All language subtitles for Theatre Macabre. s01e14.Tell.Tale.Hearts.eng

(suspenseful music)

- How do you do?

I'm Christopher Lee.

I would appear to be alive,
although sometimes appearances

can be deceptive.

Did you ever lie awake in
the stillness of the night

and listened to the
beating of your own heart?

And if you did, did you
ever stop to consider

that it is only that steady beat

that stands between
you and darkness?

The engine of life, so
fragile and yet so strong

and how hard it is to still.

It was just such a telltale heart

that became the thunder
of a man's guilt

in Edgar Allen Poe's famous
tale of crime and madness.

You see, when a man starts
with murder,

he then takes to stealing.
And from stealing,

it is a step to lying,
drinking and swearing.

So you see where bad habits
can lead.

(bells ringing)

(suspenseful music)

(heart beating)

- Yes, to explain what
I did,

you must imagine my dreadful
fear of his malignant eye.

It was impossible to avoid.

Always that same expression
freezing my blood away.

Always watching me,
making the voices

that my mind filled me
one with hate

slowly investing my
every thought at night.

That was, doctor,
how I came to kill him.

I think for me it was essential.
(chuckles)

So you see, I couldn't be mad,
as you suggest I am.

Could I?

I don't know when it all started.

I never hated the old man
nor did I want his gold.

It was his eye.

(cooking pot clanking)
(suspenseful music)

(feet pattering)

(door opens)

(dreadful music)

As I say, I did not hate the old man.

It was his eye.

His left eye, it was pale blue
covered by a thin film. Evil.

Evil.

Each time it fell on me,

my blood ran cold under
its baleful stare.

I waited for the night.

For the past seven nights
I had crept into his room,

opening the door slowly
so as not to wake him.

I shown the dim ray of my
lantern on the vulture eye,

but it was always shut.

So the work I had to do
would not be done.

(suspenseful music)

(cup breaking)

(feet pattering)

(door squeaks open)

(background music)

The evil eye.

He never knew.

How could he have known?

He would have needed to
be a very clever old man

to know of my nightly vigil,
of how I waited

to destroy,
destroy the eye.

As the light from my lantern
burst over his sleeping face,

I knew that soon my
chance would come.

Soon.

Soon.

Soon.

(background music)

As I sat there listening
to him play and sing,

I had the premonition
that tonight,

the eighth night of my vigil,
would be my chance.

(door opens)
(feet pattering)

(suspenseful music)

(dreadful music)

(feet pattering)

(suspenseful music)

(door slams)

(feet pattering)

(chair falls)

(footsteps)

(dreadful music)

I knew the time had come.

You think I'm mad?

You should have seen me.

You would have known differently.

I had been so kind to the
old man for that whole week,

while I waited to kill him.

And now, now was the time.

I felt my heartbeat quicken
with the joy

of his approaching fate.

I smiled with the pleasure

of the way I outwitted
his evil eye.

Nothing could save him now.

My fingers clenched and
squeezed the covers of my bed.

Always still, quiet.

Hushed as the night awaited
the fulfillment of my deed.

Now, now was the time.
(piano playing)

(suspenseful music)

(dreadful music)

(heart beating)

(dreadful music continues)

(door squeaks and shuts)

(dreadful music)

(door closes)
(dreadful music continues)

(handle rattling)

(dreadful music)

(lock rattles)

(suspenseful music)

- What's that noise?

(suspenseful music)

(heart pounding)

(music continues)

- I know I'm nervous,

but I feel much better today

in spite of the things
you believe I did.

So you see it's all because
he woke up in that fashion.

It's because he had always
his eye on me.

It made me fear him.

In the lonely nights I was
woken by his beating heart.

I must give you the reason

why I never wanted to
kill but had to.

Not because of hate,
for example,

but because of his evil eye.

(heart pounding)

(grunts and screams)

(suspenseful music)

(footsteps)

(tapping on floor)

(floor bangs)

(blowing out candle)

(feet pattering)

(suspenseful, dreadful music)

(bell ringing)

(bell continues ringing)

(footsteps)

- Good morning, sir.

We are police officers.

- Police?

- Yes, your neighbors have
reported hearing screams

during the night and
we are here

to investigate.
- Screams?

Oh, well, do come in, please.

I may have had a nightmare--

I smiled and joked with them.

For what did I have to fear?

"Maybe the scream," I said,
"must have been

one of my own in a dream."

"The old man," I mentioned,
"was on a visit in the country."

I took my visitors all over the house.

I bade them search, search well.

I took them into my room.

I showed them around,
laughing and talking.

And then came the best part.

I took them across the
hall and into his room.

I was very relaxed,
quiet, at ease.

I was enjoying myself.
(chuckles)

I showed them all his
treasures, all there intact.

How I laughed to think of his
body being under their feet.

And they didn't know.
(chuckles)

It was a rare joke.

I showed them his jewelry box.

They were very impressed.

The chief policeman nodded
his approval.

And then he started to
move away as if to leave,

but he picked up an old
Bible of the old man's.

I was so confident that I joked
and laughed even more.

I showed them his harmonium
in the corner of the room.

I even played a few notes on it.

(harmonium playing)

To my delight, they sat
down at my invitation.

It was cold, I said, and
they should have a warm.

Oh, how I enjoyed that.

The three of them sitting
in the room laughing

and they relaxed in their ignorance.

Suddenly I heard it.

Dull rhythmic beat.

Like a heart beat.

My head ached.

I fought to expel the noise
from my mind.

It got louder, more distinct.

I had to do something,
anything to stop it.

(police laughing)

Play a game.

How about a game?

I tried to get them to
play a game.

But they looked at me
briefly and carried on

with their conversation.

And the noise went on and on and on.

Surely they must hear it.

I must stop it.

I had to stop it.

I got up in my anguish and
sought to distract them

with an old book full
of interesting things.

I tried to interest them in the book.

But they just looked at me

and went on talking
to each other.

I begged them to read it.

It was very interesting.

They didn't listen.

They didn't listen.

I had to stop the pounding,
pounding noise every time.

They would hear it.

They must hear it!

It was loud, loud and
beating in my brain.

(chair rattling)
I rattled the chair

over his body.

It went on and on.

I mustn't let them suspect
where the noise came from.

I would have to get them away
before they too heard it.

As I tried to get all of their attention,

it got louder and faster.

Louder and louder and
louder and faster.

I had to stop it, but how?

What could I do?

I pleaded with them.

I tried but they wouldn't listen

and all the time the beat
got louder and louder.

I had the stop it before
it was too late.

That's enough!

You must say you can all hear!

(police laughing)
(heart continues pounding)

- You can! You can!

For God sakes, stop it!

Quiet!

His heart must stop beating.

Stop it, I implore you!

His body is there under the floor.

Stop him, please!

Cut out his heart!

Stop! Stop!

- So remember, don't wear
your heart on your sleeve.

It's far safer to keep it in a bottle.

(suspenseful music)