Madeline Usher / Roderick Usher. The Fall of the House of Usher. 1839
The Fall of the House of Usher is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849). First published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, the story tells of an unnamed narrator who visits his friend Roderick Usher, who lives with his sister Madeline Usher, in a crumbling building that seems to be alive and connected with the illness suffered by both brother and sister. Arriving at the house, the narrator is told that Roderick’s sister Madeline has died, and he helps Roderick put Madeline into the family tomb. Over the next week the narrator and Roderick begin to become agitated, the house begins to shatter as cracking and ripping sounds are heard. Roderick tells the narrator that Madeline has been buried alive, and is making the sounds. Then Madeline appears in the door, she falls on her brother, and both land on the floor as corpses. The narrator then flees the house as it splits apart.