In The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe tells of a sick brother and sister who live on an old estate, and the tale of a narrator about the lives of the Ushers. last days. The story is scary on two different levels. The first and most obvious one that one notices just from surface reading is the frightening atmosphere of the house and the death of the main characters. Poe makes this level of dread very accessible through the diction and imagery he uses. The second level of fear is the psychological aspect of the story. Themes of isolation, madness, and fear become terrifying as they are able to transcend the story; they are real and could very likely affect us. The first level of "scary", the most basic and easily recognizable, is visible throughout the story, but especially in the opening paragraphs. With his choice of imagery and diction, Poe is practically telling the audience that they are in a horror story and that they should be afraid. The first sentence alone is filled with diction that would make even the most basic reader shudder. Poe writes: “Throughout one dreary, dark, and silent autumn day, while the clouds were low and oppressive in the sky, I rode alone through a singularly dreary region; and at last I found myself, as the evening shadows drew on, in sight of the melancholy house of Usher. (654) Poe is known for his melodramatic writing style, but the constant repetition of intimidating words is enough to make any reader practically say out loud, “Come on, Poe. Try to be a little subtle, please. » The abundance of diction and frightening imagery continues throughout the story, often in Poe's description of the house. Any given sentence... in the middle of a sheet of paper... far away. We've seen it in modern films, like The Shining, and we're reminded of it in Poe's short story: the human mind is a dangerous thing. The isolation, madness, and fear in The Fall of the House of Usher remind us how fragile the human condition is. Fear is particularly relevant because we see its power in everyday life, for example, a stock market crash caused solely by its investors fearing a crash, or poor test scores because they stayed awake all day. night to worry about it. The reason why the themes of Poe's story are frightening is that they are and will continue to be relevant to his readers. Poe is able to convey fear on two different levels in his most popular short story. Using dark diction and eerie imagery he creates an overly dramatic horror story, but by adding deeper psychological themes he creates a timeless work that appeals to any reader..