Readers Theater Play

ction ,
thic Fi ing story

Go d disturb ural
ark an ith supernat
ad
often w elements

Edgar AllAn Poes creepy classic story of

madness and murder

adapted for Scope

by MACK LEWIS

CHARACTERS

illustrations
by lisa k. weber

* Ravens 1, 2, and 3:

narrators
All Ravens: all the

ravens in unison
* VILLAIN: the main
teller of the tale
Old Man
Heart: the old mans

beating heart
Officer
Sergeant
Constable
* Starred characters

are major roles.

TURN THE PAGE to read

this frightening story.

scholastic.com/scope SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

11

Old Man (kindly): Thank you very

MOOD

The mood of a story is the feeling

or feelings experienced by the
reader. For example, the mood
might be joyful, hopeless, or
tense. What word or words would
you use to describe the mood of
this play?

SCENE 1
All Ravens (flying in): Caw,
caw, caw . . .
Raven 1: Long before zombie
movies and vampires on TV . . .
Raven 2: Back in the days of
carriages and candlelight . . .
Raven 3: The master of bloodcurdling stories was a man named
Edgar Allan Poe.
Raven 1: Poe wrote about murder
and morgues . . .
Raven 2: About gargoyles and
graveyards . . .
Raven 3: And this tale, about a
man who has lost his mind . . .
VILLAIN (interrupting): WHAT? I
AM not CRAZY! You MAY THINK I
am, but I am NOT!
All Ravens: And thus the tale
begins.
Raven 1: It starts with the old man,
who shares an apartment with our
villain.
VILLAIN (calmer): Yes, thats right,
the old man.
Old Man (weakly): Would you
kindly bring me some tea?
VILLAIN (cheerfully): Of course. Ill
be right therewith the morning
paper too.

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Scholastic Scope SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

VILLAIN: True enough. The old

much. You do not look well today.

man had never done me harm.

Didnt you get any sleep last night?

But he had this one sickly eye.

VILLAIN: I am fine, Old Man.

It was like the eye of a vulture.

If anything, my senses are

Whenever it looked at me, my

especially keen.

blood ran cold. So slowly, over

Old Man: You seem to have

time, I made up my mind to

a headache. Let me get up

kill him.

and fix you something.

All Ravens: He made up his mind!

VILLAIN: No, no. You just enjoy

VILLAIN (increasing volume):

your tea.

as you read, THINK ABOUT:

I was not crazy. It was his evil eye.

All Ravens: Such a kind-hearted

It haunted me. It BELITTLED me!

old man.

IT DROVE ME FROM THE ROOM!

VILLAIN: I set about the task. Night

Go o
nlin
e fo
r ou
r sh
ows
and LOUDER.
topp
ing
Heart: THUMP, THUMPvide
o ab
out
THUMP. THUMP-THUMP . . .
Edg
ar A
llan
the shriek.
VILLAIN: It increased my fury.

after night, I crept into the old

I could stand it no longer! I leapt.

A shriek of terror.

mans room.

All Ravens: Ahhhhhhhhh!

It was my own . . . during

All Ravens: He shone a light upon

VILLAIN: Ahhhhhhhhh!

a dream.

THE EYE.

Old Man: Ahhhhhhhhh!

All Ravens: Or a nightmare!

VILLAIN: But every night THE EYE

VILLAIN (after a lengthy pause):

Officer: May we come in?

was closed. So I waited. After all, it

I smiled when the deed was done,

Sergeant: Look around?

was not the old man who vexed

yet for many minutes the old mans

Constable: Investigate?

me, but his eye.

heart beat on.

All Ravens: The villain invited

All Ravens: The EVIL EYE!

Heart: Bump-bump . . . bump-

them in.

VILLAIN: On the eighth night,

bump . . . bump-bump . . .

VILLAIN: Yes, I invited them in.

I crept into the old mans room

VILLAIN: When it finally ceased,

I wasnt worried, for I had carefully

and heard him sit up in bed.

I examined the corpse. The old

concealed the body of the old man

All Ravens: He cried out.

man was deadstone dead.

beneath the floorboards. No

VILLAIN: It was the groan of mortal

Raven 2: It was over.

human eyenot even hiscould

terror, a low stifled sound from the

Raven 3: The heart was still.

have detected anything wrong.

bottom of his soul.

Raven 1: THE EYE was closed

There was no stain, no blood

Old Man: Whos there?!

forever.

whatsoever. I had been too clever

VILLAIN: I remained still . . . (pause)

VILLAIN: THE EYE would trouble

for that.

For hours I stood without moving,

me no more.

Officer: Who else lives here

I HAD TO RID MYSELF OF THAT

EVIL EYE!

SCENE 2

barely breathing . . . (long pause)

And then I shone my light, a single

LOUDER

Poe
.

with you, sir?

SCENE 3

Sergeant: Yes, with whom do

Raven 2: An hour later there came

you live?

All Ravens: It was open!

a knock at the door.

Constable: And why isnt he here?

VILLAIN: Wide, WIDE OPEN!

Raven 3: BANG. BANG. BANG.

VILLAIN (to the officers): Ah, the old

And it made me furious to look

Raven 1: It was the police.

man. He is . . . away. You see, there

upon it, dull blue with that

Officer: There has been a

is his room. His bed is made. His

hideous, milky film over it.

complaint.

belongings are in place.

It chilled the very MARROW IN

Sergeant: Your neighbors.

Officer: Is something wrong?

MY BONES!

Constable: They called.

Sergeant: You seem to have a

All Ravens: The vultures eye!

Officer: A scream was heard.

headache.

VILLAIN: And then I heard it.

Top right: The Granger Collection

beam, upon THE EYE.

Sergeant: Like this: Ahhhhhhh!

Constable: You should sit down.

All Ravens: The beating of the

Constable: Yes, Ahhhhhhh!

VILLAIN: Yes, a fine idea. Perhaps

old mans heart.

Officer: Ahhhhhh!

you would join me for a spot of tea?

Heart: Thump-thump, thump-

Sergeant: Or at least thats what

Officer: A spot of tea?

thump, THUMP-THUMP . . .

your neighbors were saying.

Sergeant: That would be lovely.

VILLAIN: FASTER and FASTER

Constable: Suspicious, dont

Constable: Yes, a spot of tea.

and FASTER.

you think?

All Ravens: He served

All Ravens: LOUDER and

VILLAIN (to the officers): Yes,

them tea.

scholastic.com/scope SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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VILLAIN: Indeed! For what had

VILLAIN: Then there came a ringing

I clutched my head! But they

I to fear? I served them tea above

in my ears.

continued to blather on as if

the very spot where I had hidden

All Ravens: A muffled buzzing

nothing was wrong!

the corpse!

sound.

Officer: A walk in the woods,

Officer: Ah, this is fine tea.

Heart: Buzz . . . buzz . . . BUZZ . . .

why, it clears the mind.

Sergeant: They say green tea

VILLAIN: No doubt I grew very,

Sergeant: Much like this tea.

is good for you too.

very pale. I RAISED MY VOICE,

Constable: Yes, its good for

Constable: But Id have to say

but still they chatted.

the soul.

Darjeeling is my favorite.

Officer: The countryside must

VILLAIN: The noise grew louder.

VILLAIN: The officers chatted.

be nice this time of year.

And then I knew it for what it was!

I had fooled them well. Could a

Sergeant: Yespeaceful, Id say.

Heart: THUMP-THUMP.

crazy man have done that?

Constable: What with the fall

All Ravens: LOUDER, LOUDER,

All Ravens: But soon our villain

colors and all.

LOUDER.

wished them gone.

VILLAIN: The buzzing grew louder

VILLAIN: Couldnt they hear it?

VILLAIN: I grew pale. Why wouldnt

until I realized it wasnt buzzing at

I paced the floor with heavy strides.

they leave?

all, but a ticking sound.

I hissed! I gestured with my arms!

Officer: Lots of strange things

Raven 2: Like that of a watch,

Officer: Anyway, why do they call

happening these days.

Raven 3: Or a clock,

it Darjeeling?

Sergeant: People acting oddly.

Raven 1: Or a time bomb.

Sergeant: I think it has something

Constable: Like theres something

Heart: TICK TICK TICK . . .

to do with where its grown.

in the air.

VILLAIN: I paced to and fro!

Constable: In India . . . unless

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Scholastic Scope SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

I am mistaken.
Heart: THUMP-THUMP, THUMPTHUMP, THUMP-THUMP.
VILLAIN: Then it came to me.
They KNEW! They were mocking
me with their innocent smiles
and sips of tea!
All Ravens: Oh, the agony!
Heart: THUMP-THUMP, THUMPTHUMP, THUMP-THUMP.
Officer: Well, all seems well here.
Sergeant: We should be reporting
back to the station.
Constable: Thank you kindly for

Photodisc/Getty Images (CANDLE); Photodisc/Getty Images Viktor Korotayev/Reuters/Corbis (leeches); The Granger Collection (all others)

the tea, young man.

VILLAIN: Louder, LOUDER STILL!
I could bear it no longer.
All Ravens: He could bear it no
longer!
Heart: THUMP-THUMP,
THUMP-THUMP, THUMP . . .
VILLAIN: Villains! Monsters! I did it!
I confess! Tear up the floor! Here!
Here! It is the BEATING OF THE
OLD MANS HIDEOUS HEART!

EPILOGUE
VILLAIN: Thats RIGHT. I did it!
I SHANT tell you WHAT
HAPPENED next . . . NOR shall

Go Back In Time

What If You Lived in 1845?

Dirt. Disease. Backbreaking farm
work. And no iPods! Life was rough.
The year is 1845. Your mom is
reading The Tell-Tale Heart by the
famous author Edgar Allan Poe to you
and your little brother. Reading is the
main source of entertainment. After
all, there are no video games, cell
phones, or movies. Authors like Poe
are celebritiesthe Lady Gagas of
their day.
As your mom reads by candlelight,
you glance over at your brother. He
has strep throat, and you are worried.
Antibiotics have not been discovered,
and your brothers condition is very
serious. Many kids die of diseases
that will one day be easily cured.
Like most Americans, you live in
a rural area. Today you stayed home
to help out on your familys farm
which is not unusual for kids to do.
Tomorrow you will go back to your
school, a one-room schoolhouse where
six grades share a single classroom
and are taught by the same teacher.

Photography has just been

invented. Having your portrait
done is all the rage.

Leeches are thought to

cure the sick by sucking
out bad blood.

Homes are lit by candles and

gas lamps. Light bulbs wont be
invented for two decades.
One-room schoolhouses like
this are very common.

I tell you WHATS to happen now,

if YOU dont stop STARING at me
with your VULTURE EYES!

Edgar Allan Poe

contest

Write About Mood What is the mood of The Tell-Tale

Heart? How does the writer create that mood? That is, what images,
words, ideas, or other details caused you to feel the way you felt?
Write a paragraph explaining your answers. Send it to Tell-Tale
CONTEST. Five winners will get Poes Tales of Mystery and
Madness illustrated by Gris Grimly. See page 2 for details. Get this
activity
Online

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