Tell Tale Heart Edgar Allen Poe
Scene One
Fade in. Day. The main character has brown long hair and deep chocolaty eyes. She is wearing simple skinny jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket. Main character is walking on the street casually. Camera follows steadily from the back. The feet come into view first. The camera slowly travels upwards. Red /yellowish leaves blow in the air. The character’s hair blows violently. Camera switches to full shot from the side. Eerie music plays.
Main character (Voice over): (Tone hints that the character is insane) I’m a normal person- I think. You should think so too. I have a job. I have friends. I walk and talk, like everyone else. And yet why do people think that I’m mad? The disease had just enhanced my person… Is this the definition of madness? Chuckles. I don’t think so.
I bet you still think I’m mad. But you didn’t see (she says with conviction) what I had done to commit the deed. How I proceeded with every step. No one mad could do things like I did. Brace yourself because what’s coming is one hell of a ride.
Music is silenced. A dark, damaged, almost haunted house comes into view. Character walks in and slams the door. Black screen
Scene Two
Full view. Black and white. Main character’s face is covered by hair. She is sitting in a dark room with one table. Her hands are cuffed but her fingers are tapping impatiently. A policewoman is sat opposite her and is taking notes on a lined paper pad.
Main Character: It wasn’t the old man’s fault. None of it was. I loved him. Truly- I loved him from the bottom of my heart. He loved me too. He cared for me. He made sure I was well. I was never mistreated by him. I cannot recall a time when he had had insulted me. Everything he said were words of sheer kindness. Then what was I afraid of you may ask. It took me a while to fathom the reason behind my fear.
Policewoman doesn’t look up. Straight to scene three.
Scene Three
Main character sits with an old man on a dining table. Plates are made of china. They are eating dinner. The room has matching mahogany furniture which has a style indicating that the house is ancient. The room is lit with candles but not romantically. There is candlewax dripping from the sides of the holders. The old man’s distorted eye is visible and is obviously making the main character scared.
Old man: How was your day today?
Main character looks up at the old man, terrified. She cowers although the old man has genuine concerns. She is scared of the eye. The eye is a result of an accident a long time ago but still terrifies the main character as she is insane.
Main character: Fine. Yours? Shaky
Old man: I’m eating a decent dinner with my most favourite person in the world. My day could never be better. Smiles kindly

Scene Four
Black and white. Policewoman is still taking notes. Hair is still covering the main character’s eyes. Both have a calm demeanour.
Main character: That was when I realised. It was the eye. The eye was mad not me. It had a black rim and what scared me most was its stare. It always seemed to be vacant but when its glance rested upon me I shivered. I shuddered as if the eye was compelling me to do so. It was then I started to decide what to do about my fears and the eye.
Main character: inhales sharply It was everywhere the eye. Omnipresent. Yes it was, wasn’t it? Everywhere I went, it followed me and I despised it. The stare made my blood run cold and it took everything in me not to turn around and rid of it because I loved the old man. I would be working and it would be staring at me- hungry. I tried to forget its horrid blankness and hunger but nothing, nothing at all, would work. All it did was haunt me day and night. It mocked me and laughed at my fear. I hated it.
Scene Five
Main character awakes from a dream suddenly. A candle is lit which lights the room quite clearly. We see character’s face. Sweat drips from her brow. Heavy breathing. Full shot. Character grabs some alcohol from the bedside table and takes a gulp .Inhales sharply. She runs her hand through her hair and there is an insane look on her face. The character is wearing a loose pink vest with thin cotton trousers. The bed has floral covers and the walls are white. The curtains are drawn. While this is happening a voiceover speaks:
Main Character Voiceover: That night it haunted me the most. The eye was staring at me wanting to kill. It wanted me and it wouldn’t give up. I twisted and turned in my sleep wishing it to go away and never to haunt me again. I was scared, so frightened. I kept seeing it- when I was awake and when I was asleep. I gasped awake not able to bear the horrid sight any longer. I had finally made my decision. I had to get rid of it. I couldn’t let it get to me anymore. I had to kill it.
Tension Music starts to play. Scene six.
Scene Six
Back to the interview room. Main characters hands are still cuffed. And her hair is covering her face. Notes are being taken by the policewoman.
Tabassum Voiceover: I couldn’t just kill the eye. I couldn’t just approach the old man and murder him. It would be brutal. Besides it was too much of a mad thing to do for me. I took caution. Lots of caution. Caution and preparation. I was more kind to the old man than I had ever been before- I wouldn’t allow him to suspect a thing. I looked in on him at night. I stared at the eye. My target- I had to figure out how to get to it. I peeked every night for seven nights observing. I pushed my fear of its stare away as the joy of the idea of its death overtook me. I prepared my clothes my possessions. And on the 8th night, I was finally ready.




Scene Seven
Dark, almost black corridor. A lantern is lit. The main character is dressed in all black. Her hair is tied into a high pony. She carries a glinting sharp knife in her other hand. She walks up to the third chamber along the corridor.
The lamp is dimmed and she open the door slightly. Wide enough to fit through. She dims the lamp and slips into the chamber.
The shot is taken from inside the chamber but from the back of the main character. Something clangs in the room. She turns off the lamp. The old man stirs.
Old man: Gasps. Who’s there? Who’s there?
Silence. The old man’s snoring can be heard again. The lamp is turned back on but only slightly. The main character creeps up to the bed and grabs a pillow. The pillow is pressed against the old man suffocating him. Muffled screams can be heard from under the pillow.
The main character pulls out the knife and stabs the old man.
Tension music stops. Blank screen. Silence.
Scene Eight
Fade in. Interview room- colour. Hands of main character are cuffed. Face of the main character is shown.
Main character: Smiles evilly and cackles. Pauses. Turns her head to one side. The eye still taunted me in the end. I could hear the old man’s heartbeat. I thudded in my head loudly. So very loudly. The volume increased tremendously. It hated me the eye. It drove me to do what I did. Anything was better than the pain I experienced. The guilt. So I had to confess. Didn’t I?
Police woman orders some men to take the main character to the asylum. She starts to struggle. Police come and grab the main character. She violently shouts:
Main character: NO YOU CAN’T TAKE ME! YOU CAN’T LOCK ME UP! IT WASN’T MY FAULT! IT WAS HIS! LET ME GO! I’M NOT MAD! I’M NOT MAD!!!!