The Tell-Tale Heart
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Also available in Spanish: El Corazón Delator
About this story
"True! — nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?" So begins one of the most famous confessions in literature. Poe's narrator insists on his sanity while describing, with terrible care, how he watched an old man sleep for seven nights, how he killed him on the eighth because of a pale blue eye, and how a sound beneath the floorboards undid him.
This is the complete 1843 text — every word of the original, not a retelling — directed as a single-voice audio drama of about fifteen minutes. The narrator's voice tightens as the story goes on, and the production plays inside a horror-shadow sound environment: creaking boards, a lantern, the police at the door, and a heartbeat that will not stop.
The Tell-Tale Heart is short enough for one sitting and is a fixture of high-school and college reading lists, which is why the text is shown on screen and highlighted as it is read. Students can follow the exact wording, teachers can pause on a passage, and Spanish-language learners can open the Spanish edition side by side. Rated 13+ for its subject matter.
The cast
- Narrator
- Old Man
How this was made
This is a directed audio drama rather than a flat reading. The single voice is directed line by line for pace and emotion, and the story plays inside a live sound environment — creaking floorboards and a heartbeat in the dark — that shifts as the scenes change. The voice is synthetic (high-quality text-to-speech, directed by people), and the words appear on screen as they are spoken, so you can read along or follow in a second language.
Questions
Is this the full, unabridged story?
Yes. Every word of Poe's 1843 text is read. Only the sound environment and the direction of the voice are added.
Is it appropriate for a classroom?
The story is on many secondary-school reading lists. This edition is rated 13+ for the murder it describes, which is entirely Poe's own text. The read-along highlighting makes it easy to follow the wording.
How long is it?
About fifteen minutes at normal speed. You can slow the reading down or speed it up in the player.
Is it really free?
Yes. This story is free to listen to in full, with no account and no card. Creating a free account adds the rest of the library and lets you upload your own books.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Press Play and it opens in your browser. It works on iPhone, iPad, Android and desktop.
Can I read along?
Yes. The text is highlighted word by word as it is spoken, and you can switch the on-screen text to Spanish while listening in English (or the other way round).
Source and rights
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in The Pioneer, January 1843. Public domain. Complete text from Project Gutenberg, directed by ImmersivePage. Cover and scene art created for this edition.
