The Fall of the House of Usher not only incorporated the short story that inspired the show — but numerous other works from Edgar Allan Poe as well.
The gothic drama, which started streaming on Netflix in October 2023, introduced the story of corrupt CEO Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) who had to face his questionable past when his children started dying in mysterious and brutal ways at the hands of Verna (Carla Gugino).
Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher explored Roderick’s descent into madness after his twin sister, Madeline Usher, died. Roderick — and the narrator — bury Madeline in a tomb only for her to briefly come back to take her brother’s life as well.
In the show, Madeline’s faith was initially bestowed upon her and Roderick’s mother, Eliza (Annabeth Gish), whose name was a nod to Poe’s mom. Creator Mike Flanagan also used The Fall of the House of Usher to include Easter eggs from Poe’s life.
Rufus Wilmot Griswold (Michael Trucco) was Roderick’s boss at Fortunata Pharmaceuticals before he left him for dead and took over the business. However, Griswold was a real person who ended up in a rivalry with Poe throughout their respective careers.
Mr. Longfellow, meanwhile, was a poet and educator who Poe accused of plagiarism. On the show, Robert Longstreet played Eliza’s boss and the father to her children, whom he never claimed.
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Throughout the miniseries, John Neal (Nicholas Lea) served as a judge in the trial against the Usher family. He often made decisions which swayed the case in the fictional family’s favor. In real life, John Neal was a critic who helped discover Poe and inspired him to quit poetry for short stories.
Scroll down for a guide to how each character on The Fall of the House of Usher connects to Poe’s work:
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