The Death Of Literary Pioneer Edgar Allan Remains A Mystery

Poe was buried unceremoniously in an unmarked grave in Baltimore but was dug up 26 years later to be moved to the location of a statue to honor his legacy.

Both sensitive and macabre, literary pioneer Edgar Allan Poe played a really large role in developing the horror, fantasy, and mystery genres, paving the way for fictional characters like Nancy Drew to Sherlock Holmes.

Baudelaire and Salvador Dali were heavily influenced by Poe’ s themes and aesthetics, and Hitchcock even gives him credit for uplifting him to form his suspenseful films. Upon his death, Poe was buried unceremoniously in an unmarked grave in Baltimore but was dug up 26 years later to be moved to the location of a statue to honor his legacy.

While Poe was a daily when it came to making suspense and curating endings to be left for interpretation, little did he know that his own life would end during a similar fate– plastered with questions and unknowns. It seems fitting yet cryptic, that the person of mystery’ s death still remains a mystery. What was the explanation for Poe’ s untimely death? That question remains up for debate to the present day.

Death By Brain Tumor

The most recent and realistic theory of Poe’ s death suggests he died of a brain tumor, which could’ ve played a task in his behavior leading up to death. When he was dug up for transportation to his new memorial, there wasn’ t much left to his deceased body besides bone. In transport, a worker happened to note an unusual mass rolling inside Poe’ s skull. At the time of discovery, newspapers claimed that the clump was actually Poe’ s brain that had shriveled up, yet stayed intact, after almost three decades underground.

American author Matthew Pearl, who wrote a completely unique about Poe’ s death, was intrigued by the clump. He contacted a forensic pathologist who confirmed that the clump couldn’ t be a brain. However, it’ s possible that it had been a tumor. Tumors can calcify after death into hard masses, while the brain is one among the primary parts of the body to disintegrate.

Death By Seizures

Due to Poe’ s drug abuse, another likely explanation for his death was the results of a severe seizure. Researchers have speculated a possible misdiagnosis at the time of his death, as complex partial seizures weren’ t well- understood or known during this point period. Poe also may have suffered from complex partial epilepsy– a disease fueled and sophisticated by his addiction. Poe wrote many tales that supported characters with episodic unconsciousness, confusion, and paranoia, paralleling many of his own experiences throughout his life.

Death By Beating

E. Oakes Smith wrote in her 1867, article Autobiographic Notes that Edgar Allan Poe was instigated by a lady who he thinks was injured by him, as a result of that, he was beaten by ruffians who want to revenge for the ladies injuries.

In another 1872 article, The Grave of Poe written by Eugene Didier, it’ s said that while in Baltimore, Poe saw friends from West Point, who he joined for drinks. He got madly drunk off one glass of champagne and commenced to wander the streets.

Death By Alcoholism

It’ s no hidden incontrovertible fact that abuse was extremely present in Poe’ s life, but it’ s also been reported that he wasn’ t precisely the best when it came to handling his drinks. He would become belligerently drunk off one glass of wine– a possible hereditary trait as his sister had an identical problem.

Many theorists believe a ” death by drinking” demise for Poe. But samples of Poe’ s hair from after his death show low levels of lead, which is a sign that Poe remained faithful to his vow of sobriety up until his demise.