Lit GIFs: The Tell-Tale Heart

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Cover of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe showing a crow alone on the ground

So it’s almost Halloween.

Gif of a puppy jumping over a small pumpkin

Which means jack o’ lanterns and costumes and pumpkin-spiced everything.

Gif of men in armor saying "And so it begins"

And, of course, Edgar Allan Poe, reigning king of high-school-English-textbook darkness.

Gif of goth South Park characters with the caption "Edgar Allan Poe was the original vamp kid" Gif of goth South Park characters with the caption "No, he's the original goth. He's been dead for 150 years."

Cask of Amontillado, anyone?

Gif of Scooby Doo drinking a strawberry milkshake through a long straw

Probably Poe’s protagonist in “The Tell-Tale Heart” had a few too many casks of amontillado.

Gif of a man laughing maniacally

He is haunted by an old man’s eye because it’s pale blue. For some reason he gets freaked out every time it lands on him.

Gif of an owl crawling under a white screen

So this guy decides to kill the old man because he can’t stand his eye. But he’s super nice to him for a whole week before he does it.

Gif of a woman exclaiming "That is genius"

He watches him sleep. Every night. For seven nights.

Gif of a boy spying on another through an empty shelf at the grocery store

On the eighth night the old man hears him. So our protagonist stands there in the dark for an hour, not moving a muscle.

Gif of a man saying "Shhhhhh" into a microphone

The old man, terrified, tries to convince himself that the noise is nothing more than a cricket.

Gif of a kitten with the caption "C'mon bro"

After a while, our sleep-watcher opens up his lantern just a little. Just enough so that a string of light hits the old man’s evil blue eye.

Gif of a man with a strange eyepatch sticking out his tongue

The protagonist becomes angry at the eye. He pulls the old man to the floor and smothers him with his own bed. No more eye = no more problem.

Gif of a seal with the caption "omg" flashing over and over

He’s very careful about disposing of the body. He dismembers it over a tub. No stain, no pain.

Gif of a boy putting pizza rolls into a microwave with the caption "tada"

The police show up at the door. He invites them in and settles his own chair over the spot where he’s just hidden the old man’s body under the floor.

Gif of cartoon characters saying "easy as childbirth"

The police are none the wiser, but as they talk, there comes a ringing in the killer’s head. It grows louder and louder.

Gif of a small furry wild animal in someone's palm

Thump, thump, thump, goes the old man’s heart.

Gif of a woman reading a magazine yelling "That's enough!"

It drives our killer mad enough that he admits to the deed right then and there.

Gif of a girl saying "I just can't do this anymore"

So here’s our major lesson for the day: Don’t be a stalker. It’ll only make you crazy.

Gif of a cartoon girl rolling on the ground in a straight jacket