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The Tell-Tale Heart

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It tells of a man who commits murder, but is then so taunted by the sound of the murdered man's heart that he admits to the deed. Poe's story "The Black Cat" also tells of a murderer's self-destructive guilt.

An animated film version by UPA, The Tell-Tale Heart (1953), is included among the films preserved in the United States National Film Registry.

The Tell-Tale Heart is one of several songs inspired by Poe stories on the album Tales of Mystery and Imagination (original version 1976, CD remix 1987) by The Alan Parsons Project. It is sung in an appropriately hysterical style by Arthur Brown.

In 2003, Lou Reed released The Raven an album solely based on poems and short-stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Featured was the author's The Tell-Tale Heart.