How Does Poe Create Tension In The Tell Tale Heart

“First of all, I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs. I then took up three plants form the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings.” This quote from “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe clearly shows this is a horror story. This story contains so much of the horror characteristics. Although there isn’t so much bloodshed and more murders in the story like most typical horror stories, this still is labeled as a horror story. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a horror story because of the supernatural element, eerie atmosphere/violence, and gore, causing feelings of panic, fear, or suspense in the readers. First off, the supernatural element is what gave the killer a motive to kill the old man in the first place. In most of the horror movies you, there is some form of supernatural elements. It is stated in the second paragraph, it says,
“ And this I did for seven long nights-every night just at midnight-but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his eye.” After reading this quote, it clearly shows how the old man’s supernatural eye enraged him to kill the old man. May not be the witchcraft or any other kind of popular supernatural element but, it still is. Furthermore, the eerie atmosphere is what really put this story into the horror category. The tone of the killer and the mood that was continuously peculiar all through the story is what really made it an eerie atmosphere. In the text there was tension, stalking, creepy tone, a dead body in the house, and this all occurred around midnight. “In an instant, I dragged him to the floor, pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heartbeat with a muffled sound.” This quote shows how the tone and mood make there be an eerie atmosphere. The killer's feelings and thoughts also play a big part of the horror in the story. Especially how the tension builds when the killer goes to kill the old man and describing how he is killing the man as well. In addition, this story basically lives off of suspense and tension.
There was a lot of fear brought to the old man when he thought someone was in the house and had been stalking him. This is stated in the fifth paragraph, it says, “ Although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but he had been saying It is nothing but the wind in the chimney.” Based off of this quote, this shows how there is a sense of fear and panic in the old man which, brought that horror characteristics into the story. Then, there was also fear of insane that was brought towards the end of the story. It says, “Yet the sound increased and they heard! They suspected! They knew! Villains! I shrieked dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear the planks! It is the beating of his hideous heart!” This shows how the killer let the fear get closer to his insanity which leads him to confess to his crime although, the heart was not beating nor the officers heard
it. In conclusion, “The Tell-Tale Heart” story is a horror story since the story had so many of the horror story characteristics. The old man’s roommate/friend killed him because of his unpleasing eye. The old man’s eye had made the killer eager to stalk him and kill him. After reading the story, I definitely thought it fit the horror story category since the supernatural element that was a motive for the killer, the eerie atmosphere/violence and gore, and the causing feelings of fear or tension in the readers.