Books to Read: What Moves the Dead

Although his work was barely acknowledged in his own time, today Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories are hailed as definitive of the gothic genre. This is for good reason, since few authors make use of unreliable narrators and psychological mystery quite like Poe. An ongoing literary debate concerning his stories involves the question of “supernatural vs. rational.” Literary critics argue whether or not the events in his short stories should be attributed to supernatural or psychological origins. T. Kingfisher’s novel What Moves the Dead tackles this question with all the grace of an unforgettable horror story. 

What Moves the Dead is a retelling of one of Poe’s most famous works: “The Fall of the House of Usher.” In the original piece, an unnamed narrator is called to visit his ailing childhood friend, Roderick Usher. However, when he arrives, the narrator finds Usher suffering from some sort of nervous malady while his sister inches closer to death a mere room or two away. Madeline—the sister—eventually dies, and is entombed beneath the house at her brother’s insistence. But all is not as it seems, as the narrator deals with an increasingly distressed Roderick Usher and the disturbing sound of nails grating against century-old stone. 

Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead takes Poe’s original storyline and rebuilds it, providing the reader with real, human characters. The narrator, ex-soldier Alex Easton, possesses a dry sense of humor that will have you snickering, and appears as a well-rounded, relatable character. While Poe’s original short story has no lack of disturbing imagery and unnerving plot twists, it’s difficult to truly connect with his characters. Kingfisher modernizes Poe, keeping the distinctive horror of his stories while respinning them into a novel worth its own acclaim. 

Although What Moves The Dead follows the storyline laid out in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” it does so in the manner of flesh filling out a skeleton. Kingfisher’s interpretation of the unusual relationship between the Ushers and their family home is both refreshing and utterly terrifying. You’ll find yourself shivering in fear as you make your way through Kingfisher’s vivid imagery and subtle foreshadowing, interspersed with the occasional laugh at the character's dry wit.

As a hardcore lover of all things Edgar Allan Poe, I can attest that T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead does its predecessor justice, and it is a must read for those who enjoy anything gothic or quietly creepy.

Image Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:What_Moves_the_Dead.jpg