The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is arguably one of the most influential Gothic writers of the last century. He has become a symbol of horror and mystery not only in his work, but also in his death. On October 3rd, 1849, he was found delirious and wandering the streets of Baltimore, Maryland. A witness from the time reported that Mr. Poe was “In great distress and in need of immediate medical assistance” although nobody was quite sure what was wrong with him. He was rushed to hospital where medics worked around the clock to find a solution to the author’s state. After a short stay in hospital, Edgar Allan Poe died at 5 a.m. on the 7th of October.Many theories surround his mysterious death, although none can be proven. Suicide, murder, the flu, syphilis, even rabies are all likely explanations as to how Poe died. Many newspapers reported that he had died from an “inflammation of the brain” after rumors from hospital staff emerged. One particularly dark theory dating from 1872 suggests that cooping was the cause of Poe’s death, a form of electoral fraud in which citizens were forced to vote for a particular candidate, sometimes leading to violence and even murder. To this day, his death remains unsolved.
