In the early evening I came within view of the House of Usher…

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)
by T. Kingfisher

A gothic, novella-length re-telling of Edgar Allan Poe‘s famous short story The Fall of the House of Usher. This is pretty close, but much longer and so expands quite a bit. There are additional characters and modern themes. 

The first-person narrator, Alex Easton, is called to the house of the family Usher, as their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dyeing from a mysterious illness. So, far, so similar to Poe. This goes more into the direction of Sporror.

Tone and atmosphere are similar to the original, but not as claustrophobic. I enjoyed the additional characters, “a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor.“Interesting backstory of Easton‘s and Roderick Usher‘s time as soldiers.

Well-done audio.

Highly recommended: I have seen the 1960 Roger Corman movie with Vincent Price several times. And all other Corman movies adapted from Poe‘s stories. Very camp, but fun. 
I also highly recommend the 2023 Netflix TV series adaptation of the Fall of the House of Usher, which combines several stories by Poe. Bruce Greenwood is excellent as Roderick Usher.

Poe‘s original story for free here or here. Opening paragraph:

“It was a dark and soundless day near the end of the year, and clouds were hanging low in the heavens. All day I had been riding on horseback through country with little life or beauty; and in the early evening I came within view of the House of Usher.“