The Tale Tell Heart

The Tell-Tale Heart A lady had the idea to kill this old man. He never wronged or insulted her and she loved him. She didn't desire his riches, but she had to rid herself of his hated eye. He had the eye of a vulture-pale blue, with a film over it, and when he looked at her with it her blood ran cold. So, she wanted to kill him.

She was kind to him the week before she killed him, so she wouldn't give the hateful act away. For seven nights, at about mid-night, she opened his door very slowly and cautiously and put a lantern in. She opened the lantern just barely so a single ray of light shined on his vulture eye, but it was always closed, so it was impossible to kill him.

On the eighth night, when she was about to open the lantern, her hand slipped upon the tin fastening, and he woke up saying, "Who's there?" She could tell he was very frightened.

Illustration of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Harry Cla...

The Tell-Tale Heart (1953 film)

The Tell-Tale Heart (1960 film)

Then she heard a groan and he lay back down. When she put the ray of light on his vulture eye, it was wide open. Next, she killed him by smothering him under his mattress and then hid his corpse under the wood planks on the floor.

A neighbor heard the old man shriek so he called for some officers. The officers arrived and she heard a ringing in her ears. It kept growing louder and louder. It was the beating of the old man's heart. Finally, she couldn't take the guilt or the heart beating anymore and admitted to the officers the crime she had committed.