The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

Artwork by Amanda Guido Ochoa

To keep the wicked atmosphere of the story, the illustrations were designed as tarot or playing cards: The Twins, the Fool, and the House. Each card works as an archetype that symbolizes the most important aspects of the story.

The Twins depicts the relationship between the Usher twins, Madeline and Roderick and the house. It is understood that the house works as a mirror of the physical and mental condition of the twins and at the same time it is the reason behind their physical and mental state. The three of them are connected and influence each other. This card also depicts the twins in an ideal physical state before their health started to deteriorate.

The Fool represents the narrator, who naively accepts the invitation of Roderick Usher to visit him at the house and later helps him hiding Madeline's body in the dungeons without knowing that she was alive. Here he is crossing the threshold between his safe and comfortable world and the wicked universe that the house inhabits.

The House depicts the fall of the House of Usher that happens right after Madeline escapes from her tomb and attacks and kills Roderick before dying from the effort. The house, as is connected in a strange way to its inhabitants, dies with them under the light of the full moon. The narrator escapes, leaving his friend behind.

The illustrations were inspired by three surrealist artists: Leonora Carrington, Rene Magritte, Frida Kahlo, and the filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowski.