WEBVTT 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:27.320 Come in. Welcome. I'm E .G. Marshall. Welcome 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:32.399 to the sounds of suspense. To the fear you can 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:37.539 hear. Horror that makes the flesh crawl as with 00:00:37.539 --> 00:00:41.679 maggots. Terror that turns the brain to jelly. 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:47.000 These mark the work of Edgar Allan Poe. For nearly 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:49.759 a century and a half readers have wondered at 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:53.659 the mad creations of his fevered brain even as 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:59.859 their blood ran cold with fear as shall yours 00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:41.709 Please God help us Our mystery drama the fall 00:01:41.709 --> 00:01:45.290 of the house of usher Was especially adapted 00:01:45.290 --> 00:01:48.629 from the Edgar Allan Poe classic for the mystery 00:01:48.629 --> 00:01:53.769 theater by George lofer and stars Kevin McCarthy 00:01:53.769 --> 00:02:11.229 I'll be back with act one I must warn you that 00:02:11.229 --> 00:02:16.750 there lies ahead for you a tale so gruesome that 00:02:16.750 --> 00:02:20.870 when it ends you will know beyond doubt that 00:02:20.870 --> 00:02:24.490 never in your life before have you experienced 00:02:24.490 --> 00:02:31.009 such revulsion. Are you prepared for this? Come 00:02:31.009 --> 00:02:33.830 then to a certain room where a man named Gabriel 00:02:33.830 --> 00:02:38.110 Mannering sits writing in his diary. A certain 00:02:38.110 --> 00:02:45.039 room. in the house of Usher I sit here writing 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.580 this diary when in truth were I not a fool I 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:51.840 should have already departed this frightful place 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:56.180 already I have sent such horrors in these first 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:59.080 hours of my visit that I I trembled the thought 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:02.860 of what may be in store for my friend Roderick 00:03:02.860 --> 00:03:08.800 Usher and for me During the whole of this dull, 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.460 dark autumn day, I had passed on horseback through 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:16.120 a singularly dreary tract of country, and at 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:19.259 length found myself as the shades of evening 00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:24.139 grew on, within a view of this bleak and melancholy 00:03:24.139 --> 00:03:28.759 house, the House of Usher. I felt at once an 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:31.879 iciness, a sickening of my heart and wondered 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:38.219 what it was that so unnerved me. I was soon to 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:51.840 find out. You would be Mr. Mannering, sir? Yes. 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:55.300 My master awaits you. One moment, one moment, 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:59.840 my horse. We'd be well cared for, sir. That carriage 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:03.479 standing there, that black carriage, is there 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:07.159 another visitor? Only the doctor. He is attending, 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:13.620 Miss Madeline. This way, sir. Thank you. Follow 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:21.379 me now, sir. We turn here, the passage on our 00:04:21.379 --> 00:04:27.819 left. Now, this to the right. I had no idea. 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:33.740 The house of Usher was so vast. Ah, yes. Vast. 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:39.459 Above... and below. Below? There are chambers, 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:44.480 underground, vaults, dungeons, that even I have 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:46.600 never seen, and I have lived here as servant 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:52.319 to Mr. Usher more than 30 years. Here we are, 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:59.740 sir. Come. Mr. Gabriel Mannering, sir. Oh, Gabriel. 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:02.279 My dear good friend, you've come. You've come 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.620 at last. Roderick. I came immediately on receipt 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:09.500 of your letter. It gave me cause for concern, 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:13.399 deep concern, after all, Roderick, not having 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:17.959 seen each other in years, nor corresponded even 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:20.439 to receive a letter from you, wasn't itself a 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.699 surprise. But the contents, Roderick, the contents 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:30.660 were a shock. How ill are you? Ill? I'm not ill? 00:05:31.220 --> 00:05:34.740 Not ill. But in your letter... I am not ill! 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:38.540 Oh, I... I may have mentioned something of the 00:05:38.540 --> 00:05:40.279 sort in my letter, but... More than mentioned, 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:43.500 you spoke of acute bodily illness, of oppressive 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:46.180 mental disorder, of a malady, a malady, dear 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:49.160 friend, so strange you could not bear to face 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:53.360 it alone. Now, that is why I'm here. That is 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:58.800 why I came at once. A terrible agitation in your 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:00.360 letter. Oh, mood, mood, mood. It was nothing 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:06.379 but mood. Mood of the moment. Come now. Kato, 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:08.740 the port. Good, good, good. Thank you, thank 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:15.019 you. I'll pour. I'll pour. And oh, Kato. Sir? 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:20.019 Dr. Windham is with my sister still? Yes, sir. 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:21.899 I would speak with him before he takes his leave 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:29.060 if he feels I can bear to... Sir? Nothing. Nothing. 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:35.910 Just say I wish to see him. Yes, sir. Vintage 00:06:35.910 --> 00:06:39.730 port, Gabriel. You'll enjoy it. Its aroma, its 00:06:39.730 --> 00:06:42.930 fragrant bouquet will delight your nostrils. 00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:47.990 Its taste will fall sweet on your tongue. Your 00:06:47.990 --> 00:06:54.290 health, good friend. And yours, Roderick. Tell 00:06:54.290 --> 00:06:57.949 me about yourself, Gabriel. How has life gone 00:06:57.949 --> 00:07:00.949 with you all these years? As all lives go, I 00:07:00.949 --> 00:07:03.779 suppose. There's been the good, the bad, the 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:07.199 indifference. Yes, my mind has been mostly bad. 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:11.439 I've prospered my importing business in Baton 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:13.899 Rouge. Ruination that's been my lot, my fate. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:19.779 The fate of the House of Usher. Well, if you 00:07:19.779 --> 00:07:24.379 are financially in need... No, no! No, no, no! 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:29.459 I speak of another kind of ruination. Decadence. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.860 I speak of the evil. The evil that molders within 00:07:32.860 --> 00:07:40.279 my body, my mind, my house. House? Oh, no. No 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:45.540 house this. A tomb. A tomb that houses the living 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:54.819 dead. You are ill? Yes. Yes, I lied. I am ill 00:07:54.819 --> 00:08:08.759 with what? Of what? I do not. Well, what do we 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:12.060 all fear, each of us? What living thing has not 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:17.060 known fear? It is within us, this fear. It rots 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:20.839 within us, as I rot within this house. But mark 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:24.600 you, good friend, whereas with others fear rides 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:27.699 like a restless maggot only now and again. With 00:08:27.699 --> 00:08:33.879 me, with me it's ever present, a colorless sly. 00:08:35.309 --> 00:08:40.149 me spreading engulfing drowning me drowning me 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.580 Through the foulest time of the year to be with 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:22.960 you and here I shall stay until you are well 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:27.019 again But you don't understand I shall never 00:09:27.019 --> 00:09:31.899 get well of course you will no no No, she is 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:37.120 dying you see and I I your sister Is it she who 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:43.460 is dying? But it's she who is dying if it is 00:09:58.669 --> 00:10:01.629 Mr. Usher, as you see, is not himself. I'm a 00:10:01.629 --> 00:10:04.470 friend of his. Gabriel Manning of Baton Rouge. 00:10:04.789 --> 00:10:08.750 Oh, how'd you know? Louis Windham. I can treat 00:10:08.750 --> 00:10:11.950 your part in both of you. Now, now, Roderick. 00:10:12.570 --> 00:10:15.509 My nerves, my nerves sometimes. Yes, I know, 00:10:15.590 --> 00:10:19.850 and I'm sure Mr. Manning understands. You've 00:10:19.850 --> 00:10:23.090 been taking the laudanum I prescribe now. I use 00:10:23.090 --> 00:10:26.700 the last. Only yesterday. I'll see if you get 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:33.440 more. Oh, thank you, thank you. My sister. There's 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:40.860 no change. How long? How long? Before death. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:46.179 I don't know. Your sister's malady baffles me. 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:49.820 I don't know what is killing her, nor do I know 00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:53.480 what keeps her alive when in truth she's all 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:58.750 but dead. doctor for me to ask you. What do you 00:10:58.750 --> 00:11:01.570 mean by that? Well, no, no, Mr. Madeline. Quite 00:11:01.570 --> 00:11:03.649 simply, there have been times when Miss Usher 00:11:03.649 --> 00:11:08.090 and Madeline has been devoid of all vital signs. 00:11:08.850 --> 00:11:11.470 By this, I mean I've been unable at these times 00:11:11.470 --> 00:11:14.750 to detect a pulse, blood pressure, any respiration 00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:18.590 whatsoever. And yet, moments later, she's opened 00:11:18.590 --> 00:11:22.929 her eyes and returned to the world of the living. 00:11:23.169 --> 00:11:26.230 Strange, strange. I have encountered nothing 00:11:26.230 --> 00:11:30.110 like it in years of practice. It's not too far 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:34.009 from the truth to say that she is dead, and yet 00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:38.090 she lives on. Yes, yes. Like the house itself. 00:11:38.429 --> 00:11:41.850 Now, Roderick, you mustn't... I tell you, we 00:11:41.850 --> 00:11:45.730 are like this house, my sister and I. We are 00:11:45.730 --> 00:11:50.669 this house. The house is us. The house is dead, 00:11:50.690 --> 00:11:55.519 and yet it stands. Your aberration about this 00:11:55.519 --> 00:12:00.620 house... It is no aberration! It's the truth. 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:04.379 The house of Usher crumbles, yet it will not... 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:08.799 Madeline is dead, yet she will not die. And as 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:13.120 for me... Oh, heaven, the horror that awaits 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:18.759 me! I'll send the Lordenum as soon as possible, 00:12:18.820 --> 00:12:25.049 Mr. Manoring. There's little else I can do. Yes. 00:12:25.049 --> 00:12:28.690 I have other patients to attend. Oh, no. Thank 00:12:28.690 --> 00:12:32.090 heavens it's a moonlit night. I have many miles 00:12:32.090 --> 00:12:37.629 to travel. Good night. Good night. Roderick. 00:12:40.110 --> 00:12:44.750 Roderick. Yes? Roderick, I want to help you in 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:47.610 every way I can. That's why I'm here, but now 00:12:47.610 --> 00:12:50.250 you must do your part to help yourself. What 00:12:50.250 --> 00:12:54.230 do you mean? Well, I could be wrong, but it seems 00:12:54.230 --> 00:12:58.190 to me you let yourself go to pieces all too easily. 00:12:58.490 --> 00:13:01.149 This talk, this wild talk of your sister Madeline 00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:04.330 being dead and yet alive. Now that's nonsense, 00:13:04.409 --> 00:13:07.690 you know. No, no, no. Yes, well, I'll agree with 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:12.549 you with one thing and one thing only. In a way, 00:13:13.470 --> 00:13:17.190 you have become this damnable house. No healthy 00:13:17.190 --> 00:13:19.950 sane man could live here for long without beginning 00:13:19.950 --> 00:13:23.149 to lose his sanity, without serious damage to 00:13:23.149 --> 00:13:29.009 his nervous system. I've never seen such gloom. 00:13:29.509 --> 00:13:32.970 Inside as well as out, this very room reeks of 00:13:32.970 --> 00:13:37.370 dejection, despondency, undusted cobweb furnishings, 00:13:37.450 --> 00:13:41.049 black drapes covering the window. Here, let me 00:13:41.049 --> 00:13:42.750 throw them back and at least get some moonlight, 00:13:42.889 --> 00:13:49.840 if not sunlight, into this place. There! That's... 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:56.000 public. What is it? There's a graveyard. I can 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.980 see it in the moonlight. The family graveyard, 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:04.299 yes. Who... Who would be walking in it at night? 00:14:04.500 --> 00:14:08.039 What do you say? Where do you see it? There! 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:17.269 There! Amidst the headstones. doing out there 00:14:17.269 --> 00:14:25.029 we've better go and find out in the doorway what 00:14:25.029 --> 00:14:47.179 is it am i that horrifying to look upon among 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:52.240 the headstones of the usher graveyard, yet stands 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:57.399 in the doorway at the same time. Does her spirit 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:04.639 walk abroad? Is she that close to death? I'll 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:20.600 be back shortly with Act Two. Then I must ask 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:25.200 if you wish to go on and warn that if you do, 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:28.879 you will experience a kind of horror for which 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:33.519 I can find no words. Even Gabriel Mannering, 00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:37.059 writing in his diary, found it difficult to express 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:40.799 his feelings in that moment of first meeting 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:46.090 with Madeleine Usher. I seek and cannot find 00:15:46.090 --> 00:15:48.769 words to recreate the terror of that moment. 00:15:50.149 --> 00:15:52.750 Not a woman, but a corpse stood before us in 00:15:52.750 --> 00:15:56.309 the doorway of that awful room. The very woman, 00:15:56.649 --> 00:16:00.350 or corpse, if you will. But an instant before, 00:16:00.570 --> 00:16:02.710 Roderick Usher and I had glimpsed in the moonlight 00:16:02.710 --> 00:16:07.029 graveyard beyond the window. If she is alive, 00:16:07.029 --> 00:16:12.090 I thought, she should be dead. Fatuously, I said. 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:20.240 You are Madeline Usher? Yes. How do you do? I'm 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:25.879 Gabriel Mannering. I know. Ah, you winced as 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:30.399 you took my hand. What you felt, it's coldness. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:36.320 No, no, no, no, I... Yes, yes, you need not disassemble 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:41.299 with me. Even now you find it hard not to stare 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:46.259 at the dark. patches on my face, the putrescence 00:16:46.259 --> 00:16:54.240 that lives. Yes, thrives in my dying flesh. Madeline, 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:57.799 my dear sister, you should be lying down, resting. 00:16:58.620 --> 00:17:01.059 You mustn't have wasted your energy. I wanted 00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:04.779 to meet your friend, someone from the world of 00:17:04.779 --> 00:17:09.880 life outside this house, this tomb. I wanted 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:18.299 to... Need it! She's falling! Catch her! Put 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:21.099 her on the couch, Gabriel. No, no, no, no, no. 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:26.339 Still, we'll carry her to her room. There's no 00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:32.099 pulse. No heartbeat. You see? Will you ever help 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:35.359 me? It's impossible to see. Can you carry her 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:41.740 alone? She weighs nothing. Follow me, then. Oh, 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:47.180 what evil stalks the house of Usher! Help us, 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:56.440 dear Lord, please help us! Put her down, Gabriel. 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:07.220 Gabriel? In what? In that? It's her bed. A coffin. 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:12.240 Nevertheless, it is her bed. It's where she rests 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:16.220 and sleeps. And haven't you noticed what she's 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:21.460 wearing isn't a night dress? A shroud. Yes. She's 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:24.059 been ready for her burial for nearly a year now. 00:18:24.539 --> 00:18:27.599 Oh, look, look. See? Her eyes. Her eyes are fluttered. 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:35.619 I have taken my oath. Not yet. Not yet. Gabriel, 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:38.960 my friend. Would you don't leave her like this 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.579 alone no company to cheer when she wakes she 00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:45.539 may not waking again today she may not weaken 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:52.960 again Come no There's something something about 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:59.259 her something in her face that Reminds me Of 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:04.440 course, it's it's you. Oh you you see that the 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:09.019 family resemblance Obvious. In spite of what 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:12.480 the intimacy of death has done to the face, the 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.220 resemblance is still there. It's more than a 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:21.480 resemblance, Gabriel. What do you mean? We are 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:30.579 twins. As my friend spoke those words in that 00:19:30.579 --> 00:19:34.039 chamber of death, a curious change came into 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:37.119 his face. It floats before me even now as I write, 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:41.660 a complexion gone so suddenly cadaverous. His 00:19:41.660 --> 00:19:45.319 eyes large, liquid and luminous beyond comparison. 00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:49.440 Thin and padded lips gone thinner, paler. For 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:55.480 a moment, he seemed scarce human. I had tried 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:57.880 to calm his fevered nerves by telling him it 00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:01.319 was his sister, not he who was dying. And he 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:04.420 had cried out, You don't understand! you don't 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:08.799 understand and now in an instant i did understand 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:11.859 or at least the shadow of what he meant touched 00:20:11.859 --> 00:20:15.420 me and i was filled with the dread a loathing 00:20:15.420 --> 00:20:17.619 of what was to come that i cannot fully express 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:20.039 had i known the full truth of what lay before 00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:23.619 us my loathing would have increased a hundredfold 00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:27.200 and i should have fled the house of usher then 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:31.049 and there certainly I should not have found myself 00:20:31.049 --> 00:20:33.549 at breakfast with Usher the following morning. 00:20:35.589 --> 00:20:38.190 Another helping, Mr. Manoring? No more, Cato. 00:20:39.390 --> 00:20:43.650 Then I can give you the message. A message from 00:20:43.650 --> 00:20:49.430 whom? Miss Madeline. She wishes to see you at 00:20:49.430 --> 00:20:52.269 your convenience. Well, then I'll go to her, 00:20:52.269 --> 00:20:56.730 of course. Why do you look at me like that? And 00:20:56.730 --> 00:21:01.190 now why do you turn away? Cato! Face me. Look 00:21:01.190 --> 00:21:09.950 at me. What is it? Kato! Is it the odor? Yes, 00:21:09.950 --> 00:21:12.970 sir. You best not go, Gabriel, or if you do, 00:21:13.130 --> 00:21:15.589 another time. I don't understand. The odor, the 00:21:15.589 --> 00:21:19.269 stench of putrefaction gets stronger at times 00:21:19.269 --> 00:21:22.529 than at others. And you mean that she... Take 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:25.369 me to Miss Madeline at once, Kato. No, no! It 00:21:25.369 --> 00:21:29.180 will sicken you, nauseate you, even... Well, 00:21:29.180 --> 00:21:31.019 it can kill me and be damned to it, but I'll 00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:34.779 not disregard a last wish of a dying woman. Unlike 00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:46.660 you, Roderick, I do not fear death. Miss Husher? 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:56.799 Madeline? Are you too tired to speak now? Would 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:01.940 you prefer... I came back another time. How good 00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:05.059 of you to come at all. It's a privilege to be 00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:12.200 of use to you. A favor. I wish a favor. Anything 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:20.079 in my power. I want to die. I'm in such pain 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:35.049 that I want... When you sleep or dream you sleep, 00:22:35.210 --> 00:22:44.309 don't fear death. I don't. I fear. I fear. You 00:22:44.309 --> 00:22:51.289 fear what? Burial alive. Why would you have such 00:22:51.289 --> 00:22:54.829 a fear? What makes you think you might be buried 00:22:54.829 --> 00:23:09.710 alive? I promise. I promise you. You will not 00:23:09.710 --> 00:23:22.650 be buried alive. Rest. Rest now. Rest. That is 00:23:22.650 --> 00:23:26.170 what you meant, Roderick, is it not? Like her, 00:23:26.990 --> 00:23:29.690 like your twin, you don't fear death so much 00:23:29.690 --> 00:23:32.630 as you fear being buried alive. But that's part 00:23:32.630 --> 00:23:38.470 of my fear. Yes. Only part? Well, I fear... Oh, 00:23:38.470 --> 00:23:41.450 God, more than I can tell you. I... I... I... 00:23:41.450 --> 00:23:46.470 I fear what happens in death. Another aberration. 00:23:47.029 --> 00:23:49.809 As with the house, so with this. You are a man 00:23:49.809 --> 00:23:52.390 given to aberration. And what of that? You make 00:23:52.390 --> 00:23:54.869 this little sense. It's wind. You think because 00:23:54.869 --> 00:23:57.549 you've got a finger, an aberration, it'll go 00:23:57.549 --> 00:24:00.589 away? That it will cure itself if you but name 00:24:00.589 --> 00:24:05.369 it? Reason. Common sense. Reason, common sense. 00:24:06.029 --> 00:24:10.109 When you speak to me, to me and Usher of reason 00:24:10.109 --> 00:24:13.710 and common sense, hm? Do you not know of the 00:24:13.710 --> 00:24:16.410 madness that has tainted this family through 00:24:16.410 --> 00:24:19.170 its history? From the beginnings of a house of 00:24:19.170 --> 00:24:24.269 Usher, this house, this, this family, until now, 00:24:24.349 --> 00:24:28.009 until Madeline and me, the last of the Ushers, 00:24:28.369 --> 00:24:34.410 from beginning to end, from rise to... to fall. 00:24:35.609 --> 00:24:42.430 Roderick. Rise to fall. Roderick. From rise to 00:24:42.430 --> 00:24:47.329 fall. I had not thought on it before but it is 00:24:47.329 --> 00:25:08.480 what it... Your Lordship, sir, from Dr. Wyndham. 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:11.519 Oh, thank heaven. It has come none too soon. 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:27.460 Mr. Mannering, sir. Hmm? What? Oh, yes. Yes, 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:30.759 Kato. You've been sitting here in the graveyard 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:37.279 for nearly two hours. That long? Yes, sir. Tell 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:41.859 me, Cato, how long have you been servant to Mr. 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:48.099 Usher? More than 30 years, sir. But I... I thought 00:25:48.099 --> 00:25:50.539 I told you that the night you arrived, just a 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:55.160 week ago. Did you? Then I forgot. Were you here 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:58.180 when the mother died, the mother of Mr. Roderick 00:25:58.180 --> 00:26:02.240 and Miss Madeline? Why do you ask such a question, 00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:04.140 Miss Madeline? I don't know. I don't know, really, 00:26:04.180 --> 00:26:08.220 except... I've been dwelling on what Miss Madeline 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:14.660 told me about her mother. Buried alive. Was she 00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:18.839 indeed? Sir, don't ask such questions. Don't 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:22.180 dwell on such thoughts. Why not? It was discovered 00:26:22.180 --> 00:26:26.500 the mother had been buried alive? Yes. Tell me 00:26:26.500 --> 00:26:33.349 about it. Sir, I entreat you. Understand. You 00:26:33.349 --> 00:26:35.990 cannot stay in the house of Usher. No one can 00:26:35.990 --> 00:26:39.710 without something... I... I know not what, but 00:26:39.710 --> 00:26:43.269 something evil taking possession of his mind, 00:26:43.549 --> 00:26:47.490 his spirit, his very soul. It will happen to 00:26:47.490 --> 00:26:53.269 you. It is happening to you. No. You've been 00:26:53.269 --> 00:26:57.170 drawn here to this spot. You've been sitting 00:26:57.170 --> 00:27:01.619 here in the damp and chill for hours. because 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:05.819 you too have taken the first step toward madness. 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:09.240 How did they discover she'd been buried alive? 00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:13.339 Sir, I beg you, turn your thoughts away from... 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:21.640 How? If you must hear it, a few weeks after she'd 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:25.720 been buried, the coffin placed in that vault 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:29.660 you see under the trees, it was discovered that... 00:27:29.900 --> 00:27:33.519 She had been buried wearing a valuable ring a 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:37.220 ring. It contained a stone worth a fortune It 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:39.299 had been hers. She'd always worn it and when 00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:43.539 the undertaker and coffin her He neglected to 00:27:43.539 --> 00:27:47.099 remove it He had no idea of its worth or surely 00:27:47.099 --> 00:27:48.779 he'd have inquired whether the family wished 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:52.859 her to wear it to the grave And as you will understand 00:27:52.859 --> 00:27:56.400 Such was miss Madeline's and mr. Roderick's grief 00:27:57.160 --> 00:28:00.000 They didn't think of the ring until weeks later. 00:28:00.539 --> 00:28:05.359 And decided to retrieve it. Yes. We went to the 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:09.599 vault. The three of us. Slip back the slab that 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:15.640 covers it and... Sir, let us go in. Finish. Finish 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:20.140 what you're telling me. There lay the coffin. 00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:25.720 The lid was in two parts. A lower part that... 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:28.900 covered her body from the waist down, and up 00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:34.940 apart from the waist up. This I pried up, and 00:28:34.940 --> 00:28:45.359 there, there... Go on. She lay face down. Her 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:51.119 hands, her hands had torn chunks of hair out 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:56.440 by the roots. Such was... The agony of terror. 00:28:57.259 --> 00:29:02.539 Hands, do I say? Claws. They have become rigid 00:29:02.539 --> 00:29:09.920 in the death rows. Yes. Yes? We turned her over. 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:18.279 Her face. Oh, my God, we will us. Her face. I 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:25.180 cannot describe. I cannot. I cannot. I... Enough. 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:31.920 Enough, then. This chill is getting to me. No, 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:44.059 no! Quickly. Come. Help us, what is that? They're 00:29:44.059 --> 00:29:46.700 coming toward us from the house. Roderick! Help 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:51.500 me! Help me! Roderick! What is it, man? A corpse! 00:29:55.819 --> 00:30:04.440 What? What is it? She tried to take me to the 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:08.039 grave with her. She tried to drag me into her 00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:11.519 coffin. No, no, no. Roderick, Roderick, pull 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:15.099 yourself together and tell us. I went down the 00:30:15.099 --> 00:30:18.940 chamber to see how she was. I called her name 00:30:18.940 --> 00:30:22.299 again and again and again and no answer. I felt 00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:26.700 for a pulse, none. I lay my head against her 00:30:26.700 --> 00:30:32.859 breast, no heartbeat, and then... Oh, God! Her 00:30:32.859 --> 00:31:12.880 arms were entwined! He must have dragged her 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:17.079 half out of the coffin. Come. We must put her 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:52.759 back in. Kato, I dare not touch... would be gone 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:56.640 at least two hours should you change your mind 00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:58.539 you'll not be able to find your way back to the 00:31:58.539 --> 00:32:00.819 library in that maze of carbon don't worry about 00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:04.319 it I shall stay here I made her a promise that 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:06.440 she'd not be buried alive and I mean to keep 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:24.700 that promise Kato beginning now of Usher, Gabriel 00:32:24.700 --> 00:32:28.079 Mannering seats himself beside the coffin of 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:32.240 Madeleine Usher to keep his vigil and his promise, 00:32:33.460 --> 00:32:37.259 and wonders if he himself may not be going mad. 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:55.420 I'll be back shortly with Act 3. The shatter 00:32:55.420 --> 00:32:59.779 the human mind haunts the house of Usher, hangs 00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:04.599 like a shroud in the air, drips on the spirit 00:33:04.599 --> 00:33:08.180 like the very slime upon the decaying walls. 00:33:09.339 --> 00:33:12.500 As Gabriel Mannering sits beside the coffin of 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:16.720 Madeleine Usher, he feels this terror seeping 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:22.539 into him. Seeping into me like a rising tide 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:25.920 of pollution. Cato said he would be gone two 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:28.940 hours in fetching dr. Wingham, but to me it seemed 00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:32.500 like 20 before I heard his returning footsteps 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:40.019 You don't look well, I'm all right sir you deceive 00:33:40.019 --> 00:33:43.319 yourself Never mind. I haven't seen him as us 00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:58.380 here. Thank you No heartbeat. None whatever. 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:04.000 No pulse. No vital signs at all. She is gone, 00:34:04.180 --> 00:34:08.639 then. Hey, Mr. Mallory. I have attended her in 00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:12.199 this strange illness for nearly a year. I've 00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:15.119 seen her in this state four times before. What's 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:21.079 to be done? What's indeed? Well, I would wait 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:25.980 a few days at least and then... And then I should 00:34:25.980 --> 00:34:31.960 bury her. No. No? She feared to be buried alive. 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:36.360 Yes, I know. Her mother. You attended her? No, 00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:39.500 no. Another man. From what I've been able to 00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:42.539 learn, I judge her illness was similar, just 00:34:42.539 --> 00:34:47.619 as unaccountable as baffling. Well, Mr. Manoring, 00:34:47.699 --> 00:34:50.059 she did indeed fear the same fate her mother 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:52.800 suffered, but I should think that after, say... 00:34:53.190 --> 00:34:58.309 Three or four days. I say no at least at least 00:34:58.309 --> 00:35:02.690 a week. No No, two even three. You don't know 00:35:02.690 --> 00:35:05.610 what you're saying You can't keep a body for 00:35:05.610 --> 00:35:10.050 two or three weeks Especially hers why especially 00:35:10.050 --> 00:35:15.570 hers. Well, look at her man here See under the 00:35:15.570 --> 00:35:20.289 skin of the cheeks There's great benches She's 00:35:20.300 --> 00:35:23.320 partially decomposed already. I gave her my word, 00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:28.019 doctor. I said we would make sure. There is an 00:35:28.019 --> 00:35:32.460 evil in this house. A sinister, malevolent thing 00:35:32.460 --> 00:35:35.960 that fastened itself on the ushers years ago. 00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:41.380 And is beginning to fasten itself on you. Now, 00:35:41.639 --> 00:35:45.880 hear me out! I have not seen you in some days. 00:35:46.599 --> 00:35:49.920 The moment I came into this room, I saw it. I 00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:54.619 tell you I saw it. The change in you. The sickening 00:35:54.619 --> 00:36:00.360 in you. The... I do not use this word lightly, 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:08.780 Mr. Maring. The insanity in you. You are right. 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:13.900 I, too, have sensed. Well, no matter. I am not 00:36:13.900 --> 00:36:18.269 given easily to fancies either. However, I am 00:36:18.269 --> 00:36:20.889 given to honouring your promise. I gave Mavanesher 00:36:20.889 --> 00:36:24.070 my word she would not be buried alive, and she 00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:30.489 will not be. Now, I see that I cannot dissuade 00:36:30.489 --> 00:36:36.429 you. Very well. Do as you wish. And may God help 00:36:36.429 --> 00:36:48.530 you. by her coffin for yet another hour or so, 00:36:48.829 --> 00:36:52.389 making sure there were no signs of life. Then 00:36:52.389 --> 00:36:54.889 I returned to the library, led there, of course, 00:36:55.030 --> 00:36:57.630 by Cato, for I, well, I could never have found 00:36:57.630 --> 00:37:00.409 my own way through that maze of corridors and 00:37:00.409 --> 00:37:04.070 passages. I found Roderick Usher seated, bolt 00:37:04.070 --> 00:37:07.329 upright in a wing chair, staring at, I know not 00:37:07.329 --> 00:37:13.750 what, I, Roderick, Roderick, I must talk to you. 00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:22.280 Do you hear me? Yes. Now, Roderick, as I told 00:37:22.280 --> 00:37:26.019 you, I promised your sister to take every precaution 00:37:26.019 --> 00:37:28.940 against her being buried alive. She is dead. 00:37:29.639 --> 00:37:34.039 I know it in my heart, my soul. I know it. I 00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:38.440 believe so, too. But we must be certain. Now, 00:37:39.559 --> 00:37:45.230 that presents a problem. Roderick. Are you listening? 00:37:45.809 --> 00:37:53.510 Problem. Yes. Decomposition. If she is dead, 00:37:54.449 --> 00:37:58.750 she will decompose. And after a period of days, 00:37:58.869 --> 00:38:03.309 well, if you could imagine... Days? Days of what? 00:38:03.909 --> 00:38:06.789 Of visiting her coffin at least every 12 hours, 00:38:06.909 --> 00:38:09.489 say, to make sure she's dead. Are you mad? We 00:38:09.489 --> 00:38:14.369 must keep her body. One week, two. Now the question 00:38:14.369 --> 00:38:19.829 is, where? Where? We'll have to leave the coffin 00:38:19.829 --> 00:38:24.090 open in case she should regain her senses. On 00:38:24.090 --> 00:38:27.369 the other hand, if she is indeed dead, then... 00:38:27.369 --> 00:38:32.210 There are walls deep down beneath the house. 00:38:32.309 --> 00:38:34.969 We could put the coffin in one of those. Good, 00:38:35.170 --> 00:38:41.110 good, good. We'll do that then. Yes, we'll do 00:38:41.110 --> 00:38:52.800 just that. Usher and I arranged for the temporary 00:38:52.800 --> 00:38:57.559 entombment of Madeline, his twin. The vault, 00:38:58.360 --> 00:39:01.480 so long unopened that our torches were half -smothered 00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:05.179 in its oppressive atmosphere, were small, damp, 00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:08.320 and entirely without means of admission of light, 00:39:08.659 --> 00:39:15.920 lying at great depth beneath the house. There. 00:39:16.599 --> 00:39:21.170 There, Gabriel. It is done. We must come here 00:39:21.170 --> 00:39:26.130 again. In no more than 12 hours. As you say. 00:39:27.550 --> 00:39:35.909 As you say. Before he wished only to hurry, Madeleine. 00:39:36.510 --> 00:39:40.289 Why now did Roderick become so compliant? Agree 00:39:40.289 --> 00:39:43.730 so readily with what I said. If only I'd asked 00:39:43.730 --> 00:39:48.289 myself that question. But I did not and in consequence 00:39:48.289 --> 00:39:52.190 faced an unexpected problem. Why do you not believe 00:39:52.190 --> 00:39:54.010 me? It isn't that I don't believe you, Roderick, 00:39:54.070 --> 00:39:56.929 but I wish to see for myself. There is no need 00:39:56.929 --> 00:40:01.469 for you to do it. I have done it. You have? I 00:40:01.469 --> 00:40:04.030 have visited the coffin at least once every 12 00:40:04.030 --> 00:40:08.849 hours, sometimes twice. She does not live. Take 00:40:08.849 --> 00:40:12.170 my word for it. It is my word that concerns me. 00:40:12.769 --> 00:40:17.420 I gave my word to her. Not yours. She is dead. 00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:27.820 I assure you She is dead It was about that time 00:40:27.820 --> 00:40:32.320 the sounds began The strange knockings creaking 00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:35.000 perhaps had begun before but I had not heard 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.219 at first I would hear some Curious sound from 00:40:39.219 --> 00:40:41.579 below and say to Roderick. What was that? What 00:40:41.579 --> 00:40:51.030 was what? listen What is that? Rats, perhaps? 00:40:52.469 --> 00:40:55.630 Rats? Well, you know the house is infested with 00:40:55.630 --> 00:40:58.829 them. I've never heard rats make sounds like 00:40:58.829 --> 00:41:03.849 that. I answered. Time went on. It seemed to 00:41:03.849 --> 00:41:05.889 me the sounds grew louder, and I would say to 00:41:05.889 --> 00:41:13.119 Roderick, listen. And he would answer. door banging 00:41:13.119 --> 00:41:16.059 in the wind somewhere and i would say but there 00:41:16.059 --> 00:41:18.800 is no wind and he would answer well then it's 00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:25.800 something else don't bother me and then on that 00:41:25.800 --> 00:41:28.320 fatal night that fatal night as we sat in the 00:41:28.320 --> 00:41:31.539 library he just sitting staring vacantly at nothing 00:41:31.539 --> 00:41:34.739 i trying to read but my mind focused on that 00:41:34.739 --> 00:41:38.079 awful chamber of death far below and outside 00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:42.329 the wind gathering for a storm it happened I 00:41:42.329 --> 00:41:46.849 became aware of distinct, hollow, metallic, yet 00:41:46.849 --> 00:41:50.869 muffled reverberation. Completely unnerved, I 00:41:50.869 --> 00:41:53.510 leaped to my feet and looked at Usher. His eyes 00:41:53.510 --> 00:41:56.409 were fixed before him, and throughout his whole 00:41:56.409 --> 00:41:59.650 confidence there reigned a stony rigidity. I 00:41:59.650 --> 00:42:03.530 said, Roderick, do you not hear it? Yes, I hear 00:42:03.530 --> 00:42:09.699 it and have heard it as you have. Long, long, 00:42:10.099 --> 00:42:12.320 many minutes, many hours, many days have I heard 00:42:12.320 --> 00:42:19.599 it. Yet I dared not. I dared not speak. No! No, 00:42:19.679 --> 00:42:24.800 touch me not! I am accursed! Accursed! I heard 00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:27.039 the sounds, as did you, but I dared not speak 00:42:27.039 --> 00:42:31.239 and dared not go. Not go? My God, are you telling 00:42:31.239 --> 00:42:34.380 me that not once, not once have I gone down to 00:42:34.380 --> 00:42:46.480 sea? I dared not! I dared not! She comes. She 00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:53.219 comes for me. Listen. Now listen and know. We've 00:42:53.219 --> 00:42:55.039 heard the rending of the coffin, the grating 00:42:55.039 --> 00:42:57.639 of the iron hinges of a prison, our struggles 00:42:57.639 --> 00:43:00.360 within the carpet archway of the vault, and now, 00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:06.800 now, she comes for me. In a moment she'll be 00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:13.389 here. I... Hear her footsteps on the stair. I 00:43:13.389 --> 00:43:18.050 hear the horrible beating of her heart. She comes 00:43:18.050 --> 00:43:24.329 for me, she comes. I tell you, she stands outside 00:43:24.329 --> 00:43:34.409 the door. And as if in the superhuman energy 00:43:34.409 --> 00:43:36.929 of his utterance, there had been found the potency 00:43:36.929 --> 00:43:40.639 of a spell. The huge antique panels to which 00:43:40.639 --> 00:43:44.360 he pointed drew slowly back. And outside those 00:43:44.360 --> 00:43:48.079 doors did stand the towering and enshrouded figure 00:43:48.079 --> 00:43:55.239 of Miss Madeline. There was blood on her white 00:43:55.239 --> 00:43:57.659 robes and evidence of some bitter struggle on 00:43:57.659 --> 00:44:01.519 every portion of her putrefied frame. For an 00:44:01.519 --> 00:44:04.579 instant she remained trembling and reeling to 00:44:04.579 --> 00:44:10.719 and fro upon the threshold. A man with a moaning 00:44:10.719 --> 00:44:15.480 cry fell heavily inward on her brother, and in 00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:20.639 her violent and now final death agony, poured 00:44:20.639 --> 00:44:29.019 him to the floor. The corpse, a victim to the 00:44:29.019 --> 00:44:39.619 terrors of all he had anticipated. This is E 00:44:39.619 --> 00:44:57.340 .G. Marshall. I shall return shortly. The manuscript 00:44:57.340 --> 00:45:01.599 of the fall of the house of Usher ends thus. 00:45:03.039 --> 00:45:07.340 I fled from the house, leading all behind me. 00:45:07.980 --> 00:45:13.159 As I ran, I heard a sound so horrendous it made 00:45:13.159 --> 00:45:19.639 me stop and turn. My brain reeled as, looking 00:45:19.639 --> 00:45:24.400 back, I saw the mighty walls of the house burst 00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:30.019 to sun. And, in a few moments, the moon, breaking 00:45:30.019 --> 00:45:34.219 through the scudding clouds, a blood -red moon, 00:45:35.380 --> 00:45:43.639 revealed the end. of The House of Usher. Our 00:45:43.639 --> 00:45:47.579 cast included Kevin McCarthy, Arnold Moss, Marion 00:45:47.579 --> 00:45:51.500 Seldas, and Robert Dryden. The entire production 00:45:51.500 --> 00:45:54.920 was under the direction of Hyman Brown. This 00:45:54.920 --> 00:45:57.920 is E .G. Marshall inviting you to return to our 00:45:57.920 --> 00:46:01.380 mystery theater for another adventure in the 00:46:01.380 --> 00:46:08.159 macabre. Until next time, pleasant dreams.