Edgar Allan Poe’s stories, The Raven and The Fall of The House of Usher, both use elements such as murder, anxiety, suspense, sorrow, isolation and death to lure readers into these thrilling, hair-raising works. The Raven takes place on a cold, December night in the narrator’s chamber. He is sitting beside the warm fireplace reading his book when he hears someone or something tapping on his window. When he checks, he finds a raven perched on the window sill. Throughout the story, he continually asks the raven if he will ever see his deceased wife, Lenore, again. As he asks the bird each time, it responds with “nevermore.” Perhaps the loss of his wife has driven him to a delusive state of mind. Or possibly, there was never a bird to begin with.
