The Horror of the Tell-Tale Heart Writers can use many tricks to make a story more interesting to the reader. From the words chosen to the setting to the time of day… the possibilities are endless. In the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe, the use of light and darkness, the description of the man's eye, and the time lapse make the story scarier than anything else. Poe also uses suspense at the end to make the reader's heart skip a beat. The speaker begins the story by explaining that he does not hate the old man he is about to kill. In fact, he even says that he loves him and that he has always been kind to him. The reason he has to kill him, however, is because of what he calls his evil eye. When he describes it you can't help but feel a sense of disgust just by imagining it. “One of his eyes was like that of a vulture: a pale blue eye, with a film over it” (Poe, 1). In the way the reader describes the eye one gets the impression that the eyes appear dead, perhaps making the speaker feel that they have the right to kill the man. The next trick Poe uses and probably the most interesting is the use of light and darkness. Whenever the speaker enters the room to look at the man, he always describes the room as pitch black. He also takes extra precautions to not emit light into the room. When he enters the room, he brings a lantern with him but keeps it covered. The only time the lantern shines is when the speaker wants to look at the man's face. Even with this only "...a single thin ray...on the vulture's eye shines" (Poe, 2). It seems interesting that all the reader's actions must be carried out in the dark, almost as if he is ashamed of what is... in the middle of the paper... at night and simply looks at the man. the wait makes the reader understand the seriousness of the killer but also questions his sanity. From the beginning of the story the speaker is trying to convince the reader that he has justification in wanting this man to die because of his dead eye. The way he waits awake night after night and watches this man reflects that of a stalker. And at the end, when he pulls the boards off the floor to reveal the old man's chopped-up body, he says he did it because the old man's heart kept beating and the sound reached him. One can't help but think this is the story of a murderer or a madman? This reading leaves many unanswered questions about the speaker and what his real intentions might have been behind killing the old man. However, what it doesn't leave to the imagination is much room for more horror.