Ye who read these words are still among the living
But I who write shall have long since gone my way
Into the region of shadows
Plagued by ghosts from the past
My soul can find no release from its eternal sorrow
Lost loves, spirits of the dead, madmen and devils
Hath each in turn visited me here
Within the solitude of my chamber
To haunt and torment me
I implore you to heed my tale
As I relate the grim and ghastly things
That befell me in my darkest hour
Once upon a midnight dreary