These words also describe a vampire. Roderick and Madeline display traits of vampirism. In the novel Vampire: The complete Guide to the World of the Undead, author Mavela Dunn Mascetti states that vampires possess extremely pale skin and a hypnotic gaze (Mascetti, 11). Poe describes Roderick as having "a fearful paleness of skin" and eyes with "miraculous luster." Madeline obviously has similar characteristics to her brother. The narrator explains that Roderick's eyes were "tortured even by a faint light." That everyone knows Vampires and sunlight don't go together (Mascetti,11). Madeline and Roderick are confused in the house because vampires are unable to cross water(Mascetti,11). At the beginning of the story the House of Usher is surrounded by a small ghostly lake that you must cross to enter or exit. Roderick claims to be cursed by a family evil, implying that perhaps the entire family was vampires. “In ancient times vampires could be killed in various ways, such as staking or burning” (website). Usher was attacked by Madeline but may have been directly killed when the house collapsed