Introduction

This hypertext was created for English 467: Computers and Text at the University of Maryland.

This revisualization of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart" forces the reader to approach the story with the same grounding in reality as the insane narrator has. The design concept is of the interlinking and chaotic passages of a madman's thoughts. While there is always some context, some reason for the progression from one word to the next page, the reason may at times seem inscrutable as it relies upon insanity.

Poe's original story contains jumps in time and the occasional repetition of important moments. The hypertext exaggerates the original twists by taking an entirely nonlinear form. Images are very rarely incorporated, as the focus remains on the original text. Poe's story focuses around a very few central images originally, the eye, the lantern, and the floorboards that concealed the old man's body. These same objects form the central nodes and motivators of the reconstructed tale.

Enter the story.

Sound files from: Planit 3D
Eye image from: Natasha's Cafe

Created by Anastasia