The plot revolves around performances and recitations of Poe’s stories, with a new plotline used as a framing device. The game is divided into a realistic mode, in which the framing plot occurs, and a nightmarish mode, in which Poe’s stories are reenacted or narrated.

The player character, whose name is never revealed, is visiting his uncle Edwin in what appears to be the late 1800s. He meets Edwin’s assistant, then Edwin, and later Henry, his brother, who wants to marry Elise. After the protagonist is affected by paint thinner fumes, he passes out and has a nightmare.

When he wakes, Henry explains that Edwin disapproves of the relationship. More nightmares follow, and the protagonist is drawn into events involving Elise, who becomes ill and later dies. Because the ground is too marshy for a proper burial, her body is taken into the basement, with a lantern left nearby in case she revives.

Edwin then forges a note from Elise and sends Henry to the cliff outside the house. An enormous wave hits Henry, and Edwin’s assistant shoves him off the cliff during a struggle. Edwin blames the protagonist for everything, and the final shock comes when Elise, still alive, escapes her coffin and gouges out her own eyes.