In The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe writes about a sickly brother and sister living on an old estate and a narrator's account of the lives of Usher last days. The story is scary on two different levels. The first and most obvious one that you notice just by reading on the surface is the disturbing atmosphere of the house and the death of the main characters. Poe makes this level of fear very accessible through the diction and imagery he uses. The second level of fear is the psychological aspect of the story. The themes of isolation, madness and fear become terrifying because they are capable of transcending history; they are real and could most likely affect us. The first level of “scary,” the most basic and most relatable, is seen throughout the story, but especially in the opening paragraphs. With his choice of imagery and diction, Poe basically tells the audience that they are in a horror story and that they should feel scared. The first sentence alone is filled with diction that would make even the most basic reader cringe. Poe writes: Throughout a dull, dark, silent autumn day, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the sky, I passed alone, on horseback, through a singular and dreary tract of country; and at last I found myself, as the evening shadows drew near, in sight of the melancholy House of Usher. (654)Poe is known for his melodramatic writing style, but the constant repetition of off-putting words is enough to make any reader practically say out loud, “Come on, Poe. Try to be a little discreet, please.” The abundance of diction and chilling imagery continues throughout the rest of the story, often in Poe's description of the house. Each sentence... in the center of the paper... on the floor. We've seen it in modern films, like The Shining, and we're reminded in Poe's story: the human mind is a dangerous thing. Isolation, madness, and fear in The Fall of the House of Usher remind us how fragile the human condition is. Fear is especially relevant because we see its power in everyday life, for example, a stock market crash caused only by investors fearing a crash, or performing poorly on a test because they stayed awake the whole time. worry about it at night. The reason Poe's story themes are scary is that they are and will continue to be relevant to his readers. Poe is able to convey fear on two different levels in his most popular story. Using dark diction and disturbing imagery, he creates an overly dramatic horror story, but by adding deeper psychological themes, he creates a timeless work that is relevant to any reader..