The Tell-Tale Heart, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, is often classified within the horror genre due to its exploration of themes central to human fear and madness. The narrative is steeped in the psychological tension that arises from guilt and paranoia, elements that are prevalent in many horror tales.
At its core, the story revolves around an unnamed narrator who insists on their sanity while describing the murder of an old man, driven by an irrational obsession with the man’s vulture-like eye. This unreliable narrator plunges the reader into a world of psychological horror, blurring the lines between reality and delusion.
The horror unfolds not through supernatural elements but through the character’s internal struggle. The relentless beating of the old man’s heart serves as a powerful symbol of guilt, manifesting in a way that drives the narrator to confess their crime. This auditory hallucination exemplifies how the mind can become a source of terror.
Furthermore, Poe’s use of vivid imagery and intense emotional language evokes fear, drawing readers into the dark recesses of the narrator’s mind. The story’s unsettling exploration of obsession, madness, and guilt is what firmly places The Tell-Tale Heart in the horror genre, as it taps into the primal fears that resonate within us all.