The best Edgar Allan Poe Easter eggs in The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher is a new Netflix horror series that uses the titular Edgar Allan Poe story as a template but includes details from many of the writer’s stories and poems. With the following our favorite Poe Easter eggs in the show.

Mike Flanagan is the go-to guy at Netflix for horror. Over the last few years, the writer-director has crafted scary series’ for the streamer every Halloween. Meaning genre fans have been treated to the likes of The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manner, and Midnight Mass.

This year, he’s turned to the work of Edgar Allan Poe for a new series. Flanagan has given the story a very modern spin, making it about a contemporary family who run our global pharmaceutical conglomerate.

But throughout the eight episodes, Flanagan has thrown in nods, details, and Easter eggs from many of Poe’s works – with the following a few of our faves…

The best Edgar Allan Poe Easter eggs in The Fall of the House of Usher

Here’s the official synopsis for The Fall of the House of Usher: “In this wicked series from Mike Flanagan and based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege and power. But past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.”

You can read our review of the series here. While the following are the best Easter eggs we spotted, either hidden away in the show or hiding in plain sight. Just BEWARE OF USHER SPOILERS AHEAD…

The Raven

Episode 1 of The Fall of the House of Usher is titled ‘A Midnight Dreary.’ Which just happens to be the opening line of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven.

First published in 1845, the story revolves around a troubled man being visited – and tormented – by the titular bird, and begins with the lines: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, while I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.”

Ravens – either stuffed or alive – can also be spotted throughout the series, oftentimes in relation to Verna (Carla Gugino), with whom the Ushers make their fateful deal. And Verna’s name just happens to be an anagram of… Raven.

Another connection to the poem is through the name Lenore. In the book, Lenore is Roderick’s granddaughter. While in the poem, it’s the name of the narrator’s lost love.

Finally, the concluding episode of Usher is titled ‘The Raven.’

Buried alive

In Episode 1 of The Fall of the House of Usher, Roderick and Madeline fear they have buried their mother alive. Which becomes a reality when they find her standing in their kitchen.

In the Usher short story, the unnamed narrator helps Roderick bury his sister in the family tomb. Though is somewhat freaked out by her rosy cheeks. This makes sense, as a few days later they realize that she too was entombed while still alive.

The Masque of the Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death is an 1842 short story about a Prince called Prospero organizing a party to take his mind off the plague that is sweeping his land, killing his people in the most gruesome way imaginable. Ultimately, the plague finds Prospero and his revelers via the titular masked figure.

The Masque of the Red Death also happens to be the title of Episode 2 of the series. This concerns Prospero – Roderick’s youngest son – a playboy who organizes a rave in an abandoned test facility. Where the aforementioned Verna appears, wearing a red cloak and skull mask combo. It’s soon murder on the dance floor, as acid rains down on the partygoers, melting their bodies like the victims of a plague.

Eliza’s death

The Fall of the House of Usher pays homage to the works of Edgar Allan Poe. But it also features details from the writer’s life. One example involves Roderick and Madeline Usher’s mother Eliza (Annabeth Gish).

In the show, she dies of some unspecified disease. This mirrors the fate of Edgar Allan’s own mother, who died of a disease – thought to be tuberculosis – in her early 20s. And who was also called Eliza.

Rue Morgue

The Murders in the Rue Morgue is an 1842 short story by Poe that pretty much invented the detective genre, with the character of C. Auguste Dupin influencing the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Columbo. It ends with the killer being revealed to be an orangutan.

Carl Lumbly plays a character called Dupin in Fall of the House of Usher, a US attorney investigating the Usher family throughout the series. Whose powers of deduction are as impressive as his literary counterpart. While the connections to this story don’t stop there.

In the show, we learn that a facility called Roderick Usher Experimental was nicknamed RUE Morgue due to all the death there. While in Episode 3 – titled Murder in the Rue Morgue – it looks like Camilla is killed by Verna. Only for a primate to ultimately be revealed as the murderer.

Arthur Pym

Mark Hamill plays Arthur Pym in The Fall of the House of Usher, a shady fixer for the family, whom outsiders call ‘The Pym Reaper.’ During the series, we learn that he embarked on a trans-global expedition, during which he saw things that changed him forever.

This character and storyline hark back to the only complete novel that Edgar Allan Poe ever wrote, which was called The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, and about the title character stowing away aboard a ship, and enjoying adventures on the high seas.

The Black Cat

Episode 4 is titled The Black Cat, and a loose adaptation of the Poe story of the same name, which was published in 1843. Both tales feature black cats called Pluto whose eyes are gouged, and who are seemingly trapped behind walls – a recurring motif in both the series and Poe’s work. While the noises the cats make – be they real, or in the protagonist’s mind – ultimately send those characters mad.

Another connection is addiction – in the book, the narrator’s alcoholism helps push him over the edge, while in the show, it’s Napoleon Usher’s drug addiction.

Heart Beats

Both The Tell-Tale Heart story – and Episode 5 of Usher – are examinations of guilt, with a murderer hearing the beating heart of their victim after committing said crime. And being driven mad by the thump.

Beating hearts can be heard throughout the Netflix series, and at one point Roderick Usher even sees Dupin’s through his chest. While Bonnie Tyler’s classic ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ also plays midway through proceedings. As well as ‘Hard on the Heart’ by Kingsborough.

Annabelle Lee

In The Fall of the House of Usher show, Annabelle Lee (Katie Parker) is Roderick Usher’s first wife. And his best shot at happiness, until he throws it all away to side with his sister, and follow his greed. Which ultimately results in Annabelle Lee’s death.

As with pretty much all the names in the series, it’s an Easter egg, as ‘Annabelle Lee’ was the last complete poem composed by Edgar Allan Poe. About the death of a beautiful woman. Indeed, Roderick recites several lines to Dupin during the final episode.

The Gold-Bug

The Gold-Bug is the name of an Edgar Allan Poe story that was published in 1843, about cracking codes, and a search for buried treasure. Which doesn’t have much to do with Mike Flanagan’s series.

But, Tamerlane Usher oversees a wellness empire that satirizes Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop in the show. And her storyline leads up to the launch of a new lifestyle brand that’s called… Goldbug.

Pit and the Pendulum

The Pit and the Pendulum is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous stories, and Mike Flanagan really goes there in Episode 7 of Usher. There’s foreshadowing early in this installment via the pendulum of a grandfather clock.

Then we’re into true horror as a paralyzed Frederick Usher (Henry Thomas) lies beneath a building that’s being destroyed. As the walls and ceiling crumble, a razor-sharp piece of debris swings from side to side, slowly splitting open his stomach. As happens to the poor prisoner in Poe’s story.

Nevermore

The raven in ‘The Raven’ antagonizes the narrator by repeating the word ‘Nevermore’ over and over again at the end of the story. And Nevermore repeats in the Fall of the House of Usher show.

The ‘Lenore-bot’ that Madeline created texts the word to Roderick repeatedly towards the end of the series. While Roderick says ‘Nevermore’ to eyeless Madeline moments before the pair of them die.

The House Falls

The Fall of the House of Usher was first published in 1839 and ends with the narrator seeing the Usher house split in two, and sinking into the earth and nearby lake.

Mike Flanagan’s series ends in a similar fashion, with Dupin escaping from the falling house, and witnessing the building disappear into the ground. Verna stands on what’s left of the structure, turns into a raven, and flies away, nicely bringing things full circle. Before she ends the series by reciting Edgar Allan Poe-m ‘Spirits of the Dead.’

The Fall of the House of Usher is now streaming on Netflix, while for more on the series, check out the below links:

The Fall of the House of Usher review | Cast and characters | Story explained | Is it based on a book? | Mike Flanagan’s Netflix shows ranked | How each Usher child died | Haunting of Hill House connections | Ending explained