7 Curiosities About Edgar Allan Poe

The life and work of the master of horror who influenced generations in literature and cinema is shrouded in mystery.

The enigmatic gaze of Edgar Allan Poe seems to inhabit all his works. Born in Boston on January 19, 1809, Poe lived in a family of actors, lost his mother at the age of 3, was adopted by a couple in Richmond, and, throughout his life, wrote countless stories and poetry, becoming one of the biggest names in Gothic literature.

Poe was never officially adopted.

With the death of his mother, victim of tuberculosis, and the abandonment of his father, Poe was raised by the couple John and Frances Allan before the age of 3, but his upbringing was surrounded by rigidity by the new family. After the episode, little Edgar Poe was renamed Edgar Allan Poe. Thanks to his family, Poe was able to study in Europe and pursue an academic career. Despite belonging to the Allan family, the author ended up with no inheritance or loving bond with his adoptive parents.

In Richmond, Virginia, there is a museum entirely dedicated to the life and work of the master. Conceived by James Howard Whitty and a group of researchers of Poe's works, Poe's Museum has several black kittens loose around the place that help compose Poe's dark atmosphere and, of course, delight visitors.

Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School

The master of terror also became the name of a school for the little ones. Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School is located in Houston, Texas and serves children ages 4 to 11.

No one knows what actually caused Poe's death.

To close his enigmatic story, the death of the master of terror is shrouded in mystery to this day. In October 1848, Poe was seen wandering the streets in someone else's clothes. According to biographers' accounts, he agonized for 4 days until he died.

Poe was married to cousin Virginia Clemm

Something considered common at the time in which he lived, Poe married at age 27 his cousin Virginia Clemm, 13, in 1835. She died at age 24, a victim of tuberculosis, the same disease that killed his mother, Eliza Poe.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue is the first modern detective story

Even before Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, Poe wrote the first modern detective story. The Murders in the Rue Morgue and the Marie Roget Mystery mark the creation of the literary detective style that has been widely explored in literature. Detective Auguste Dupin, created by Poe, first appeared in 1841.

Poe's obituary was written by his old rival

On September 7, 1849, the New York Daily Tribune published the author's obituary: “Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died the day before yesterday in Baltimore. This announcement will surprise many, but few will regret it.” Who signs the obituary far from polite or sentimental is the anthologist Rufus Griswold, Poe's old rival who, curiously or not, wrote the first biography of the author. 

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