| Distinguishing Elements in Poe's Works | "The Fall of the House of Usher" | "The Pit and the Pendulum" | "Hop-Frog" |
| Insanity | Yes (Roderick's nervousness) | No | Yes |
| The Supernatural | Yes (house collapsing) | Yes (?) | No |
| Crime Presented as Grotesque | Yes | No - punishment is. | Yes |
| Genre Classification | Gothic horror | Gothic horror | Grotesque |
| Revenge | No | No | Yes |
| Criminal Caught for Crime | n/a | Yes (but nature of crime is unknown) | Crime done in public, but he escapes |
| Death of a Beautiful Woman (Ideal Beauty) | Yes (Madaline) | No | No |
| Justice as a Theme | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Date of Publication | 1839 | 1842 | 1849 (the year Poe died) |