Die
Aufgabe der Klassenarbeit: Late at night Lord Usher
is sitting alone in his library, more and more annoyed by something (e.g. a
sound, a detail in the room, an animal, an event ...) so that he finally goes
crazy.
Die
Geschichte 1:
The lonely house
Die Geschichte
2:
The bad
conscience
Die
Geschichte 1 :
The
lonely house
The
night, the hideous night between one world and another world was the hell on
earth. You cannot know what I had to bear. - No. Nobody is able to know because
everybody thinks I am mad. Completely mad! But I'll show you that it cannot be
madness that took me to a higher level of consciousness, of acuteness. No, my
senses are sharpened, not dulled. You'll see. - You'll notice this in the story
which I'll tell you. Perhaps unbelievable, but not impossible. No, you must
believe me.
It
was a night of grief and fear. - No! - It was more. It was like hell! Nobody,
not even you could bear this terror. In this mysterious night I wanted to read
one of my old books. One which is my favourite book. - Exciting and horrible at
the same time. So I went upstairs in my big and lonely house, my castle. It is
situated in the middle of a dark and still wood. The silence, the close silence
was dreadful that night. My steps resounded through the hall, the passage, the
chambers and corridors. If there had been someone he would have heard, no doubt.
But I was alone. Really alone? - No. - There were noises. The walls had ears.
They heard. They listened. -
As
I reached the second floor I went straight to the last door at the end of the
corridor. There always was the feeling of being observed. - Eyes, directed on me,
following me and every move I made. The old and heavy oak door came nearer, very
gradually. Then I opened the door. I only saw a single, dim ray. Slowly, very
slowly I opened the door listening to every noise. Now the door was open and I
snatched a candle from a candlestick on the wall to take it with me into the
library. In my whole castle there aren't any electric lamps. Only candles and
lanterns.
So
now I stood in there, looking out of the window which was open. Wide open. The
room was chilly and the pale and dim moon shone into it. Spiders crawled along
the walls and I saw many cobwebs between the books and in the corners. I lit the
two lanterns and closed the window. The old armchair stood near it and while I
was searching for the book I thought about the ramshackle planks on the ground.
I noticed a hole, but - the last time I had been here I hadn't noticed it. It
hadn't been there. Perhaps somebody or something was here! - A thief or a
murderer. Below this room there was a kind of junk room. Should I search it? -
No. -
As
I found the book I sat down in the armchair and wanted to begin reading but the
thought that there could be somebody didn't want to slip my mind. - Now I was
really sure that somebody had to be there because this also explained why I felt like
being observed. The mere definiteness to know the presence of an unknown person
increased my fury and fear. I felt I was getting pale and unsure. My heartbeat
increased. Somewhere I could hear water was dripping. Then I had a hideous
thought. Perhaps it wasn't water but blood! - Perhaps somewhere in my castle a
corpse was lying! I listened. Drip, drip, drip ... ! It grew louder. Every
moment. - Louder! Also my heartbeat
grew quicker. My terror increased. Suddenly the sound changed and the drops
sounded like steps. Steps which were coming closer and closer. Gradually, but
they came! - And my heartbeat increased! More and more. I heard nothing more but
steps, dangerous steps and heart. My tell-tale heart. - Loud!
It had to be heard through the walls! It had to resound through my whole castle.
My castle?! A castle of horror! I was confused and frightened Panic wanted to
take possession of my mind. Then suddenly I heard a slight groan or howling! -
It wasn't the wind. No! A wolf? A vampire? The steps, the heart!
I sprang up and turned around. I wanted to run away, to the door, but it was closed, locked. I tried to move it, but, too late. I was trapped.
by Helena Lippe (3/2000)
<nach oben>
Die
Geschichte 2 :
The
bad conscience
It was nine o'clock in the evening. I was sitting in my library, smoking a light cigarette, reading an exciting book, listening to the clock making its tick-tack ... no, stop! Here's the mistake. The clock. An old sincere friend of mine had repaired it for he had a lot of old clocks at home. The clock hadn't worked since my childhood and now this tick-tack sounded strange to me. I tried hard to concentrate on my book but the clock distracted me again. I grew nervous and decided to take another book. Might be this was not what I wanted to read now. You have to know I need books which are good enough for me because I'm prudent. I lived alone here in the old haunted house of my grandfather who had died a long time ago. He had been a foolish idiot.
I quickly got up to search for another book. I didn't want to hear the tick-tack. This nerve-wrecking tick-tack. Again: tick-tack. Awful! I nervously lit a new cigarette for I found no other interesting or even exciting book. Finally I took my first book again and sat down again listening carefully if the sound had stopped. I grew furious when I had read about half a page. This tick-tack really began to go faster! Tick-tack-tick-tack. Suddenly I couldn't stand this any longer. Normally I'm a well-balanced man who is always happy and never upsets himself about such a trifle but that was cruel in my ears.
I got up very calmly,went towards the door, gripped the handle and opened the door quietly. The sound was much louder here and it seemed to come in from everywhere. It was a wooden sound like the one two sticks cause when they meet each other. I quickly went downthe corridor to stop this and there it was. Believe me when I'm saying this now. It sounds mad but I have a smart brain and I surely know what I saw. It didn't only sound as if the clock was tick-tacking faster, indeed it was real. For one moment I stopped breathing for I was startled but in the next moment I hastily turned the clock around so that I couldn't even see the time.
I felt better now but I went back to the library feeling a headache. The clock was quieter than before now so that I just became aware of a low tick-tack. That was a prudent idea, I thought. But soon the tick-tack began to annoy me again. I found myself standing in front of the clock, watching it nearly affectionately, and it was turned around again! I saw the time. It went faster, faster, nine o'clock, ten o'clock, eleven o'clock, no - stop it, no! - - -
I woke up and shivered all over. The book was lying on the ground, my cigarette had burned to an end and the ashes lay around everywhere. Slowly my headache began and I tiredly noticed the clock still tick-tacking. All of a sudden I remembered that I had turned around the clock because this dreadful tick-tack had annoyed me but now it was beating as loud as before. I was angry now. What the hell was happening? This was not normal. And suddenly I leapt up, quickly ran to a bookcase and hid myself there. The clock had stopped beating in the same very instant when Grandfather Sam's heart also had stopped beating. It was his soul which was coming back.
I grew pale and began to talk to myself fluently to ignore this tick-tack. But while I was talking the tick-tack seemed to come closer. My fury increased and I spoke more softly for I didn't want it to hear me. I was hardly breathing, staring at the door. Grandfather Sam had always disliked me for I had teased him all day when I had visited him. I had been a little, stupid child. There was no reason to take revenge.
It became clearer - tick-tack - and faster - tick-tack-tick-tack. I ran to the door and closed it hastily; my fury was enormous. I shivered and began to sweat. Suddenly it knocked on my door loudly: tock-tock. I cried out loud - I thought I had to die due to my fury. There was nobody inside this house except for me. Again: tock-tock! I shrieked as the tick-tack also grew louder every moment. I pressed my hands at my ears and began to sing stupid songs to keep myself calm. Tock-tock ... tick-tack ... mother Mary said ... Aaah! I shrieked out loud again but it wasn't a shriek of fury, it was a shriek which gained definiteness.
I was angry and in despair. I just wanted to rid myself of my dangerous enemy. I cleverly took a butcher's knife out of the bookcase. I didn't know why it was there but it was and that was the important point. I was so confused but I really wanted to kill a clock but with a soul within. How strange! Tock-tock again and tick-tack ... tick-tack. I quickly flung open the door ... tick-tack ... and pushed the knife into the object in front of me. I couldn't see my enemy for my eyes were full of tears. I was desperate. "Go away!" I shrieked while I pushed the knife again and again into that object. When I realized something warm on my hands I stopped. The tick-tack had also stopped.
I stood up, hardly breathing. I slowly moved back and switched on the light. Slowly my blood began to run cold. It was Mr Bold I had killed. He had no tongue for ha had been born without any so he couldn't of course tell me who was there. I stared at him. The knife fell down with a pock. He was dead.
My heart beat fast but I wasn't able to do anything. I felt as if I had drunken poison. Tears began to run down my cheeks warmly. Dead! I stared at him feeling sorry for him.
Step by step I went back to my library and closed the door.
What had I done?
by Vanessa Siepmann (3/2000)