The Tell-Tale Flaw
True-- insane-- very, very insane I had been and am. But why will you say that I am mad?
Madness is not the same as insanity. The disease has made me smarter, not dumber, not
stupider. There is a thin line between genius and insanity. How then am I mad? Hearken!
And listen to what I have to say!
It is impossible to say how first the dream entered my brain. But once there, it haunted me
each night. Every night, just at twelve, the dream would strike! I would say to myself, "It is just
the wind in the chimney," or, "It is just a mouse crossing the floor." But it wasn't. I knew! It
was the evil raven eye. When it fell upon me it quoth "Nevermore." I was startled the first time
I heard it, but then it became a normal, every night dream, until finally, I went insane. Again.
Since someone had to take the blame (because this isn't a good story until the insane man
kills someone) I decided to take the life of the old man who lived next door. I loved the old man.
He had never wronged me. We had never even spoken to each other, now that I think of it. I
think it is because he just moved in yesterday. Yes, it was this!
The next night, I awoke at midnight, so that I might not have that evil eye dream again! I
walked out into the hall to get ready to go next door and kill the old man. Then suddenly a black
cat walked down the creaky hallway. It was my cat! "You evil cat," I shrieked, "you make too
much noise!" I then took out my knife, leaped to the floor, and stabbed out the cat's eye. There
it was! The evil eye! It was the cat's. Now I had to kill the cat. Not the poor old man who lived
next door. But now the cat was gone. I searched the house with my lantern until dawn but
found nothing.
Suddenly there came a tapping, as if someone gently rapping, rapping at my front door. I
went down to the door with a light heart, so no one would ever suspect that I hated my cat.
Here I opened wide the door. Darkness here, and nothing more. Then the old man from next
door jumped around the corner. The old man scared me so much that with a loud shriek I
leaped on him and stabbed him to death. Whoops!
Just as I did that the black cat escaped through my door. Nuts! Then with a many a flirt
and flutter, in came a raven. Quoth the raven "Nevermore." I swore, I foamed, I raged. But I
then took a liking to the bird, and I named it Nevermore. I don't know where I got the name, but
I liked it and still do.
Now, every night, just at twelve, I have a new dream. The eight chained ourang-outangs
all wear the Masque of the Red Death, while I look for the Spirits of the Dead known as Annabel
Lee in the kingdom by the sea. I then thank the Conqueror Worm for the Cask of Amontillado,
and whisper the word Lenore, for evermore.
[Author's note: Never bet the devil your head! Do you mark me well? I said that I'm insane, so
I am!]
To contact the author of this story write to: Dream-Land, Valley of the Unrest, House of Usher,
11809
True-- insane-- very, very insane I had been and am. But why will you say that I am mad?
Madness is not the same as insanity. The disease has made me smarter, not dumber, not
stupider. There is a thin line between genius and insanity. How then am I mad? Hearken!
And listen to what I have to say!
It is impossible to say how first the dream entered my brain. But once there, it haunted me
each night. Every night, just at twelve, the dream would strike! I would say to myself, "It is just
the wind in the chimney," or, "It is just a mouse crossing the floor." But it wasn't. I knew! It
was the evil raven eye. When it fell upon me it quoth "Nevermore." I was startled the first time
I heard it, but then it became a normal, every night dream, until finally, I went insane. Again.
Since someone had to take the blame (because this isn't a good story until the insane man
kills someone) I decided to take the life of the old man who lived next door. I loved the old man.
He had never wronged me. We had never even spoken to each other, now that I think of it. I
think it is because he just moved in yesterday. Yes, it was this!
The next night, I awoke at midnight, so that I might not have that evil eye dream again! I
walked out into the hall to get ready to go next door and kill the old man. Then suddenly a black
cat walked down the creaky hallway. It was my cat! "You evil cat," I shrieked, "you make too
much noise!" I then took out my knife, leaped to the floor, and stabbed out the cat's eye. There
it was! The evil eye! It was the cat's. Now I had to kill the cat. Not the poor old man who lived
next door. But now the cat was gone. I searched the house with my lantern until dawn but
found nothing.
Suddenly there came a tapping, as if someone gently rapping, rapping at my front door. I
went down to the door with a light heart, so no one would ever suspect that I hated my cat.
Here I opened wide the door. Darkness here, and nothing more. Then the old man from next
door jumped around the corner. The old man scared me so much that with a loud shriek I
leaped on him and stabbed him to death. Whoops!
Just as I did that the black cat escaped through my door. Nuts! Then with a many a flirt
and flutter, in came a raven. Quoth the raven "Nevermore." I swore, I foamed, I raged. But I
then took a liking to the bird, and I named it Nevermore. I don't know where I got the name, but
I liked it and still do.
Now, every night, just at twelve, I have a new dream. The eight chained ourang-outangs
all wear the Masque of the Red Death, while I look for the Spirits of the Dead known as Annabel
Lee in the kingdom by the sea. I then thank the Conqueror Worm for the Cask of Amontillado,
and whisper the word Lenore, for evermore.
[Author's note: Never bet the devil your head! Do you mark me well? I said that I'm insane, so
I am!]
To contact the author of this story write to: Dream-Land, Valley of the Unrest, House of Usher,
11809
