The Fall of the House of Usher

Roderick Usher: Last night you asked me about the singular aridity of the land around this house. Once this land was fertile, farms abounded. Earth yielded her riches at harvest time. There were trees and plant life, flowers. Fields of grain. There was great beauty here. At that time this water was clear and fresh. Swans glided upon its crystal surface. Animals came to its bank, trustingly, to drink. But this was long before my time.

Philip Winthrop: Why do you tell me these things?

Roderick Usher: And then something crept across the land and blacked it. The trees lost their foliage. The flowers languished and died. Shrubs grew brown and shrivelled. The grain fields perished. And the lakes and ponds became black and stagnant. And the land withered as before a plague.

Philip Winthrop: [puzzled] A plague?

Roderick Usher: Yes, Mr. Winthrop: a plague of evil.

Roderick Usher: [showing some pictures of his ancestors] Anthony Usher: thief, usurer, merchant of flesh. Bernard Usher: swindler, forger, jewel thief, drug addict. Francis Usher: professional assassin. Vivian Usher: blackmailer, harlot, murderess, she died in a madhouse. Captain David Usher: smuggler, slave trader, mass murderer.

Philip Winthrop: [reluctant] Mr. Usher, I don't see that this has anything to do with Madeline and myself. I don't believe in the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children.

Roderick Usher: [ironic] You do not, Sir?