, he knew! Yet I remained calm and said nothing until the other men returned. It was then, with tremendous effort, that they heaved open the floorboards. There! I proclaimed, pointing, there it is – There! – Observe it well – the Evil Eye!
The three officers peered into the hole, but it was the Hooked-Nosed one who first smiled – Oh! The contempt! – smiled in my direction, meeting my gaze, disdain written all over his shriveled visage. Why, there is no body here! He laughed. No! That was impossible! I gazed upon the empty space beneath the floorboards. Yet I knew! It was here, definitely here, not so long ago, I had placed the body – and the Eye! I was confounded by an empty space. There was nothing! Nothing but a dark, gaping hole! I grew angry – this Nothing should never have existed! It was a mistake! Illogical! The Eye had vanished and the void it had left festering behind threatened to draw in my very being. Its darkness was devouring this very room! I could feel it! Keenly! I shone a lantern into the hole, yet it revealed nothing. The light would not illuminate. All trace of my labour was gone! But, no! I disbelieved, still! Clearly it had been the man! The hooked-nose one was deceiving me! The black Nothing had possessed the officer. Somehow, though I knew not how, he had secreted my evidence away, and Oh! – left behind this terrible emptiness. God! I heard the hollowness in his laugh. A dreadful chill was stirring within me, oh! How it felt like a shadow stalked me! Thinking of the Evil Eye, I trembled. But I was not shocked. Wise men are not shocked easily. I reminded myself that the old man was dead. And I had conquered the Eye! It was dead, dead cold – the vulture gaze vexed me no more! I tell you, I had ridded myself of the Eye! And the hole, too, would be vanquished. I defy this Nothing! I became at ease once more.
Using perfect logic and rationality, I began explaining the hole away. Yet the officers remained unconvinced. Worse, they dared entreat me to gaze upon the hole in all its darkness. They beseeched me to realize my folly. Fools! Fools! It was then that I studied their faces carefully. Woe! A fearful anxiety gripped me – their faces were not the faces of men! Oh! They had cruelly-grinning beaks. They cackled at my destruction. God, no! Their empty eyes stared into me. The Nothing had possessed them – all, all three men! I was destroyed! I saw the officers cruelly mutter. Mad, Mad, Mad. Oh God! I was destroyed! And the heart pulsated back to life. I heard its dullness. Its thud – I gasped in horror!
The officers were advancing on me. They called out to me, demanded that I look into the hole. Their talon-hands out to seize me! – whispering, all the while whispering – Mad! Mad! Mad! Ah! I looked into their eyes. I saw! – I felt! Yes, no! I knew at once – they had conspired with the old man to discredit me! They now sought to remove all evidence of my deed! I felt betrayed. I grew deathly pale, I shuddered. Oh! I twitched! They sought to capture me, to drag me into Nothingness. Yet I remained serenely calm. The Nothing had possessed them. I had tried to warn them, yet they paid me no heed! Fools! I could see a dark madness in their eyes – their eyes! Boldly, I strode forth to face them. True, their irrationality troubled me. But more importantly, I had to purge this Nothing from them lest it infect me!
Cunningly I dodged past the stumbling hooked-beak officer. The madness had afflicted him! He tried to pull me in, but I was too swift. I pushed him into the hole, he fell backwards. I did not look back, for I knew the Nothing had consumed him utterly. My blood raged – I had to escape! As the second officer snatched at me with his sharp talons, I evaded him too. He cursed, he swore vehemently. God! – The Nothing's grasp on them was too strong! Their souls had been sucked empty! Oh, no! – the maddened officer overpowered me and I cried out in excitement. The madness! I quivered violently. Oh! I struggled. Why did the Nothing haunt me so? Violently, I flung myself from his grasp. I would not give in to the Nothing! Never! Never!
I fled to the nearest room. Hastily I secured the latch. I gasped – gasped for air! Air! Outside, they were hammering on the door, demanding I admit them and their emptiness. Begone! Begone, madmen! I yelled. Inside, all was calm. I thought for a while. I paced. The room was dark! The Nothing was here! The hammering outside continued. Why would it not leave me? It was the old man – of this I was certain. The old man! – He had ruined me! Anguished, I clutched my heart. Oh! Oh! The agony! I sat down at the dressing table. What was I to do? God! – the intensity was maddening! Outside the officers pummeled away. God save me!
It was at this cursed moment – oh wretched moment! – that I looked up and saw! – Saw in the mirror the old man! It was he – he still lived! And the Eye – God! It was there! I gasped. God! No! The image before me stared defiantly. Begone! Begone! I felt nauseous as I fell. Madness! Oh! How he made a mockery of my suffering! So this was his revenge – he would possess me utterly. God! Alas! His Eye was already within me! Never! Never would I allow it! I would emerge victorious and transcend his evil ploy. I reached deep within the socket and ripped it out. True, I felt pain – searing pain! - but this pain was nothing compared to my exaltation. I was free! – Liberated from his hold! Ha! Ha! I had conquered it! There – in my hand, my own hand – I held the Evil Eye!
Adapted from The Tell-Tale Heart