![]() I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in the bed, crying out - “Who’s there?” His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily. Now you may think that I drew back - but no. I fairly chuckled at the idea and perhaps he heard me for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers - of my sagacity. A watch’s minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept. And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he had passed the night. 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 the work for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye. Ha! - would a madman have been so wise as this? And then, when my head was well in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously - oh, so cautiously - cautiously (for the hinges creaked) - I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly - very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man’s sleep. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it - oh, so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded - with what caution - with what foresight - with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold and so by degrees - very gradually - I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture - a pale blue eye, with a film over it. It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily - how calmly I can tell you the whole story. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. True! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses - not destroyed - not dulled them. ![]() He decided to forget about her and go on with his life.Hear “The Tell-Tale Heart” read aloud. As the weeks went by, the husband accepted that his beautiful bride must have had second thoughts about their marriage. They began to grow more and more uneasy when they couldn’t find any trace of her.Įventually they gave up searching and everybody assumed that the girl had run away and left her husband. The other guests began calling out her name and searched everywhere for the young woman. The groom covered his eyes and began counting to a hundred while his new bride and the other guests ran out of the room, looking for somewhere to hide.Įventually, the groom had found everyone except his beautiful bride. All their family and friends arrived and they laughed, danced and sang, long into the night.Īfter the wedding reception, the guests decided to play a game of hide and seek. A version of this legend appeared in the book Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.Ī young couple got married and, after the wedding, they held a reception in the bride’s grandmother’s house. It is based on an urban legend known as “The Mistletoe Bride”, “Bride and Seek” or “The Missing Bride”. The Bride is a scary story about a young woman who goes missing on the day of her wedding.
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