The narrator claims that he is not mad as he could hear things in the heaven, earth and hell. To justify himself saint, he confesses dangerous crime he has committed. The narrator and the old man used to reside together; they had very good relationship. The man used to love the old man very much. The old man also used to treat him well. The only thing that irritated the narrator was the eyes of him which were pale and vulture like. To end the consequences, he went to the old man’s room continuously for seven days. But returned, as he could not see the eyes of the man.
In the morning he spoke politely and behaved as if nothing had happened. On the eighth nights, he as usual went there with torchlight. He did every thing stealthy and cautiously. Despite it, he happened to touch tin fastening, which dropped and disturbed the sleep of the man. In desperation, he asked who it was.
The narrator remained speechless and motionless. A little later his sense brought him the reason that the old man was asleep again, he aimed the beam towards the old man’s eyes. As he saw them, he grew angry. He then, jumped towards the man, dragged the man and pressed his neck with bed. At last, he dismembered the old man’s dead body and put it under the plank. After it, he cleaned the place spotlessly clean. It was already four when he finished the task.
At four, the three policemen came because someone had heard a shriek and informed them to investigate. The narrator lied them that the shriek was his own in dream and the old man was absent for some days. He welcomed them, brought them to his room and took to every nook and corner of his house. The policemen didn’t suspect any wrong there. The narrator took them to the spot where he had hidden the corpse of the old man. He cordially asked them to sit on the chair, which he had kept there. He sat there just over the plank whereas policeman continued talking with smiling face.
The narrator, at the mean time, heard tick-tick sound of a watch coming from beneath. He mistook it as the heart-beat of the old man. He desired to reduce the loudness of the sound. For this purpose, he spoke louder; though it didn’t do any good. He felt the sound growing; he felt the policemen’s smile as the smile of mockery. It became unbearable for him to keep the reality secret. He thought it better to confess than to hide. Eventually he confessed the crime.
