Answer:
In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Edgar Allan Poe creates an eerie and unpleasant atmosphere by blurring the barriers between truth and fantasy. The narrator expresses his feeling of disquiet and confusion from the start of the narrative, questioning his own senses and the veracity of what he is witnessing. This impression is confirmed by the characters' strange conduct and the inexplicable occurrences that occur throughout the novel.
The use of vivid and precise descriptions, as well as an emphasis on the characters' psychological states, generates ambiguity and pushes the reader to question what is genuine and what is not. The tale is up to interpretation, and the reader is free to come to their own conclusions about what happens.
Surely, although it's impossible to determine if the author intends for the reader to question what is real and what isn't, the story's ambiguity and doubt clearly inspire the reader to interact with the narrative in a more active and questioning manner.
In other words, yes, you are encouraged to.
Source
- Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." In The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Arthur Hobson Quinn, 581-591. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.