Who is Edgar Allan Poe?

The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers, madmen, premature burials and mysterious women who return from the dead.

Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as his haunting lyrical poetry.

Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, Poe’s family was deserted by his father when he was one and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was three.

The death of his mother was something that haunted him for the rest of his life…and some would say that it seemed to foreshadow more pain and loss in his future.

Poe and his siblings were sent to live with different families. Poe was sent to live with a wealthy couple, John and Frances Allan.

. Poe loved Frances Allan, but did not like his rough foster father. He also fell in love with a close neighbor. He thought of women as angels and cherished his relationships with them. His neighbor, and first love, died of brain cancer when Poe was 15.

Frances Allan died of tuberculosis when Poe was twenty. John Allan refused to have anything more to do with Poe was abandoned by, yet another, father figure.

Poe attended the University of Virginia where he excelled in his studies. He was an avid artist and writer and for many years his friends didn’t know which he would be.

He was very athletic, and was famous for swimming six miles (against the current) in a local river. He was also very poor and was known to break the furniture in his room for firewood in order to keep warm.

After serving in the military, he went to live with his aunt Maria Clemm and his young cousin Virginia Clemm.

Poe married Virginia when he was 27 and she was not yet 14. Poe was known as a charming gentleman and a devoted husband. Virginia and Poe were inseparable. The enjoyed entertaining guests, games and singing. Poe’s life with Virginia was a time of great happiness.

Virginia contracted tuberculosis in 1842…the same disease which killed his mother and foster mother. She died after five years of struggling with the disease. She was only twenty-four. Poe was devastated & would only outlive her by two years.

Poe became engaged to a childhood friend and went to give Maria Clemm the news. He disappeared for several days and was found, in a gutter under mysterious circumstances, and later died.

His death on October 7 th 1849, at the age of 40 remains a mystery to this day.

His works include: “The Raven”-most famous! “The Tell-Tale Heart” “The Cask of the Amontillado” “The Fall of the House of Usher” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” “Annabelle Lee”