Is it possible that two stories of the same genre can have completely different settings, but still end in similar ways? The two stories The Fall of House Usher and Where is Here? they are both gothic stories. In The Fall of the House of Usher by: Edgar Allen Poe, the story begins with the narrator going to visit his old friend in an isolated house built on a swamp. In Where's Here? by: Joyce Carol Oates, the story is set in a quiet residential neighborhood, then a stranger comes to visit. Although The Fall of House Usher and Where's Here? they are both pieces of gothic literature, the settings in both stories have a clear difference, but they have a similar ending. Although the two stories The Fall of the House of Usher and Where is Here? they are both gothic pieces, they start in very different ways. At the beginning of The Fall of House Usher the visitor is also the narrator. This provides the information that he came to meet Roderick Usher in a time of distress because he was Roderick's only friend growing up. “Throughout a dull, dark, silent day…when the cloud hung oppressively low in the sky…as the evening shadows drew near…and at last I found myself…within sight of the melancholy House of Usher.” (Poe, 293). The narrator (the visitor) explains in this quote the atmosphere of the House of Usher and the setting around it. It also shows the depression and isolation that comes with living in a place like this. In the story Where is here? the setting begins completely differently. It opens with a normal family, living a normal life, in a normal neighborhood. “…They had lived in a quiet residential neighborhood” (Oates 325). This quote really shows that this f... middle of paper... swamp it was built on. The ending of Where's Here? is similar due to the house having returned to its original, creepy and depressing ways. "...The lights flickered..., the patterned wallpaper seemed emptied of color..., the robust green of the carpet seemed faded... In the kitchen the lights were dim and there was a smell of acid smoke, subtle but unmistakable, it made her nostrils tingle." (Oate, 332). From this quote it is easy to understand the depressing state of mind that comes after the stranger's departure. The same kind of pain that had once manifested itself in the home also fell on the new family. The two stories The Fall of House Usher and Where is Here? they have obvious differences in setting, but end in similar ways. So is this true for all pieces of Gothic literature? The answer is yes, if you consider that all gothic literature ends in a depressing or disturbing way.