The Tell-Tale Heart

R4: An old man sits up in a big wooden bed. He does not know that his roommate is crazy.

Old Man: Would you please bring me some tea? 

Madman: Of course. 

Old Man: You don’t look well. Did you not sleep last night? 

Madman: I’m fine. 

Old Man: Do you have a headache? I’ll fix you something. 

Madman: No, no. Here is your cup of tea. 

Old Man: Thank you.

R1: He is such a kind old man. 

Madman (to the audience): It’s true. He has never done me harm. 

R2: But . . . 

Madman: He has this one sickly eye. 

R3: It is pale blue, with a film over it. 

Madman: When it looks at me, my blood runs cold.

R4: That revolting eye. 

Madman: I cannot stand that eye!

R1: That evil eye.

Madman: I must get rid of that eye!

R2: So he makes up his mind. 

Madman: I must kill the old man and be rid of the eye . . .  

All Ravens: Forever!

R3: It is late at night. 

R4: The old man is snoring. 

Old Man (snoring): Sssssnnnnuuuhh. 

R1: The door opens very slowly. 

R2: The madman tiptoes in with a lantern.

Madman (to the audience): Night after night, I creep into the old man’s room. 

R3: He shines a light onto the man’s face. 

Madman: But every night the eye is closed. 

R4: So he waits. 

Madman: After all, the man does not bother me.

All Ravens: It is his ghastly eye!

Madman: But then, on the eighth night . . .

R1: The madman bumps into a chair.

R2: The old man sits up. 

Old Man: Who’s there? 

R3: The madman freezes. 

Madman: For an hour, I stand still in the dark.

R4: The old man listens for noise. 

Old Man (scared): Ohhhh . . . 

Madman: Then I shine my light on the eye.

All Ravens: It is open!

Madman: Wide open! And then I hear it. 

Heart: Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.

Madman: It is the beating of the old man’s heart.

R1: It beats faster and faster. 

R2: Louder and louder. 

Heart: THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP.

Madman: I can stand it no longer. I leap. Ahhhhhh!

All Ravens: Ahhhhhh!

Old Man: Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

R3: The light goes out. 

Madman: The deed is done. 

All Ravens: The old man is dead.

R4: The sun is rising. 

R1: There is a loud knock at the door. 

R2: The madman hums as he walks to the door. 

R3: He opens it to find two police officers. 

Madman: Good morning. 

Officer 1: We received a call.

Officer 2: A scream was heard . . .

Madman: A scream? 

Officer 1: Like this, “Ahhhhhh!” 

Officer 2: Is everything OK?   

R4: The madman smiles. 

Madman: I must confess . . . 

R1: The officers raise their eyebrows.

Madman: The scream was mine. I had a bad dream. 

Officer 1: May we come in?

Officer 2: Look around? 

Madman: Yes, of course. 

R2: The officers enter. 

Madman (to the audience): I am not worried. I hid the body well. 

R3: He taps his foot. 

Madman: Under the floor. 

Officer 1: Who lives here with you? 

Officer 2: And why isn’t he here? 

Madman: The old man went on a trip. Would you like to see his room? 

Officer 1: We would. 

Officer 2: Yes, please.

R4: The officers find nothing out of place. 

Officer 1: Everything looks fine to me. 

Officer 2: Quite normal. 

Madman: Would you like a cup of tea? 

Officer 1: Yes, please. 

Officer 2: Lovely, thanks. 

R1: The madman leaves the room. 

Officer 1: Nice fellow. 

Officer 2: Quite friendly. 

R2: The madman returns with a tray. 

R3: He has a strange smile on his face. 

Madman (to the audience): They are drinking their tea on the spot where I hid the body. 

Officer 1: Ah, this is fine tea. 

Officer 2: Warms the bones. 

Madman (to the audience): They don’t suspect a thing.

R4: After a while, the smile fades from the madman’s face.

R1: He wants the officers gone. 

R2: See how he fidgets. 

R3: See how he sweats. 

Madman: Why won’t they leave?

Officer 1: The fall season is here. 

Officer 2: Yes, leaves fall in the fall.  

Madman: My ears start ringing. 

R4: There is a ticking sound. 

Heart: Tick-tick, tick-tick.

R1: The ticking gets louder.

Heart: Tick-tick, tick-tick.  

R2: The madman looks around. 

R3: Where is the noise coming from? 

R4: The madman stands up.

R1: Can’t the officers hear it?

Heart: TICK-TICK, TICK-TICK.

R2: The sound is like a watch. 

R3: Or a clock. 

All Ravens: Or a bomb. 

Madman (to the audience): Yet they go on as if nothing were wrong!

Officer 1: I like walking on fallen leaves.

Officer 2: Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Heart: THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP. 

Madman: How can they not hear it?

R4: The madman grabs his head. 

R1: He covers his ears. 

Heart: THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP.

R2: The madman looks up. 

Madman: Of course! Now I understand. They know!

R3: About the old man! 

R4: About the murder! 

Madman: Yes! They are mocking me with their smiles. 

Heart: THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP.

Officer 1: Well, we really should be going now. 

Officer 2: Thank you for the tea. 

R1: The madman’s face is bright red. 

R2: He feels he must scream.

R3: Or die. 

Madman: Ahhhhhh!

R4: The officers stare at the madman. 

Madman: I did it! I killed him!

R1: The madman drops to his knees. 

Madman: He’s under the floor. Tear it up! Make the sound stop!

Officer 1: The sound? 

Officer 2: What sound? 

Madman: The beating of the dead man’s heart!

All Ravens: Caw, caw, caw!

R2: The madman collapses. 

R3: The lights go dark.