This Halloween, NeuNoir theatre presents a reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s iconic tale of terror The Fall Of The House Of Usher at venues in Kenilworth, Warwickshire (25 Oct 2025), Birmingham (26 Oct 2025), Worcester (31 Oct 2025) and Stourbridge, West Midlands (1 Nov 2025).
After being mysteriously summoned by a childhood friend, a visitor arrives at the remote House of Usher, a crumbling manor in a bleak, desolate landscape.
Inside he discovers the sickly and cadaverous Roderick Usher, the last surviving male heir, consumed by fear and afflicted by an inexplicable illness that seems to eerily mirror his dark, dank and decaying surroundings.
“I shall perish,” predicts the ailed and confined Usher, “I must perish in this deplorable folly …”
Published in 1839, Poe’s claustrophobic tale was an instant sensation. A richly layered and atmospheric Gothic masterpiece featuring a supremely creepy house, the increasingly tense story explores themes of friendship and family, as well as madness, isolation, despair and ultimately death.
Born in 1809 in the US city of Boston, Edgar Allan Poe is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the macabre ever. An accomplished poet, author, critic and editor, his most famous works include seminal detective story The Murders In The Rue Morgue, poem The Raven, and horror stories The Tell-Tale Heart, The Premature Burial, The Masque Of The Red Death and The Pit And The Pendulum.
Originally printed in magazine format, The Fall Of The House Usher is one of Poe’s most popular and fascinating stories. Open to multiple interpretations, there have been many adaptations, particularly for the screen, including a stark French 1928 silent, the colourful Vincent Price-starring 1960 take produced by Roger Corman, a 1989 reimagining with Oliver Reed and, most recently, a hit Netflix series. The story has also inspired rock, Goth, folk and jazz songs, operas by Debussy and Philip Glass, comic books, computer games, and several sequels.
Read by NeuNoir regular Richard Usher (Sweet Cherry Publishing’s Sherlock Holmes audiobook series – and no relation to Roderick), The Fall Of The House Of Usher is the Midlands-based company’s fifth Halloween production, following WH Hodgson’s Carnacki: The Ghost Hunter (2021), EF Benson’s The Outcast (2022), MR James’ Casting The Runes (2023), and Bram Stoker’s The Judge’s House (2024).
NeuNoir presents Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher visits The Tree House Bookshop, Kenilworth, Warwickshire (Sat 25 Oct 2025); Back-To-Backs, Birmingham (Sun 26 Oct 2025); Greyfriars House and Garden, Worcester (Fri 31 Oct 2025) and Stourbridge Town Hall, Stourbridge, West Midlands (Sat 1 Nov 2025). For tickets and more information, see: neunoir.wordpress.com
LISTINGS
Suggested categories: Stage / Theatre / Literature / Halloween
NeuNoir presents:
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Saturday 25 October 2025
The Tree House Bookshop, 4 The Square, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 1EB
7.30pm. Tickets: £10
Tel: 01926 257420
www.treehousebookshop.co.uk
Sunday 26 October 2025
Birmingham Back To Backs, 55-63 Hurst Street/ 50-54 Inge Street, Birmingham B5 4TE
5.30pm & 7.30pm. Tickets: £10
nationaltrust.org.uk/birmingham-back-to-backs
Wednesday 29 October 2025
Miss Havisham’s Book Shop, The Old Curiosity Shop, 1a Emgate, Bedale, North Yorkshire DL8 1AH
6.30pm. Tickets: £15 (includes a glass of Prosecco and nibbles)
For tickets, visit the shop or contact via Facebook
www.facebook.com/p/Miss-Havishams-Book-Shop-100088526724024/
Friday 31 October 2025
Greyfriars House & Garden, Friar Street, Worcester WR1 2LZ
6pm & 8pm. Tickets: £15
Tel: 01905 23571
nationaltrust.org.uk/greyfriars-house-and-garden
Saturday 1 November 2025
Stourbridge Town Hall, Wollaston Studio, Crown Centre, Crown Lane, Stourbridge DY8 1YE
7.30pm. Tickets £10.
Box Office: 01384 812812
boroughhalls.co.uk
Suitable for ages 14+.
ABOUT NEUNOIR
NeuNoir is a Midlands-based theatre company. Delving into the darker corners, the company’s productions include readings of Carnacki: The Ghost Finder (an equine adventure featuring WH Hodgson’s early 20th century supernatural detective Thomas Carnacki); EF Benson’s eerie tale of reincarnation, The Outsider; the classic Casting The Runes, by the master of the genre, MR James; The Judge’s House, a haunted house chiller from Dracula creator, Bram Stoker; and the 19th century Gothic masterpiece, The Fall Of The House Of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe.
For more information, see: neunoir.wordpress.com
X: @neunoir
Instagram: @neunoirtheatre
Facebook: Neu Noir
ABOUT EDGAR ALLAN POE
Edgar Allan Poe was born in January 1809, in Boston, to parent who were both travelling actors.
However, his father soon abandoned the family leaving his mother to support three young children, only for her to die of TB in December 1811.
Subsequently, the young Edgar was fostered by a Richmond couple, John and Francis Allan, and lived a comfortable life – although he was never officially adopted, causing tension between him and John.
At 17, Edgar headed to university. But unable to meet the tuition fees, he turned to gambling to try and raise the money only to build up an even larger debt, forcing him to return home.
Going on to join the military, he again ran into financial issues before moving to live with relatives in Baltimore, where the fledgling poet turned his attention to short stories and slowly started to see interest in his work.
During the 1830s, Edgar took up editorial positions with several magazines, and his own writing career finally began to take off, thanks to such tales as The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall Of The House Of Usher and The Murders In The Rue Morgue – which set the template for the modern detective story and was a major influence on Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
But while his career seemed to be going well, tragedy struck in 1847 when Edgar’s young wife was struck down by TB while they lived in New York, prompting a devastated Edgar to return to Richmond.
There, he later rekindled his romance with the childhood sweetheart who’d jilted him while he was at university, Elmira Royster Shelton. The two became engaged, but never married as Edgar died in October 1849, in mysterious circumstances. He was supposed to be travelling to Philadelphia for work, but instead vanished, only to be discovered in Baltimore, semi-conscious and delirious, wearing shabby attire. He never recovered and died four days later, unable to account for his time, or condition.
Speculation around the events leading up Edgar’s death continue to this day, with theories ranging from various poisonings, rabies, meningitis and a brain tumour, to a random beating, premeditated murder, and a scam involving kidnapping and voter fraud.
Credited as the godfather of the modern horror story (as well as the modern detective story), Edgar Allan Poe left behind a rich body of work simmering with a psychological intensity which continues to fascinate academics and exert a powerful influence over popular culture more than 175 years after his death.
Find out more about Edgar Allan Poe’s life and work:
• Biography from The Poetry Foundation:
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edgar-allan-poe
• Britannica biography:
www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Allan-Poe