It is the house, which represents the slow deterioration of reality and sanity, what sets the mode for what the story tries to represent and furthermore adds the Gothic atmosphere of despair, horror, super natural, darkness, and hopelessness that Poe adds to his works as his signature style for his works.
The traditional gothic storytelling evokes feelings of coldness and terror in the reader. It is because of it that we have the "goth" movement represented as a fashion as well.
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