Tell Tale Heart Student Projects- Click on link to view

The above video was created by Krisalyn Ramos with the following explanation:

Sleeping is when you are most vulnerable. When the old man is curled up inside of his bed sheets with some comfy pillows at his head, totally unaware of his surroundings, is when he should be more observant. Every night when he goes to bed, a patient and menacing man watches him. The insane man will ever so slightly open up the lantern once in a while, showing light upon the sleep of the old man. As each day passes, he'd grow more and more impatient, needing to get rid of the man with the frightening blue eye. And that's exactly what he does on the eighth night— his lantern shatters on the floor beneath him and he loses complete control, killing the old man ruthlessly. In this video, I added quotes from the text that symbolized how truly insane the man was. The creepy music helped add the horror to the video, which almost makes up the gory and detailed text of the story. The clip of the moon symbolizes the night, which is when the the spying occurs. The heartbeat monitor symbolizes how he is haunted by the heartbeat of the old man, and his want to kill him. The shadow of the man slowly reaching out his hand to the doorknob symbolizes how he was always careful and patient when it came to spying. The clip of the creepy man symbolizes how menacing and insane he really was, despite his need to come off as innocent to the old man. The shadow of him walking down the hallway symbolizes him coming after the eye. The blue eye symbolizes the chilling feeling that the man was feeling and how it drove him insane. The lantern symbolizes how every night, he would slowly open the lantern ever so slightly, showing a little bit of light. The lightning symbolizes the eighth night, and the horrible tragedy that took place. The shattering of the glass symbolizes how the lamp shattered beneath his feet and he killed the man. Lastly, the heart beat monitor at the end symbolizes the old man's heartbeat— dead, and gone.

 

Sophie Harrison- Prezi

Stephen King-Prezi

David Phillippi-Toondoo

Ashlyn Conti Prezi

Matthew Maddux Animoto 

Mentor Text Story to Tell Tale Heart by Autumn Canny (Not on a link):

Tick tock, the soft clicks of the seconds passing hummed in my ears. I sat there, my knees aching from having been in this position for what seemed like an eternity. Ever so slowly, I had been opening the door to an occupied bedchamber, and up to this moment it had only been to plot the disguise of the present tenant, that is until the thought struck me. If I don’t kill this… THING… Now, she may as well be a loose murderer, planning for her first crime! Now, I know that this sounds insane, how can a person be accused of being a murderer if they haven’t even committed a crime yet, so allow me to enlighten you. This thing that occupied the bed chamber wasn’t a person, but a foreign being, devoid of any morals. It was disguised as a lovely young woman, but I knew that this was just one of “her” many traps. The creature had chosen this disguise for what purpose other than to try and twist the mind into thinking that it was a harmless and innocent human, but I saw the truth in her lies. Once I realized this, nothing could hinder me from ridding the world of her chthonic presence.

    For the past hour I had been slowly, ever so slowly, opening the door to her room. I was in no rush, for I knew that one sound would foil my plans. The seconds passed on like hours, and minutes like days, but eventually the door was opened wide enough so that I could slip through and step into the room soundlessly. Concealed by the dark of night, I began to creep up to her bed side, mimicking the monsters that played in little children's minds. Alas, all the preparation in the world couldn’t have readied me for the moment when the floorboards decided to creak. As if a great crash had happened, the being jolted up in her bed and demanded to know who was there. This event however, didn’t stop spook me from finishing my destiny. Although I felt lighter than the air around me, I forced my feet onto the ground and focused on the task at hand. Skillfully, I maneuvered my way to the bed and readied myself to engender her demise. From my position, I could hear her rapid breathing, and I smiled. The feeling of accomplishment you get from knowing that you have struck complete and utter terror in someone is so inexplicable that I had to just soak in a few seconds of the sound and imagine what her face must have looked like. How pale she must have been, aware and yet unaware of my presence being so close to her person. Suddenly, the girl screamed, a shrill and strident sound that only a ladyl could have achieved. Startled, I leaped onto her and stifled the sound with my hands. The only thing I could do know was carry out with the job. Frantically, I pressed against her face with my palm, allowing asphyxiation to do the light work for me. Then, I carried her corpse into the cellar, where a stale grave that had been made ready for this thing and this thing alone waited. Once placed in her final resting place, I covered her in dirt, and then slate rocks, almost identical to the ones that were lining the other parts of the cold cellar floor. Satisfied that only my eye could catch the seam, I went upstairs and began to clean up.

    “Hello?” A loud series of knocks and a bassey voice resonated from the entrance of the house. Confidently, I strode up to the door and opened it wide,

    “Why hello!” I cheerily smiled at a man in uniform, his brow drawn in concern,

    “Where is the Mistress that lives here?”

    “Oh, she has gone to attend business elsewhere this evening, so I am the only one home. Why don’t you come in, and have a warm cup of tea?” Now I was just testing how good of a mastermind I was. Could I really get this by the police? The officer kindly accepted my offer, and walked into the house. I showed him to the kitchen, and began filling the kettle.

    “Are you sure you are alone? I was making my rounds, when a concerned neighbor stopped me and told me about a shrill noise she heard.” I smiled,

    “Probably the cat,” we didn’t own a cat, but whatever, “if you insist, though, why not take a sweep of the house.” The officer gave me a curt nod and was off. By the time he had finished combing over the entire place, I had brewed some tea, and filled two cups with the steamy brew. When he walked into the kitchen once again, I simply asked,

    “Satisfied?” He nodded and took the tea. I watched as he added sugar and milk into his cup, before he even spoke another word.

    “I know what you did.” I paused,

    “Excuse me?” The officer tilted his head,

    “I said, ‘this is splendid!’” I chuckled nervously,

    “Oh, thank you.” My nerves were attempting to make a debut, but I forcefully calmed them.

    “You murdered her.” He murmured.

    “What?” Panic rose in my voice.

    “Are you married to her?” He spoke the words more drawn out as though I were stupid and or a small child. “Are you ok?” I nodded,

    “Fine, just fine.” Another moment passed, and the officer spoke again,

    “You’re a killer.” I almost choked on my tea,

    “Stop!” He looked at me,

    “Stop what? I’m only trying to make conversation.”

    “Oh, don’t act so innocent! You know perfectly well what you’re doing!” My voice began rising in volume and pitch as I grew more hysterical.

    “Sir, calm-”
    “SIR?! Don’t tell me to calm down! Stop accusing me of such a ghastly crime! You know I murdered her! Just say it already!” The officer’s expression grew dark as I screeched these words,

    “You killed her?” I fell to my knees,

    “Forgive me! I know I have sinned!” These were my last words that I spoke, for afterwards I wasn’t a man anymore, but a shell of a man with diseased mind and a guilt ridden conscience.