The Fall of the House of Usher

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is an example of both the Gothic horror genre and a kind of “haunted house story.” What would you consider to be the primary features of a horror story, especially a “haunted house story”?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to provide examples of the psychological functions of horror to prompt student responses. Students might also be encouraged to brainstorm ideas in small groups.

• “The Psychology Behind Why We Love (or Hate) Horror” is an article from the Harvard Business Review that discusses the psychological function and appeal of horror/scary stories.
• “The American Gothic” article by Dr. Kara Johnson on The Newberry website is a discussion of the Gothic genre as a whole and explains how the American Gothic evolved from the European genre.

2.  Poe's stories often involve psychological horror as much as or more than the supernatural. Examine at least two other short works by the same author and identify and examine common styles and themes across his works.

Teaching Suggestion: This exercise might be done in paragraph form or in a chart, or students might brainstorm ideas in small groups.

• Examples include “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat,” which involve the theme of “Madness” and Moral Consequences.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the story.

Consider two or three of your favorite (or least favorite) horror or other supernatural stories. What do you particularly like or dislike about them? How do they make you feel?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might be encouraged to either write short paragraphs for each story or to organize a chart listing each story on one axis (vertical or horizontal) and listing features of each story on the other axis, noting which features each story has in common with the others.

Differentiation Suggestion: More visually oriented students or English language learners might find it easier to seek out or create illustrations representing the stories on their lists.