The short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe tells of a visit by an unnamed narrator to his friend Roderick Usher, the last surviving member of the House of Usher, who is suffering from an unknown illness. While there, Roderick's sister Madeline also falls ill and appears to die, though she is later found alive in her tomb. She attacks Roderick, causing his death, and the house collapses into the tarn below, ending the Usher bloodline.