Edgar Allan Poe - Master of Mystery and Macabre 🖤 by Storytime Classics - Dailymotion

Storytime Classics

Welcome to the Edgar Allan Poe playlist, a tribute to the genius behind some of the most haunting and imaginative tales in literature! About the Author: 📅 Born: January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 📚 Died: October 7, 1849, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his dark and atmospheric works, which explore themes of death, madness, love, and the supernatural. He pioneered the modern detective story and was a master of psychological horror and gothic literature. Famous Works: 📜 The Raven – A haunting poem about love, loss, and despair, featuring the iconic refrain, "Nevermore" 🦅 🕵️‍♂️ The Murders in the Rue Morgue – Widely regarded as the first modern detective story, introducing the brilliant C. Auguste Dupin 🕶️ 🖤 The Tell-Tale Heart – A chilling tale of guilt and madness that will make your heart race 🔪 🔍 The Purloined Letter – A clever detective story filled with wit and intrigue 📩 🪦 Annabel Lee – A poignant and romantic poem dedicated to a lost love 💔 Fun Facts About Poe: 🎩 He was an orphan by the age of three and was raised by foster parents. ✒️ He’s considered the inventor of the detective genre and a major influence on mystery writers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 💀 He loved cryptography and often challenged readers to solve puzzles hidden in his works. 🖋️ He was one of the first American writers to make a living from writing alone—though it wasn’t always easy! 🍷 His death remains a mystery—he was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore under mysterious circumstances. Edgar Allan Poe’s tales and poems remain as captivating today as they were in his time, offering readers and listeners a journey into the darkest corners of the human soul. 🌌✨ Enjoy this playlist as a celebration of the unparalleled legacy of Edgar Allan Poe, the master of mystery and the macabre! 🖤📜

Transcript

00:00The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Part 1. Paris. In Paris it was in the summer of 1840. There I first

00:08met that strange and interesting young fellow, August Dupin. Dupin was the last member of a

00:16well-known family, a family which had once been rich and famous. He himself, however, was far

00:23from rich. He cared little about money. He had enough to, by the most necessary things of life

00:31and a few books he did not trouble himself about the rest. Just books. With books he was happy.

00:39We first met when we were both trying to find the same book. As it was a book which few had ever

00:44heard of, this chance brought us. Together in an old bookstore. Later we met again in the same store.

00:50Then again in another bookstore. Soon we began to talk. I was deeply interested in the family

00:55history, he told me. I was surprised, too, at how much and how widely he had read. More important,

01:03the force of his busy mind was like a bright light in my soul. I felt that the friendship of such a

01:09man would be for me riches without price. I therefore told him of my feelings toward him,

01:15and he agreed to. Come and live with me. He would have, I thought, the joy of using my

01:20many fine books, and I would have the pleasure of having someone with me, for I was not happy alone.

01:27We passed the days reading, writing, and talking. But Dupin was a lover of the night, and at night,

01:34often with only the light of the stars. To show us the way, we walked the streets of Paris,

01:40sometimes talking, sometimes quiet, always thinking. I soon noticed a special reasoning

01:45power he had, an unusual. Reasoning power. Using it gave him great pleasure. He told me once,

01:53with a soft and quiet laugh, that most men have windows over their hearts. Through these he could

01:59see into their souls. Then he surprised me by telling what he knew about my own soul, and I found

02:06that he knew things about me that I had thought only I could possibly know. His manner at these

02:12moments was cold and distant. His eyes looked empty and far away, and his voice became high and

02:19nervous. At such, times it seemed to me that I saw not just Dupin, but two Dupins, one who coldly put

02:27things together, and another who just as coldly took them apart. One night, we were walking down

02:33one of Paris' long and dirty streets. Both of us were busy with our thoughts. Neither had spoken.

02:40For perhaps fifteen minutes. It seemed as if we had each forgotten that. The other was there,

02:46at his side. I soon learned that Dupin had not. Forgotten me? However, suddenly he said,

02:53You're right. He is a very little fellow. That's true. And he would. Be more successful if he acted in

03:00lighter, less serious plays. Yes, there can be no doubt of that. I said, At first I saw nothing

03:08strange in this. Dupin had agreed with me, with my own thoughts. This, of course, seemed to me quite

03:14natural. For a few seconds I continued walking and thinking, but suddenly, I realized that Dupin had

03:21agreed with something which was only a thought. I had not spoken a single word. I stopped walking

03:27and turned. To my friend. Dupin, I said. Dupin, this is beyond my understanding. How could you know

03:35that I was thinking of? Here I stopped in order to test him, to learn if he really did know my

03:41unspoken thoughts. How did I know you were thinking of Chantilly? Why do you? Stop. You were thinking

03:47that Chantilly is too small for the plays in. Which he acts? That is indeed what I was thinking.

03:53But tell me in heavens, name the method if method there is by which you have been,

03:58able to see into my soul in this matter. It was the fruit seller. Fruit seller? I know no fruit

04:04seller. I mean the man who ran into you as we entered this street. It may have been ten or fifteen

04:10minutes ago, perhaps less. Yes, yes, that's true. I remember now. A fruit seller, carrying a large

04:18basket of apples on his head, almost threw me down. But I don't. Understand why the fruit seller should

04:24make me think of Chantilly. Or, if he did, how you can know that? I will explain. Listen closely now.

04:32Let us follow your thoughts from the fruit seller to the play actor, Chantilly. Those thoughts must have

04:37gone like this. From the fruit seller to the cobblestones, from the cobblestones to stereotomy,

04:43and from stereotomy to epicurus, to Orion, and then to Chantilly. As we turn into this street,

04:50the fruit seller, walking very quickly past us, ran against you and made you step on some cobblestones,

04:56which had not been put down evenly. And I could see that the stones had hurt your foot. You spoke a few

05:03angry words to yourself, and continued walking. But you kept looking down, down at the cobblestones,

05:10in the street, so I knew you were still thinking of stones. Then we came to a small street where

05:15they are putting down. Street stones which they have cut in a new and very special way. Here,

05:21your face became brighter, and I saw your lips move. I could not doubt that you were saying the

05:27word stereotomy, the name for this new way, of cutting stones. It is a strange word, isn't it?

05:34But you will remember, that we read about it in the newspaper only yesterday. I thought that.

05:39The word stereotomy must make you think of that old Greek writer, named Epicurus, who wrote of

05:46something he called atoms. He believed that the world and everything in the heavens above are made of

05:52these. Atoms. Not long ago, you and I were talking about Epicurus and his ideas, his atoms, ideas,

05:59which Epicurus wrote about more than 2,000. Years ago, we were talking about how much those old ideas

06:06are like. Today's idea is about the earth and the stars and the sky. I felt sure that. You would look

06:12up to the sky. You did look up. Now I was certain that. I had been following your thoughts as they had

06:18in fact come into your. Mine. I too looked up and saw that the group of stars we call Orion is.

06:25Very bright and clear tonight. I knew you would notice this and think. About the name Orion. Now

06:31follow my thoughts carefully. Only yesterday, in the newspaper, there was an article about the actor

06:37Chantilly. An article which was not friendly to Chantilly. Not friendly at all. We noticed that the

06:43writer of the article had used some words taken from a book we both had read. These words were

06:49about Orion. So I knew you would put together the two ideas of Orion and Chantilly. I saw you smile,

06:57remembering that article and the hard words in it. Then I saw you stand straighter, as tall as you

07:03could make yourself. I was sure you were thinking of Chantilly's size and especially his. Hi. He is

07:09small. He is short. And so I spoke, saying that he is indeed. A very little fellow, this Chantilly,

07:17and he would be more successful if. He acted in lighter, less serious plays. I will not say that I

07:23was surprised. I was more than surprised. I was astonished. Dapan was right, as right as he could be.

07:31Those were, in fact, my thoughts, my unspoken thoughts, as my mind moved from one thought to the

07:38next. But if I was astonished by this, I would soon be more than astonished. One morning this

07:44strangely interesting man showed me once, again his unusual reasoning power. We heard that an old

07:52woman had been killed by unknown persons. The killer or the killers had cut her head off and

07:59escaped into the night. Who was this killer, this murderer? The police had no answer. They had looked

08:05everywhere and found nothing that helped them. They did not know what to do. Next. And so they did

08:12nothing. But not Dapan. He knew what to do. Part 2. It was in Paris in the summer of 1840 that I met

08:19August Dapan. He was an unusually interesting, young man with a busy, forceful mind. This mind could,

08:28it seemed, look right through a man's body, into his soul, and uncover his, deepest thoughts.

08:35Sometimes he, seemed to be not one, but two, people. One who coldly put, things together,

08:42and another who, just as coldly took them apart. One morning, in the heat of, the summer,

08:49Dapan showed me once again his special reasoning power. We read in the newspaper about a terrible

08:54killing. An old woman and, her daughter, living alone in an old house in the Rue Morgue, had

09:00been killed in the middle of the night. Paris, July 7th, 1840. In the early morning today, the people in

09:08the western part of the city were awakened from their sleep by cries of terror, which came, it seemed,

09:15from a house in the street called the Rue Morgue. The only persons living in the house were an old

09:20woman, Mrs. Lespinay, and her daughter. Several neighbors and a policeman ran toward the house,

09:27but by the time they reached it, the cries had stopped. When no one answered their calls,

09:32they forced the door open. As they rushed and they heard voices, two voices. They seemed to come,

09:39from above. The group hurried from room to room, but they found. Nothing until they reached the fourth

09:45floor. But they found a door, that was firmly closed, locked, with the key inside. Quickly they

09:51forced. The door opened, and they saw spread before them a bloody sickening. Scene. A scene of horror.

09:59The room was in the wildest possible order. Broken chairs and tables were lying all around the room.

10:06There was only one bed, and from it, everything had been taken and thrown into the middle of the

10:11floor. There was blood everywhere, on the floor, on the bed, on the walls. A sharp knife covered with

10:19blood was lying on the floor. In front of the fireplace there was some long gray hair, also

10:25bloody. It seemed to have been pulled from a human head. On the floor were four pieces of gold,

10:31an earring, several objects made of silver, and two bags containing a large amount of money in gold.

10:38Clothes had been thrown around the room. A box was found under the bed covers. It was open and held,

10:45only a few old letters and papers. There was no one there, or so it seemed. Above the fireplace they

10:52found the dead body of the daughter. It had been put up into the opening where the smoke escapes to

10:58the sky. The body was still warm, there was blood on the face, and on the neck there were dark, deep,

11:05marks which seemed to have been made by strong fingers. These marks surely show how the daughter

11:11was killed, after hunting in every part of the house without finding anything. More, the group went

11:17outside. Behind the building they found the body of the old woman. Her neck was almost cut through, and

11:24when they tried to lift her up, her head fell off. The next day the newspaper offered to its readers these

11:30new facts. The murders in the Rue Morgue. Paris, July 8th, 1840. The police have talked with many

11:39people about the terrible killings in the old. House on the Rue Morgue, but nothing has been learned

11:44to answer the question of who the killers were. Pauline Duborg, a washwoman, says she has known both

11:50of the dead women for more than three years and has washed their clothes. During that period,

11:56the old lady and her daughter seemed to love each other dearly. They always paid her well. She did

12:03not know where there. Money came from, she said. She never met anyone in the house. Only the two women

12:10lived on the fourth floor. Pierre Moreau, a shopkeeper, says Mrs. Lespinay had bought food at his shop for

12:17nearly four years. She owned the house and had lived in it for more than six years. People said they had

12:23money. He never saw anyone enter the door except the old lady and her daughter. And a doctor eight

12:30or ten times, perhaps. Many other persons, neighbors said the same thing. Almost no one ever went into

12:37the house and Mrs. Lespinay and her daughter were. Not often seen. Jules Mignod, a banker, says that Mrs.

12:45Lespinay had put money in. His bank, beginning eight years before. Three days before her death,

12:51she. Took out of the bank a large amount of money and gold. A man from. The bank carried it for her

12:58to her house. Isidore Musit, a policeman, says that he was with the group that first entered the house.

13:05While he was going up the stairs, he heard two voices, one low and soft, and one hard, high and

13:11very strange, the voice. Of someone who was certainly not French, the voice of a foreigner. Spanish, perhaps.

13:18It was not a woman's voice. He could not understand what it said. But the low voice,

13:24the softer voice, said in French, my God. Alfonso Garcia, who is Spanish and lives on the

13:31Rue Morgue, says he. Entered the house, but did not go up the stairs. He is nervous, and he was.

13:38Afraid he might be ill. He heard the voices. He believes the high voice. Was not that of a Frenchman.

13:44Perhaps it was English, but he doesn't understand English, so he is not sure. William Byrd, another

13:51foreigner, an Englishman, says he was one of the persons who entered the house. He has lived in

13:57Paris for two years. He heard the voices. The low voice was that of a Frenchman. He was. Sure,

14:03because he heard it say, in French, my God. The high voice. Was very loud. He is sure it was not the

14:11voice of an Englishman, nor the voice of a Frenchman. It seemed to be that of an Italian. It might have

14:18been a woman's voice. He does not understand Italian. Mr. Alberto Montigny, an Italian, was

14:24passing the house at the time. Of the cries, he says that they lasted for about two minutes. They

14:30were screams, long and loud. Terrible, fearful sounds. Montigny, who speaks Spanish but not French,

14:38says that he also heard two voices. He thought both voices were French, but he could not understand

14:45any of. The words spoken. The persons who first entered the house all agree that the door of the

14:51room where the daughter's body was found was locked on the inside. When they reached the door,

14:57everything was quiet. When they forced. The door opened, they saw no one. The windows were closed

15:03and firmly. Locked on the inside, there are no steps that someone could have gone. Down while they

15:09were going up, they say that the openings over the fireplace are too small for anyone to have

15:15escaped through them. It took four or five people to pull the daughter's body out of the opening over

15:21the fireplace. A careful search was made through the hole. House. It was four or five minutes from the

15:28time they heard the voices. To the moment they forced open the door of the room. Paul Dumas,

15:34a doctor, says that he was called to see the body soon. After they were found, they were in a horrible

15:39condition, badly marked, and broken. Such results could not have come from a woman's hands. Only from

15:46those of a very powerful man. The daughter had been killed by strong hands around her neck. The police

15:53have learned nothing more than this. A killing is strange as. This has never before happened in

15:59Paris. The police do not know where. To begin to look for the answer. When we had finished reading

16:04the newspaper's account of the murders, neither Dupin nor myself said anything for a while. But I

16:11could see in his eyes that cold, empty look which told me that his. Mine was working busily. When he

16:18asked me what I thought of all. This, I could only agree with all Paris. I told him I considered it a

16:24very difficult problem. A mystery to which it was not possible to find it. Answer. No, no, said Dupin.

16:33No, I think you are wrong. A mystery it is, yes. But there must be an answer. Let us go to the house

16:40and see what we can see. There must be an answer. There must. Part 3. It was in Paris that I met.

16:48August Dupin. He was an unusually, interesting young man with a busy, forceful mind. This mind

16:55could, it seemed, look right through a man's body into his deepest soul. One hot summer morning we

17:01read in the newspapers about a terrible killing. The dead persons were an old woman and her unmarried

17:09daughter who lived alone on. The fourth floor of an old house on. The street called the Rue Morgue.

17:15Someone had taken the daughter's neck and his powerful fingers and pressed with fearful strength

17:22until her life was gone. Her mother's body was found outside, behind the house, with the head nearly

17:29cut off. The knife with which she was killed was found, however, in the room, on the floor. Several

17:37neighbors ran to the house when they heard the women's. Cries of fear. As they ran up to the

17:42fourth floor, they heard two other. Voices. But when they reached the room and broke down the door,

17:49they found no living person in the room. Like the door, the two. Windows were firmly closed,

17:54locked on the inside. There was no other. Way that the killer could have got in or out of the room.

17:59The Paris police did not know where to begin to look for the answer. I told Dupin that it seemed to

18:06me that it was not possible to. Learn the answer to the mystery of these killings. No, no, said Dupin.

18:12No. I think you were wrong. A mystery it is, yes. But there must be an answer. We must not judge what

18:19is possible just by what we have. Read in the newspapers. The Paris police work hard and often

18:25get good. Results, but there is no real method in what they do. When something, more than simple

18:31hard work, is needed when a little real method is. Needed, the police fail. Sometimes they stand too

18:38near the problem. Often, if a person looks at something very closely, he can see a few. Things

18:44more clearly, but the shape of the whole thing escapes him. There must be an answer. There must.

18:50Just let us go to the house and see what we can see. I know the head of the police, and he will.

18:56Allow us to do so, and this will be interesting and give us some pleasure. I thought it strange that

19:02Dupin should believe we would get pleasure out of this, but I said nothing. It was late in the

19:07afternoon when we reached the house on the Rue Morgue. It was easily found for there were still many

19:13persons. In fact, a crowd standing there looking at it. Before going, we walked all around it,

19:19and Dupin carefully looked at the neighboring houses as, well as this one, I could not understand the

19:25reason for such great care. We came again to the front of the house and went in. We went up the

19:32stairs into the room where the daughter's body had been. Found. Both bodies were there. The police had

19:38left the room as they had found it. I saw nothing beyond what the newspaper had told us. Dupin looked

19:44with great care at everything, at the bodies, the walls, the fireplace, the windows. Then we went

19:51home. Dupin said nothing. I could see the cold look in his eyes, which told me that his mind was

19:57working, working busily quickly. I asked no questions. Dupin said nothing until the next morning

20:04when he came into my room and asked me suddenly if I had not noticed something especially strange

20:11about what we saw at the house on the room ward. I replied nothing more than we both read in the

20:17newspaper. Tell me, my friend, how shall we explain the horrible force, the unusual strength used in

20:24these murders? And whose were the voices that were heard? No one was found except the dead women.

20:30Yet there was no way for anyone to escape. And the wild condition of the room, the body which was found

20:37head down above the fireplace. The terrible, broken appearance of the body of the old lady,

20:43with its head cut off. These are all so far from what might be expected that the police are.

20:49Standing still, they don't know where to begin. These things are unusual, indeed, but they are not deep.

20:55Mysteries. We should not ask. What has happened? But what has? Happened that has never happened before.

21:02In fact, the very things. That the police think cannot possibly be explained are the things.

21:08Which will lead me to the answer. Indeed, I believe they have already. Led me to the answer.

21:14I was so surprised I could not say a word. Dupin looked quickly. At the door. I am now waiting

21:20for a person who will know something. About these murders. These wild killings. I do not think he did

21:26them. Himself. But I think he will know the killer. I hope I am right about. This.

21:31If I am, then I expect to find the whole answer. Today. I expect. The man here. In this room.

21:39At any moment. It is true that he may. Not come. But he probably will. But who is this person?

21:47How did you find him? I'll tell you. While we wait for this man, we do not know. For I.

21:52Have never met him. While we wait, I will tell you how my thoughts. Went. Dupin began to talk.

21:59But it did not seem that he was trying to. Explain to me what he had thought. It seemed

22:04that he was talking to. Himself. He looked not at me, but at the wall. It has been fully

22:09proved that the voices heard by the neighbors were not the voices of the women who were killed.

22:15Someone else was in the room. It is therefore certain that the old woman did not. First kill

22:20her daughter and then kill herself. She would not have been strong enough to put her daughter's

22:26body where it was found. And the manner of the old lady's death shows that she could not have

22:31caused. It herself. A person can kill himself with a knife. Yes. But he surely cannot cut his own head

22:39almost off. Then drop the knife on the floor. And jump out the window. It was murder then done by some

22:45third. Person. Or persons. And the voices heard were the voices of these. Persons. Let us now think

22:53carefully about the things people said about. Those voices. Did you notice anything especially

22:58strange in what was? Told about them? Well, yes. Everybody agreed that the low voice was the voice

23:06of. A Frenchman. But they could not agree about the high voice. Ah. That was what they said, yes.

23:13But that was not what was. So strange about what they said. You say you have noticed nothing.

23:18That makes their stories very different from what might have been. Expected. Yet there was

23:23something. All these persons, as you say, agreed about the low voice. But not about the high hard

23:30voice. The strange thing here is that when an Italian, an Englishman, a Spaniard, and a Frenchman

23:37tried to tell what the voice was like, each one said, it sounded like the voice of a foreigner.

23:42How strangely unusual that. Voice really must have been, here are four men from four big countries.

23:49And not one of them could understand what the voice said. Each. One gave it a different name.

23:55Now I know that there are other countries in the world. You will. Say that perhaps it was the voice

23:59of someone from one of those other. Lands Russia perhaps. But remember, not one of these people

24:05heard. Anything that sounded like a separate word. Here Dupan turned and looked into my eyes.

24:10This is what we have learned from the newspaper. I don't know what I have led you to think.

24:16But I believe that in this much of the story, there are enough facts to lead us in the one

24:21and only direction. To the right answer. What this answer is, I will not say not yet. But I

24:27want you to keep in mind that this much was enough to tell me what. I must look for when we were in

24:32that house on the Rue Morgue. And I found it. Part four. Murderers had come to the old house on the

24:39street called. The Rue Morgue. Murderers had come and gone and left behind the dead bodies of an old

24:45woman and her daughter. The daughter's body was in the bedroom on the fourth floor. The old woman was

24:51lying. Outside, behind the house, her head almost cut off. But the knife, which killed her, was up in

24:58the bedroom on the floor. The door and the windows were all firmly closed, locked on the inside.

25:06There was no way for anyone to go in or out. Voices had been heard. One voice was speaking in French.

25:14The other voice had not spoken even one word that anyone could understand. But there was no one in

25:20the room. When police arrived. This much we had learned from the newspapers, my friend DePan.

25:25And I interested by it. We had gone to look at the house and the bodies. DePan was now explaining to

25:31me what he had learned there. That is what we learned from the newspapers. Please remember it. For that

25:37much was enough to tell me what I must look for when we were in that house on the Rue Morgue. And I

25:43found it. Let us now take ourselves again, in our thoughts, to the room. Where the murders were done.

25:48What shall we first look for? The way. The murderers escaped. All right. We agree, I am sure,

25:55that we do not. Have to look for anything outside of nature. For anything not having. A real form of

26:01body. The killers were not spirits. They were real. They could not go through the walls. Then how did

26:08they escape? There is only one way to reason on that subject. And it must lead us to the answer.

26:15Let us look, one at a time, at the possible ways to escape. It is clear that the killers were in the

26:22room where the daughter was found. From this room, they must have escaped. How? At first I saw no way

26:29out. It had been necessary for the neighbors to break down the door in order to enter the room.

26:34There was no other door. The opening above the fireplace is not big enough near. The top, for even a small

26:41animal. The murderers, therefore, must have escaped through one of the windows. This may not seem

26:46possible. We must prove that it is possible. There are two windows in the room. Both of them, you will.

26:54Remember, are made of two parts. To open the window, one must lift up. The bottom half. One of these

27:00windows is easily seen. The lower part of. The other is out of sight behind the big bed. I looked carefully

27:08at the first of these windows. It was firmly closed fastened like the door on the inside. To keep the

27:15window closed, to fasten it, someone had put a strong iron nail into the wood at the side of the

27:21window in such a way that the window could not be raised. At least it seemed that the nail held the

27:27window closed. The nail was easy to see. There it was. And the people who discovered the killings used

27:35their greatest strength. And could not raise the window. I, too, tried to raise the window and could

27:42not. I went to the second window and looked behind the bed at the lower half of the window. There was

27:48a nail here, too, which held the window closed. Without moving the bed, I tried to open this window.

27:54Also, and again, I could not do so. I did not stop looking for an answer, however, because I knew

28:00that what did not seem possible must be proved to be possible. The killers, or perhaps I should say

28:08the killer, for I am almost certain. There was only one. The killer escaped through one of these

28:13windows. Of this I felt certain. After the murderer had left the bedroom, he could have closed the window

28:19from the outside, but he could not. Have fastened it again on the inside. Yet anyone could see the nails,

28:25which held the windows tightly closed. This was the fact that stopped. The police. How could the

28:32murderer put the nail back in its place? Perhaps, perhaps if you pulled out the nail. Yes, that is

28:38just what I thought. Two things seemed clear. First, there had to be something wrong with the idea that

28:44the nails were. Holding the windows closed. I didn't know what was wrong. Something was. Second, if it was

28:52not the nails which were holding the windows. Closed. Then something else was holding them closed.

28:58Something hard. To see something hidden. I went back to the first window. With great effort, I pulled

29:04out the nail. Then I again, tried to raise the window. It was still firmly closed. This did not surprise me.

29:11There had to be a hidden lock, I thought. Inside the window. I felt the window carefully with my fingers.

29:17Indeed, I found a button which, when I pressed it, opened an inner lock. With almost no effort,

29:24I raised the window. Now I knew that the killer could close the window from outside, and the window

29:29would lock itself. But there was still the nail. Carefully, I put the nail back into the hole from

29:34which I had taken it. Then I pressed the button and tried to raise the window. I could not. The nail

29:40also was holding the window closed. Then the murderer could not possibly have gone out the

29:46window. He could not have gone out that window. Therefore, he must have escaped through the other

29:52window. The other window was also held closed by a nail. But I knew I must be right. Although no one

29:59else had looked carefully at the window behind the bed, I went to it and tried to see whether the two

30:04windows were in some way different. The nail in the second window looked the same as the one I had

30:10just. Seen. I moved the bed so that I could look closely. Yes. There was a. Button here too. I was

30:18so sure I was right that without touching the. Nail, I pressed the button and tried to raise the

30:23window. Up it went. As the window went up, it carried with it the top part of the nail. The head. When I

30:30closed the window, the head of the nail was again. In its place. It looked just as it had looked before.

30:35I took the head of the nail on my fingers and it easily came away from the window. I saw that the

30:42nail had been broken. But when I put the nail head back in, its place, the nail again looked whole.

30:48What seemed to be not possible we have proved to be possible. The murderer indeed escaped through

30:54that window. I could now see in my mind what had happened. It was a hot summer night when the murderer

31:00first arrived. He found that window open. Opened to let some of the fresh night air. Come in. Through

31:06the open window, the murderer went in and came. Out again. As he came out, he closed the window.

31:13Perhaps with a purpose to do so. Perhaps by chance. The special lock inside the window. Held the window

31:19firmly closed. The nail only seemed to be holding it. Closed. And that which was possible looked

31:26not possible. Depan had been talking not to me. It seemed, but to himself. His cold eyes seemed to

31:33see only what was in his own mind. Now he stopped and looked straight at me. His eyes were now hard

31:40and bright. And I understood that using his unusual reasoning power to find the answer to those bloody

31:47murders was giving Depan great pleasure. At first I could think only of this. Then I said, Depan the

31:54windows are on the fourth floor far above the ground. Even an open. Window. Yes. That is an

32:00interesting question. How did the murderer go? From the window down to the ground? Once I was quite

32:06certain that. The murderer had in fact gone through that window the rest was not. So, hard to know.

32:12And the answer to this question told me still more. About who the murderer was? When you and I first came

32:18to the house on the room morgue. We walked around the house. At that time I noted a long, thin metal

32:24pole which went from the top of the building to the ground. A lightning rod put there to carry down

32:31to the ground a charge of electricity that might come out of the clouds during a bad summer storm.

32:37Here I thought is a way for someone to go up or down the wall and then to go in or out the window.

32:43He would have to be very strong. Although certain animals could easily go up the pole. Not every man

32:49could do it. Only a man with very special strength and special training. This told me more about what

32:56the murderer was like. But I still had the question. Oh. Part 5. That unusual Frenchman. August. Depan was

33:05still explaining to me how. He found the answer to the question of. Who murdered the two women in the

33:11house on the room morgue. We now. Knew that it was indeed possible for. The killer to go in and again

33:18out one of. The windows and still leave them both. Firmly closed locked on the inside. And I agreed

33:25with Depan when he said. That only someone with very special. Strength and training could have gone.

33:32Up the lightning rod on the side of the house. And thus entered the. Window. But who the murderer was

33:38we still did not know. Let us look again. Said Depan. At that room on the fourth. Floor. Let us now go

33:45back. In our minds. To the room we saw yesterday. Consider its appearance. Clothes had been thrown

33:52around the room. Yet it seemed that none had been taken. The old woman and her. Daughter almost never

33:58left the house. They had little use for many. Clothes. Those that were found in the room were as good

34:05as any they. Had. If the killer took some. Why didn't he take the best or take. All. And why would

34:11he take a few clothes. And leave all the money. Nearly the whole amount brought from the bank was

34:17found in bags. On the floor. I want you therefore. To forget the idea. In the minds of the police.

34:23The idea that a desire for money was what they call the motive. The. Reason for the murders. This idea

34:30rose in their minds when they heard. How the money was brought to the house three days before the

34:35killings. But this is only what we call a coincidence. Two things happening. At the same time. But only by

34:42chance and not because of some cause. Some cause that brought them together. Coincidences happen to all.

34:48Of us every day of our lives. If the gold was the reason for the murders.

34:53The killer must have been quite a fool to forget and leave it there. No. I don't think the desire

34:58for money was the reason for the. Killings. I think that there was no reason for these killings.

35:04Except. Perhaps fear. Now let us look at the murders themselves. A girl is killed by. Powerful hands

35:11around her neck. Then the body is placed in the opening over the fireplace. Head down. No murders we

35:18usually hear about. Are like this. There is something here that does not fit our ideas of.

35:24Human actions. Even when we think of men of the most terrible kind. Think also of the great strength

35:30which was necessary to put the body. Where it was found. The strength of several men was needed to

35:36pull. It down. There are other signs of this fearful strength. In front of the fireplace some

35:42gray human hair was lying. Thick pieces of it. Pulled from. The head of the old woman. You saw the hair

35:49on the floor yourself. And you saw the blood and skin with it. You know and I know that great.

35:55Force is necessary to pull out even twenty or thirty hairs at one time. A much greater force was needed

36:01to pull out hundreds of hairs at one. Time. Also the head of the old lady was cut almost completely

36:08from. The body. Why? To kill a woman with a knife. It is not necessary to cut. Her head off. If now

36:16added to all these things we add also the condition of. The room. We have put together the following

36:21ideas. Strength more. Then human. Wildness less than human. A murder without reason. Horror beyond human

36:30understanding. And a voice which made no. Sound that men could understand. What result then. Have you

36:37come. To. What have I helped you to see. A cold feeling went up and down my back. As Dapan asked me

36:44the. Question. A man. Someone who has lost his mind. I said. A madman. A madman. Only a madman

36:52could have done these murders. I think not. In some ways your idea is a good one. But madmen. Are from

36:59one country or another. Their cries may be terrible. But they. Are made of words and some

37:06of the words can be understood. Here. Look. Look at this hair. I took it from the fingers

37:11of the. Old woman. The hair of a madman is not like this. Tell me what you. Think it is. Dapan.

37:19This hair. Is this hair. Is not human hair. I did not say that it is. But. Before we decide

37:25this matter. Look. At the picture I had made here on this piece of paper. It is a picture

37:30of. The marks on the daughter's neck. The doctor said these marks were. Made by fingers. Let

37:36me spread the paper on the table. Before us. Try. To put your fingers. All at the same

37:41time. On the picture. So that your. Hand. And its fingers will fit the picture of the marks

37:47on the daughter's. Neck. I cannot. No. But perhaps we are not doing this in the right

37:53way. The. Paper is spread out on the table. The human neck is round. Here is. A piece

37:59of wood about as big. As the daughter's neck. Put the paper. Around it and try again. Go

38:05on. Try. I try to put my fingers around the piece of wood. As if it were. The girl's

38:11neck. But still my hand was not large enough to equal the. Marks left by the killer.

38:17De Pan. These marks were made by no human. Hand. No. They were not. I am almost certain

38:24that they were made. By the hand of an orangutan. One of those man-like animals that live.

38:30In the wild forest. The great size. The strength. The wildness of these. Animals are well known.

38:37Now. Look in this book by Cuvier. Read. Look. At the picture. I did so. And at once I knew

38:44that De Pan was right in everything. He said. The color of the hair. The size of the hand.

38:50The terrible. Strength. The wildness of the killings. Those sounds which were A. Voice but

38:55were not words. Everything fit nicely in its place. No. Not everything. De Pan. I said.

39:02There were two voices. Whose was the second voice? The second voice. Yes. Remember. We decided

39:10that only someone with a very special kind of strength could have gone up the lightning rod

39:14up the side of the house to the window on the fourth floor. Perhaps an animal. Perhaps a strong

39:20man from a circus. Perhaps a. Sailor. We know now that one of the voices was the voice of an animal.

39:27An orangutan. The other was the voice of a man. This voice spoke. Only two words. They were my God.

39:34Spoken in French. Upon those two words I have placed my hopes of finding a foal. Answer to this

39:41horrible question. The words were an expression of. Horror. This means that a Frenchman knew about

39:46these murders. It is. Possible. Indeed it is probable. That the Frenchman himself did. Not

39:53help the orangutan to kill. Perhaps the animal escaped from him. And he followed it to the house

39:58on the rue morgue. He could not. Have caught it again. It must still be free somewhere in Paris.

40:03I will not continue with these guesses. For I cannot call them. More than that. If I am right.

40:10And if the Frenchman did not himself. Help with the killings. I expect him to come here.

40:16Read this. I paid to. Have this put in the newspaper. I took the newspaper and read the following.

40:22Caught. Early in the morning of the 7th of this month. A very. Large orangutan. The owner,

40:29who is known to be a sailor. May have. The animal again. If he can prove it is his. But Depan. How

40:36can you know that the man is a sailor? I do not know it. I am not sure of it. I think the man is a

40:42sailor. A sailor could go up that pole on the side of the house. Sailors travel. To strange,

40:48far away places where such things as orangutans can be got. If I am right. Think for a moment.

40:54The sailor will say to himself. The animal is valuable. Why shouldn't I go and get it? The

41:01police do not know. The animal killed two women. And clearly somebody knows I am in Paris. If I do

41:08not go to get the animal, they will ask why. I don't want anyone to start asking questions about

41:13the animal. So I will go and get the orangutan and keep it where no one will see it. Until this

41:20trouble has passed. This, I believe, is how the sailor will think. But listen. I hear a man step

41:28on the stairs. Depan had left the front door of the house open and the visitor entered without

41:33using the bell. He came several steps up the stairs. Then stopped. We heard him go down again.

41:40Depan was moving toward. The door when we again heard the stranger coming up. He did not. Turned back

41:46a second time. But came straight to the door of our room. In a strong, warm, friendly voice, Depan said,

41:53Come in, my friend. Come in. Slowly the door opened. And in came a sailor. Part 6. My friend Depan was

42:02now certain that the murders in the... Rue Morgue had been done by a wild animal of the jungle.

42:08The man-like animal known as an orangutan. The animal had escaped from its... owner, he thought. And the

42:15owner was probably a sailor. He had put A. Notice in the newspaper that the man who owned the orangutan

42:20could. Have it again if he came to our house to get it. Now, as the owner came. To our door,

42:27we were both wondering if that man would, as Depan, guessed, be a sailor. Yes. The man who entered was

42:34indeed a sailor. He was a large, man, and strong. He carried a big, heavy piece of wood, but no gun.

42:42He said to us in French, Good evening. Sit down, my friend. I suppose you have come to ask about the...

42:49Orangutan. A very fine animal. I have no doubt that it is a very valuable animal.

42:55How old do you think it may be? I have no way of guessing how old it is, but it can't be more than.

43:00Four or five years old. Have you got it here? No, no. We have no place for it here. You can get it in

43:07the morning. Of course you can prove it is yours. Yes. Yes, I can. I wish I could keep it. I would

43:13like to have it. Of course I will pay you for finding and keeping the animal. Anything. Anything

43:20within reason. Well, that is very fair indeed. Let me think. What shall I ask? Four? I know.

43:27Let this be my pay. Tell me everything you know about. The murders in the Rue Morgue,

43:33as quietly as he had spoken to Pan, walked to the door, locked it, and put the key in his coat. At

43:38the same time, he took a gun out of his... coat and placed it on the table. The sailor's face had

43:44become red. He jumped to his feet and reached for his stick of wood, but in the next moment he fell

43:50back into. His chair trembling. His face became quite white, bloodless. He spoke. Not a word. His eyes

43:58were closed. My friend, you must not be afraid. We are not going to hurt. You. I know very well

44:05that you yourself are not the killer. But it is true that you know something about him or about it.

44:11From what I have already said, you must know that I have ways of learning about the matter. Ways you

44:18could never have dreamed of. Now, I know that you yourself have done nothing wrong. You didn't even take

44:24any of the money. You have no reason to be afraid to. Talk and to tell the truth. It is a matter of

44:31honor for you to tell all you. No. And you know who the killer is? So help me God. I'll tell you all

44:37I know about this. All I know. But I don't expect you to believe one half of what I say. Not one. Half.

44:45Still, I didn't kill anyone. And I'll tell the whole story if I die for. It... it was that animal.

44:51The orangutan. About a year ago, our ship sailed to the far east to the island of Borneo. I had never

44:58before seen Borneo. The forest, the jungle was thick with trees and other plants and hot and wet and

45:05dark. But we, when a friend and I, we went into that forest for pleasure. There we saw this orangutan,

45:12a big animal. But we were two. And we caught it. We took it with us on the ship. Soon, however,

45:18my friend died and the animal was mine. But it was very strong and caused a lot of trouble.

45:26In the end, I brought it back to Paris with me. I kept it in my house, in my own house,

45:31carefully locked up so the neighbors could not know about it. The animal had cut one foot badly

45:36while on the ship. I thought, I thought that as soon as it got well, I would sell it. I was certain it

45:43was of great value. And it was so much trouble to keep. I wanted to sell it soon. The night of the

45:48murders, very late, I came home and found the animal in my bedroom. It had got free, I don't

45:55know how. It held a knife in its hands and was playing with it. I was afraid. I didn't know what

46:01to do. When it saw me, it jumped up, ran out of the room and down the stairs. There it found an open

46:09window and jumped into the street. I followed, never far behind, although I had no hope of catching

46:16it again. The animal, with the knife still in its hand, stopped often to look back at me. But before

46:22I could come near enough to even try, to catch it, the animal always started to run again. It seemed to

46:28be, playing with me. It was nearly morning, but the streets were still dark and quiet. We passed

46:34the back of a house and a room org. The animal looked up and saw a light in the open window of

46:40a room high above. It was the only lighted window in sight. The animal saw the metal pole went up it

46:48easily and quickly and jumped into the room. All this didn't take a minute. I didn't know what to do.

46:54I didn't know what I could do. I followed the animal. I too went up the pole. As I am a sailor,

47:00it was easy. For me. But the open window was far from the pole and I was afraid. To try to jump,

47:07I could see into the room. However, through the other window, which was closed. The two women were

47:13sitting there with their backs to the windows. Who can guess why they were not sleeping at that hour of

47:18the night? A box was in the middle of the floor. The papers, which had been in the box, were lying

47:24around on the floor. The women seemed to be studying some of these. They did not see the animal,

47:31which was just standing there watching the knife still in one hand. But the old woman heard it and

47:37turned her head and saw the animal there knife in hand. And then, then I heard the first of those

47:43terrible cries. When the animal heard the old woman's cry, it caught her by the hair and slowly

47:49moved the knife before her face. The daughter, with terror, fell to the floor and remained there

47:55without moving her. Eyes closed. The old woman continued to cry for help, screaming with fear.

48:03I think the animal now was as afraid as the old woman was. With terrible force, it pulled out a

48:09handful of hair. And when the woman, covered with blood, tried to run from it, the animal caught her

48:15again. By the hair, and with one move of its arm, it nearly cut her head from. Her body. Throwing down

48:22the body, the animal turned and saw that. The daughter was moving, watching it with horror, with

48:28fire in its eyes. It rushed to the girl, put its powerful fingers around her neck, and pressed them

48:35firmly there until she died. When the girl stopped moving, the animal dropped her body to the floor

48:42and looked up. It saw my face in the window. It began to run, around the room, quickly, without

48:49purpose. It jumped up and down, breaking the chairs, pulling the bed to pieces. Suddenly, it stopped and

48:56took the body of the daughter and, as if to hide it, with terrible strength that put the body up above

49:02the fireplace, where it was found. It threw the old woman out the window. All this time, I was

49:08hanging from the pole, filled with horror. It seemed I had lost the power to move. But when I saw the

49:15animal coming toward the window, with the old woman's body, my horror became. Fear. I went quickly

49:21down, I almost fell down the pole, and I ran. I didn't look back. I ran. Oh my god. My god. The chief of the

49:31police was not happy that the answer to the mystery of the killings had been found by someone who was

49:36not a policeman. He said that people should keep to their own business. Let him talk, said Dupan. Let

49:43him talk. He'll feel better for it. And he's a good fellow. But he makes things less simple than they

49:48really are. Still, people call him skillful and even wise. I think they say this because of the way.

49:56He explains carefully, fully, something which is not here, or there, or anywhere, and says not

50:04possible about something which is there, before his eyes filled.

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" | the mysterious murders in paris | audiobook

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Edgar Allan Poe - Master of Mystery and Macabre 🖤

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