A key figure in American "hauntedness" is Allan Poe; a writer distinguished for his twisted techniques of bringing fictional horror stories to the nightmares - literally - of his devoted fans. So, what makes Poe's stories, like The Fall of the House of Usher, appear in High-Definition in people's dreams?
Personification - This device has been employed to dramatize realities and realize dramas since the inception of logical literature. Poe, in The Fall of the House of Usher TFotHoU, makes emphasized use of personification. Inanimate beings such as the house are given breath and act equally in the story alongside their human counterparts.
Explicit detailing - The habit of laying out all adjectives one could think of to describe a "day" contributes to the readers' possession of a vivid recreation of that particular "day". A mathematical model that is supplied with as much variables as the simulation requires gives better results: A subject described in detail has higher chances of rooting its being in its visualizers' minds. It is this fact that other writers should take note of, as did Allan Poe.
Deliberate ambiguity - In TFotHoU, and his other stories, Poe ensures that certain matter-of-fact actualities are not plainly said by the narrator. This acts like a double ended sword; for one, it means that some of those situations will be left open to the interpretation of the readers - and in that sense the ability of the mind to reach its own "pinnacle of twisted mentality" being released - and secondly, make a literary work timeless. It is safe to assume that we all agree on Poe's achievement of the latter.
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Diction, let's say that again, Diction - Wrong choice of words, even in the most obviously unintentional scenarios, has been noted to have caused disaster. Conversely, correct choice of vocabulary can soften the hardest of hearts and persuade the stubbornest of minds. Allan Poe's clear mastery of this knowledge is admirable at the least, seeing that he can, at will, create any sort of environment, mood or character in his prose.
Gothic Mysticism - This particular characteristic of TFotHoU sets it apart from many other American pieces of the same genre. The description of the setting - especially the house -, the manner of interaction between the narrator and Usher - that Victorian twist where each one of them is aware of the other's aura but neither admit it for "gentlemanliness'" sake - and the particular weather unfolding during the climax of the story all the more make the piece more British than American. That, added to the general mystic coloring of doom-and-gloom lend The Fall of the House of Usher distinctive attributes that another writer would want to borrow.
End of lecture!
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