1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from hot 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: to blame a truck reboarding and I'm fair out. And 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: we usually save our spookier subjects for the fall and Halloween, 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: of course, but summer is also a great time to 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: curl up with a good mystery, and today's subject Edgar 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: Allan Poe definitely offers that. A famous nineteenth century writer, poet, critic, 8 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: and editor known for dabbling in Moody and maccabb topics, 9 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: po almost really needs no introduction, but of course we're 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: going to give you one anyway. Can't just skip skip 11 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 1: this whole part, now, that's what we do. So chances 12 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: are you've at least heard of po and if you've 13 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: taken any sort of post grade school level literature class, 14 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,279 Speaker 1: you've probably read his work too, or at least The 15 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: Eerie the Raven, which is his most famous piece, or 16 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: even grade school. I think I memorized they even sometime 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: in elementary school. Well you're very advanced Thereah, I don't 18 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: know about that. I was. I did it dramatically, That's 19 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: why I chose it. But um Pol is also often 20 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: credited with creating the first modern detective story with his 21 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: murders of the Room Morgue. And ironically, some of the 22 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,279 Speaker 1: aspects of his own life, particularly the end of his life, 23 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: are really worthy of the type of fiction he wrote. Yeah, Basically, 24 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: in the fall of eighteen forty nine, po disappeared for 25 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: a few days, and when he reappeared, he was in 26 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: really bad shape. He was delirious, and he appeared to 27 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: a lot of people to be severely intoxicated, and he 28 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: died just a few days later. Because of that, initially 29 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 1: many people assumed alcoholism is what ultimately killed Poe, But 30 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: it really didn't take long for others to start stepping 31 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: up with alternate theories, some of which seemed just as 32 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: if not more plausible, than the alcoholism one. And these 33 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: theories are still debated today. And I should go back 34 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: and say I mean that, you know, I mentioned that 35 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: it didn't take long for you will come up with theories. 36 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: It took a few years. I mean, it really wasn't 37 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: investigated at the time. Alcoholism was really the prevailing thought. 38 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: So today, though, we're going to take a look closer 39 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: look at pose mysterious disappearance and his death and discussed 40 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: some of those theories about what ultimately led to his demise. 41 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: But before we can really talk about pose death, you know, 42 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: we said we had to do this introduction, We've got 43 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: to do more than that. Really, we we really need 44 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: to tell you at least a little bit about his life, 45 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: because it's pretty interesting too. It is. He was born 46 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: Edgar Poe January eighteen o nine in Boston, Massachusetts, to 47 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: too struggling actor parents, David and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. Ecker 48 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 1: was actually the second of their children. His older brother, 49 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: William Henry Leonard, ended up living with their grandparents because 50 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: of their parents constant financial struggles, and Poe also had 51 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: a sister, Rosalie, who was a year younger than him, 52 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: and Poe had to face hardship and a lot of 53 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: sadness really early on. His father abandoned the family around 54 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: the time of, or even before his sister's birth, at 55 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: which point Poe, his sister, and his mom all moved 56 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: to Virginia, and his mom got ill and died the 57 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: year after his sister was born. So that happened when 58 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: Poe was only about two years old. So po and Rosalie, 59 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: now basically orphans, were taken in by family friends in Richmond, 60 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: and Po ended up living with the merchant John Allen 61 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: and his wife Francis, who didn't have any kids, while 62 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: Rosalie went on to live with a neighboring family called 63 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: the Mackenzie's, and Allen's basically treated Poe as their own child. 64 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: They never legally adopted him, but they educated him and 65 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: treated him like their son. He started his education in Richmond, 66 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: and then at age six, he was taken abroad for 67 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: a bit and continued studying in England and Scotland for 68 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: about five years before he returned to Virginia with the Allens, 69 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: where he continued his cooling and let's start thinking of 70 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: a little adolescent strange Poe. He seemed like a pretty 71 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: normal kid. He made friends, was doing all right in 72 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: school and everything. However, by his mid teens or so, 73 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: Po discovered that his foster father wasn't exactly being faithful 74 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: to his foster mother, and this really upset Poe and 75 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 1: it kicked off a very strange relationship between Poe and 76 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: John Allen, and they argued a lot about that topic. 77 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: Around this time, Poe also fell in love with a 78 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: local girl named Sarah Elmira Royster, and she was in 79 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: love with him too, but in Po went off to 80 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,479 Speaker 1: the University of Virginia. So Pose only at the University 81 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,560 Speaker 1: of Virginia for about eleven months, though, and according to 82 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: a biography of Edgar Allan Poe by Veronica Loveday, Alan 83 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: wouldn't give Poe the money he needed to buy school 84 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: basics like book so Post started gambling, ended up racking 85 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: up a lot of debt, and he also started drinking 86 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: while he was there, and unfortunately for him, he had 87 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 1: a very low tolerance for alcohol. So Alan ultimately refused 88 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: to let Poe continue spending time at the university. In 89 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: the meantime, realizing that post future was really uncertain because 90 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: of this contentious relationship with his foster father, Royster's parents 91 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: decided to put a stop to her relationship with Poe. 92 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: They made sure, for example, that she never received post 93 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: letters from school, and by the time Poe returned to Richmond, 94 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: his beloved Sarah was engaged to someone else. So Poe 95 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: was understandably devastated by this turn of events, and he 96 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: decided to go to Boston in the spring of eighteen seven, 97 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: where he tried tried his hand at making a living 98 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,720 Speaker 1: as a writer, and he did publish some stuff. He 99 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: published his first volume of poetry, tamer Lane and Other Poems, 100 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: and this was fairly well received, but he could only 101 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: print a few copies and at the end of the 102 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: day he was still destitute. So he's published, but it 103 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: didn't bring in the money with hoping. So to solve 104 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: his money issues, he joined the army and he really 105 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: actually thrived in the military, doing a desk job for 106 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: a couple of years. He was even promoted from private 107 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: to the rank of sergeant major and Poe decided that 108 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,559 Speaker 1: he wanted to attend West Point, and after a while, 109 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: Alan agreed to help him fund this. He saw, Okay, 110 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: my my foster son is actually doing well. Yes, maybe 111 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,039 Speaker 1: I should support this. So Poe was released from the 112 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: army and he applied to the Military Academy, and while 113 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 1: he was waiting to be accepted to West Point, he 114 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 1: spent a little time in Baltimore getting to know his 115 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: Poe family again, his grandmother, his brother, and his father's sister, 116 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: who was his aunt, Mariah Clem. Mariah Clem also had 117 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: a very young daughter, Virginia, and Poe also published another 118 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: collection of poems during this time. Soon he was accepted 119 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: to West Point though in eighteen thirty, so he had 120 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:48,479 Speaker 1: to put down the pen for a little while. But 121 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: he didn't stay at West Point long either. Again, according 122 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: to Loveday's article, he learned that John Allen had had 123 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: a pair of twins as a result of one of 124 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: his affairs, and even though his Austro mother was dead 125 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: by this time, Pope pretty much realized there was no 126 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: future between him and his foster father. And in fact, 127 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: and just as an aside, Alan did ultimately leave everything, 128 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: the whole inheritance to these twins that he had. That 129 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: might have been a good intuition he had there so 130 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: set on pursuing a writing career, you know, deciding that 131 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: this was gonna have to be how he'd make his 132 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: his future and his career. Poe took measures to get 133 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: himself expelled from West Point. He wasn't just going to 134 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: drop out, and he couldn't just walk away, no, no, So, 135 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: according to Encyclopedia Britannica, he just didn't show up at 136 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: any classes or any drills for a week, and he 137 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: even tried to spread a rumor that he was the 138 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: grandson of Benedict Arnold. Probably not something that's going to 139 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: make you too popular at your military school. And in 140 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: the end he did finally get his wish and he 141 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: was dismissed, so he was freed up to pursue this 142 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: writing career that he was hoping to So Poe moved 143 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: to New York in February of eight thirty one, and 144 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: he published a third collection called Poems from there. He 145 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: moved around between New York City, Baltimore, Richmond, and Philadelphia 146 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: for the next few years in pursuit of his writing career, 147 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: and for purposes here, we're just going to cover some 148 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,119 Speaker 1: of the highlights of what he did during that time. 149 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: By March of eighteen thirty one, Poe returned to Baltimore 150 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: to live with his aunt, Maria Clem and his little 151 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: cousin Virginia, and while there he still struggled to earn 152 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: a living, but he started to write stories as well pros. Yeah, 153 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: and things did start to look up a little bit 154 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty three when his story manuscript found in 155 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: a bottle one of fifty dollar prize from a Baltimore 156 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: weekly newspaper, and that finally started to get him noticed, 157 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: and he also started writing reviews and stories for the 158 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: Southern Literary Messenger, and by eighteen thirty five he even 159 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,199 Speaker 1: took a position as an editor there and made even 160 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: more of a name for himself. In the meantime, his 161 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: brother and his foster father died, so a little more 162 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: tragedy in his life, and his foster father, as we mentioned, 163 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: left him nothing, so he realized that he was really 164 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: going to have to make a living on his own. 165 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: And on September eighteen thirty five, another life milestone, he 166 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: married his first cousin, Virginia Clem and as you'll remember, 167 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: we mentioned she was very young. Well, at the time 168 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 1: of their marriage she was only thirteen and the marriage 169 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,239 Speaker 1: certificate listed her as twenty one, but that was incorrect. 170 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 1: According to Loveday's article, Poe did wait for more than 171 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 1: two years before consummating their marriage, So yeah, Poe would 172 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: have been in his in his late twenties by then. 173 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: It's always one of those facts that sticks with you 174 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 1: about about Edgar Allen Poe, big age difference, um. But 175 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: moving on to his career again, It's unclear whether it 176 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 1: was voluntary or not, but Poe left his job at 177 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: the Southern Literary Messenger, and according to Encyclopedia Britannica, he 178 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: was fired probably because of his drinking. Um. Drinking really 179 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: seemed to become sort of a means of escape for him. 180 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: But as we mentioned, he also had a very low 181 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 1: taller it's for alcohol his entire life, so it didn't 182 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: really take that much to make him appear very intoxicated, 183 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 1: and even though he wasn't very intoxicated that often. Again 184 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: according to Encyclopedia Britannica, he was unfortunately usually somewhere in 185 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: public when he was drunk, so he got this reputation 186 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: as being a public drunk. But after this, after leaving 187 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:27,559 Speaker 1: the Southern Southern Literary Messenger or being fired, he and 188 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 1: Virginia moved to New York City, where he reviewed articles 189 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: for the New York Review while still pursuing his own 190 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: projects too. By eighteen thirty nine, the couple had moved 191 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: to Philadelphia, where he published Tales of the Grotesque in 192 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: the Arabesque Short Story Collection. He also started working as 193 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: an editor for Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, and by the fall 194 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 1: of eighteen forty one he started working for kind of 195 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: a successor to that magazine, Graham's Ladies and Gentlemen's magazine, 196 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: and this afforded him study income finally, and it's where 197 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,559 Speaker 1: he published The Murders in the Room Morgue. So at 198 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: this point Poe's notoriety is really starting to grow. But 199 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: like most of his jobs, the Graham's gig was short lived. 200 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:10,560 Speaker 1: He quit by the middle of eighteen forty two to 201 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: work as a freelance writer and to also try to 202 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: start his own publication, which was something that he would 203 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 1: try to do here and there throughout the rest of 204 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: his life, but he was never really successful with that 205 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: part of it. With starting his own publication, couldn't follow 206 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: the Dickens model. In eighteen forty four, he returned to 207 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: New York, where he continued writing, and it was while 208 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: there in eighteen forty five that his poem The Raven 209 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: was published, and it was instantly successful, making Poe very famous. 210 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: But despite his successes in the literary world that we're 211 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: happening around this time, this was still a very rough 212 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: period for Poe. For one thing, Virginia became very ill. 213 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: She had contracted tuberculosis at some point in the early 214 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: eighteen forties and her health never really got better after that. 215 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: And for his part, Poe wasn't doing so great either. 216 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: His drinking continued to get worth and this exacerbated his 217 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: own health issues, and according to Loveday's article, he almost 218 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 1: died in eighteen forty four from heart failure. So not 219 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 1: not so great for Mr and Mrs Poe at this point. 220 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:16,920 Speaker 1: With the fame the Raven brought him, Post started doing 221 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 1: lecture tours in the northeastern United States, and though he 222 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: still struggled financially, he had quite a lot of social 223 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 1: attention paid to him during this time. In eighteen forty five, 224 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: for example, he received the attentions of the poet Francis 225 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: Sergeant Locke Osgood, and they had an affair, which was 226 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: scandalous because she wrote poems about him, and so everybody 227 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: knew what was going on between them because it was 228 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:41,719 Speaker 1: out there in print. Kind of like writing about him 229 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: on her blog or something these days, yeah, kind of. Actually, 230 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: that's a pretty good comparison, I think. But according to 231 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: Encyclopedia Britannica, Poe's wife, for whatever reason, did not object 232 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: to this relationship with Osgood, so people were scandalized by it, 233 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: but she was kind of okay with it, and her 234 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: health continued to deteriorate, and she finally died in January 235 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 1: of eighteen forty seven at the age of twenty four. 236 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,080 Speaker 1: So after his wife's death, Poe did publish a few things, 237 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: including a lecture called Eureka, some poems, including The Bells 238 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: and Anna Bell Lee. He also tried to start a 239 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: magazine again, but once again that didn't work. He did 240 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,560 Speaker 1: not succeed at running a magazine, but his final years 241 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: are also marked by some serious relationships that he had 242 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: with a couple of women. First, there was the Providence, 243 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: Rhode Island based poet named Sarah Helen Whitman. They actually 244 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 1: became engaged in eighteen forty eight, but she only agreed 245 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: to marry him on the condition that he quit drinking. 246 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 1: According to Loveday's article, Poe just couldn't control his feelings 247 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: for her, and he tried to commit suicide by taking 248 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:51,839 Speaker 1: laudanum in November of eighteen forty eight. After that he relapsed, 249 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: he started drinking again, and so Whitman broke off the engagement. 250 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty nine, continuing his lectures, he returned to 251 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: Richmond for a while, and while he was there he 252 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: ran into his old flame from his teenage years Elmira Royster, 253 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: who just happened to be a widow by this point, 254 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: by the name of Mrs a by Shelton, and they 255 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: rekindled their old romance. Well. Elmira was a teetotaler too, 256 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: and much like Sarah Whitman, she would not have approved 257 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: of Poe drinking. Luckily, though, Poe decided to completely give 258 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: up alcohol and may have been successful at this for 259 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: several months. According to an article by Robert Hopkins in 260 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: the Southern Quarterly, Poe even took a public oath on 261 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: August nine at a Sons of Temperance meeting in which 262 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: he swore that he'd never touch another drop of liquor, 263 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: and he signed a document to that effect as well. 264 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: So I guess old Elmira was convinced by this display, 265 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: and so they became engaged and set their wedding date 266 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: for October seventeenth. This is where things start to get 267 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 1: a little weird in the story, though before the marriage 268 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,840 Speaker 1: was supposed to take place, was set off on a 269 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: business trip to Philadelphia in New York, and while he 270 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: was in New York, it's possible he was going to 271 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: pick up his aunt, Maria Clem to and bring her 272 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: down to Richmond for the wedding. I guess his his 273 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: former mother in law as well. Um, he probably set 274 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: off for this trip from Richmond around September nine, and 275 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: what happened after that is what's really uncertain. Yeah, some 276 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 1: say that he went straight to Baltimore and called on 277 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: a friend, Dr. Nathan C. Brooks, but Brooks wasn't at home. 278 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: And if Baltimore is the only stop that Poe made, 279 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: then that still leaves several days unaccounted for, because there 280 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: doesn't seem to be any information on what he was 281 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: up to in town after that for the following days 282 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: after that, however, according to the ed Girl in Post 283 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: Society of Baltimore, a Philadelphia friend of Poes, Thomas H. Lane, 284 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: who had worked for the Broadway Journal, later said that 285 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: he believed Poe had come to Philadelphia and seen mutual 286 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: friends of theirs while he was in town. Lane said 287 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: that Poe also fell ill while he was in Philadelphia, 288 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: but instead of he still insisted on getting on a 289 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: train to New York after his brief visit. He had 290 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: business to do there. He was going to see Aunt Maria, 291 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: so he was going to head out, so Lane's theory 292 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: is that Poe must have gotten on the wrong train 293 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: and ended up back in Baltimore. But even if this 294 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,280 Speaker 1: Philadelphia visit did happen, and it's not clear whether it 295 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: did or not, the exact dates aren't known, so there's 296 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: a lot that's still very sketchy about this possibility in 297 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: the story. A letter from Poe to aunt Maria Clem 298 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: also confirms that he at least had intentions of heading 299 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: to Philadelphia to meet another poet and edit her poems there, 300 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: and he'd also told Aunt Maria to write him directly 301 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, as if he'd be there to receive it, 302 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: but he did tell her to address her correspondence instead 303 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: of just addressing it to Edgar Allan, Poe address it 304 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: to E. S. T. Gray Esquire. So kind of a 305 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: shady aspect to the story, yeah, for sure, so what 306 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: is known though. What is known for sure is that 307 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: on October three, Poe is found in a very very 308 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: bad way, lying outside of Ryan's fourth Ward Polls, Baltimore, 309 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: which was basically a saloon, but voting also would take 310 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: place there too, and an election was going on the 311 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: city at the same time. For hard to imagine, Bars 312 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: doubling is his polling stations today. But a man named J. W. 313 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: Walker found Po outside of this bar slash polling station, 314 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 1: nearly unconscious and delirious, and strangely wearing somebody else's cheap, dirty, 315 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: ill fitting clothes. And according to Hopkins article, Walker immediately 316 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: sent a note to a doctor J. E. Snodgrass, who 317 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 1: was an acquaintance of Pose, at Poe's own request. And 318 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: this is what the note said, Dear sir, there's a 319 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 1: gentleman rather worse for wear at Ryan's fourth ward polls 320 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: who goes under the name of Edgar A. Poe, and 321 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: who appear years in great distress. And he says he's 322 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:04,919 Speaker 1: acquainted with you, and I assure you he is in 323 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 1: need of immediate assistant. Snodgrass and Henry Herring at that point, 324 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: and Henry Herring was someone who had married one of 325 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: Poe's aunts, showed up and took Po to Washington College 326 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: Hospital at about five pm that day, and while there 327 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,160 Speaker 1: he was attended to by a resident named doctor John 328 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 1: Joseph Moran. So Poe was pretty much unconscious until the 329 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: next day. But even when he was a little more coherent, 330 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,679 Speaker 1: he wasn't able to exactly tell the doctor how he 331 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: came to be in his present state. After that, he 332 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 1: became delirious on and off for a few days, and 333 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,399 Speaker 1: according to the Post Society of Baltimore, at one point 334 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: cried out the name Reynolds. But no one's been able 335 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: to figure out who he was referring to by that. 336 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: It's just an interesting little detail we wanted to throw 337 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,639 Speaker 1: in interesting indeed, But on Sunday, October seven, four days 338 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,920 Speaker 1: after he was found outside of the saloon, po finally 339 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: passed away, and that morning his last words were God 340 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 1: bless my poor soul. He was only forty years old. 341 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: So this brings us to our our big question, what 342 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: happened to Poe before he died and what really caused 343 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: his death. Of course, most people at the time, as 344 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: we already indicated, and even many people today, have believed 345 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,399 Speaker 1: that drinking was what ultimately killed him. This theory was 346 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: actually sort of promoted at the time, even by pose 347 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:26,200 Speaker 1: acquaintance who helped him out, Dr Snodgrass. According to Hopkins, 348 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: though we should take Snodgrass's perspective with a little grain 349 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: of salt. He was apparently super religious and kind of 350 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 1: used pose fate to illustrate what could happen to you 351 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: if you indulged in the sin of drinking, almost as 352 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: a cautionary tale of sorts. As Hopkins put it, Snodgrass 353 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: went to quote great lengths to support his temperance cause 354 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,680 Speaker 1: at pose expense, and a lot of the other people 355 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: who spread the alcohol abuse theory were either coming from 356 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: similar perspective as the Snodgrass or getting their information second hand. 357 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: But Hopkin and some other sources say that it's unlikely 358 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,880 Speaker 1: that alcohol abuse is ultimately what killed Edgar Allan Poe. 359 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,119 Speaker 1: So Dr Moran, for instance, who attended to Poe in 360 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: his final days, actually published a book thirty years after 361 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: the death called A Defense of Edgar Allan Poe, in 362 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 1: which he said quote, I have stated to you the 363 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: fact that Edgar Allan Poe did not die under the 364 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:24,399 Speaker 1: effect of an intoxicant, nor was the smell of liquor 365 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: upon his breath or person. Although we have to say 366 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: to a lot of people discount Miran's opinions here, because 367 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: apparently he changed his story quite significantly from what he 368 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,920 Speaker 1: said right after Poe's death, and Hopkins even points out 369 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: that Moran changed his opinion only after certain key temperance 370 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: promoters who were very closely involved in the situation passed away, 371 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: so there might have been some sort of conspiracy involved 372 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:54,080 Speaker 1: there too. Yeah, it makes you wonder was he just 373 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,879 Speaker 1: telling the truth later in life, waiting for certain people 374 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: to to no longer be there, or whether he just 375 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 1: changed his story for something a new interesting angle right. 376 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 1: There are, however, some other more straightforward signs that alcohol 377 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 1: may not have been the cause of death. For example, 378 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: while in the hospital, Poe got better before he then 379 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: again got worse and died, which according to the University 380 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: of Maryland Medical Center, isn't consistent with alcohol withdrawal. So 381 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 1: I think that's the medical background. Interesting little science background. 382 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,360 Speaker 1: So still though, if drinking too much didn't kill Poe, 383 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: what might have killed him? You don't usually just wind 384 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,719 Speaker 1: up dead outside of a saloon, So some people believe 385 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 1: that he was the victim of a type of political 386 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,719 Speaker 1: sabotage known as cooping. And as we mentioned, there was 387 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: an election going on at the time, and the saloon 388 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: did double as a place to go vote. So cooping 389 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: supposedly involved political gangs kidnapping bystanders and then holding them 390 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,919 Speaker 1: for a while in a room called a coup and 391 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 1: then forcing them after they had gotten them kind of 392 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: liquored up or drugged up, to illegally vote in multiple 393 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: polling locations. And sometimes these gangs would even have their 394 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,479 Speaker 1: victims changed clothing so that they wouldn't be recognized when 395 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,920 Speaker 1: they were voting multiple times in the same area. This 396 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: whole thing sounds kind of terrifying to me, the idea 397 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: of cooping. Some people, though, discount this theory for a 398 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,639 Speaker 1: few different reasons. For one, Poe is a celebrity of 399 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: his day, almost he was pretty well known, and he 400 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 1: probably would have been recognized even if he were wearing 401 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 1: these different ratty sort of clothes. Also, some say that 402 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: there is a lack of evidence that the practice of 403 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 1: cooping really existed in the first bow. I don't need 404 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 1: to be too worried. Maybe maybe not, I'm not sure. 405 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,719 Speaker 1: I mean, there definitely was a lot of applying with 406 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: alcohol going on in general, I mean, having polling places 407 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 1: and bars, which was often the case, kind of encouraged that. 408 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: But there were accounts in contemporary publications that were citizens 409 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,679 Speaker 1: were warned about the very real possibility of cooping in 410 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: the days right before are leading up to the election, 411 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: So people at the time at least believe that cooping 412 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 1: was going on and was a real possibility. So go 413 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: vote with your friends, vote in a group. Yeah, I 414 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: would be careful, So go ahead and be scared. Sarah 415 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: could have happened, all right, next time I go vote. 416 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 1: But also Hopkins point without a cryptic statement that was 417 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: made by J. H. Morrison after post death and in 418 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:25,600 Speaker 1: a letter to John Ingram, Morrison suggests post cousin Nelson 419 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: might have known something about the circumstances surrounding post death, 420 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,880 Speaker 1: and he said, quote, the story of post death has 421 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 1: never been told. Nelson Poe has all the facts, but 422 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,160 Speaker 1: I am afraid may not be willing to tell them. 423 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:41,879 Speaker 1: I do not see why Poe came to the city 424 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: in the midst of an election, and that election was 425 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: the cause of his death. So one interesting point to 426 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: make here about the involvement of cousin Nelson is that 427 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,719 Speaker 1: Nelson was in fact elected a judge in that eighteen 428 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:59,160 Speaker 1: forty nine election. Also, Nelson and Poe did not get 429 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,400 Speaker 1: along well at all. Some say that Nelson had had 430 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: his own designs on marrying Virginia Clem, but of course 431 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,959 Speaker 1: she ended up with Poe. So um those are some 432 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:14,120 Speaker 1: of the political type of conspiracy theories, but several diseases 433 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: have also been suggested as the causes of post death, 434 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 1: and some of the possibilities that folks have thrown out 435 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:25,399 Speaker 1: over the years include brain tumors, heart disease, cholera, stroke, 436 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 1: and diabetes. And then in nineteen eighty four, a biohistorian 437 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: named Arnold Carlin came out with the theory that Poe 438 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: had this rare type of enzyme disorder called alcohol dehydrogenase 439 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:41,399 Speaker 1: deficiency syndrome, and he had that perhaps in combination with 440 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: a brain tumor. So Hawkins says that the syndrome is 441 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: an interesting theory because it could perhaps explain pose lifelong 442 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,879 Speaker 1: low tolerance of alcohol as well as some of his 443 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,960 Speaker 1: mental issues, and of course it's death too. One of 444 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: the more recent and popular medical malady theories though as rabies. 445 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Dr R 446 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: Michael Benitez reviewed post case and in n he proposed 447 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,639 Speaker 1: that post symptoms in the final days of his life 448 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: were in fact consistent with the progression of rabies. This 449 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: could be possible even though there weren't any apparent animal 450 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: bites on Poe. At the time, Poe was known to 451 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: be an animal lover. He loved cats in particular, and 452 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: he did keep pets, and people can sometimes, according to 453 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 1: the source, can have rabies up to a year without 454 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 1: showing symptoms, which I actually didn't know before. Another disturbing 455 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: factors from the podcast. One of the symptoms Benitez was 456 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,439 Speaker 1: including in his assessment, though, was hydrophobia, a fear of 457 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 1: water that Post supposedly exhibited when he had trouble drinking 458 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,800 Speaker 1: in the hospital. However, that account of Po not drinking 459 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 1: came from one of our friend Dr Moran's many accounts 460 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 1: of the situation, and he contradicted it in another later account. 461 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 1: So some discountless Raby's theory because of at does make 462 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 1: a good headline, though, you've got to give it that. 463 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,200 Speaker 1: But finally, a lot of people think Poe died as 464 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 1: the result of some kind of conspiracy. And of course 465 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 1: it already sounds like we've discussed these conspiracy theories because 466 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: there's a touch of conspiracy mixed in with some of 467 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,919 Speaker 1: the earlier theories, like the alcohol line, conspiracy by temperance 468 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,240 Speaker 1: movement folks to get their agenda across, and the cooping. 469 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 1: You know, the possible conspiracy involving Poe's cousin who was 470 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 1: running for office, but some think pose romantic entanglements might 471 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,880 Speaker 1: have led to a plot against him as well, and 472 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: for instance, Almira Rooster Shelton's brothers might not have been 473 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: too happy about that impending marriage to their sister, and 474 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 1: some authors have tossed that out there as a possibility. 475 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: Hopkins actually points to an account of Joseph's Oar Train's 476 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: as potential evidence that something like this was in fact 477 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: going on. Joseph's oar Train had worked with Poe at 478 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:59,360 Speaker 1: Graham's magazine, and after Poe's death, he had come out 479 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,760 Speaker 1: with kind of a shocking account of his last encounter 480 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,640 Speaker 1: with Poe. According to star Train's account, he saw Poe 481 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia in nine and Poe was afraid for his 482 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 1: life at this time, asking for star Train's protection and 483 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,679 Speaker 1: saying that he had overheard some men on the train 484 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,640 Speaker 1: plotting to kill him. When star Train asked why would 485 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: someone want to kill you, Poe said, quote it was 486 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:29,560 Speaker 1: for revenge for quote a woman trouble. So another intriguing possibility, 487 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,400 Speaker 1: but many people, though, believe that the most likely conspirator 488 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: against Poe with Rufus debut. Griswold and Grizzwold had aspired 489 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:40,159 Speaker 1: to be a fiction writer but didn't really have the 490 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 1: talent ended up becoming an editor instead, and he and 491 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: Poe brushed paths professionally on many occasions, and the two 492 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:51,120 Speaker 1: men just didn't really like each other, and Hopkins suggests 493 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:55,159 Speaker 1: that Griswold may have been perhaps jealous of pose talent, 494 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 1: though Grizzold apparently claimed upon Poe's death that Poe had 495 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:01,919 Speaker 1: made a pro miss that he wanted Griswold to be 496 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,479 Speaker 1: his literary executor, but according to Hopkins, no legal proof 497 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: of this agreement exists. Still, though Griswold did become pose 498 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:15,360 Speaker 1: executor and his first biographer and likely got the opportunity 499 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:19,439 Speaker 1: to print them in accuracies about Po and profit at 500 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: the same time. Yeah, he also printed a kind this 501 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:27,199 Speaker 1: note after pose death in a New York paper, and 502 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,400 Speaker 1: it was kind of scathing about Po. It just wasn't 503 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 1: very flattering at all. So he got a couple of 504 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,720 Speaker 1: opportunities after post death to kind of get in a 505 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: couple of hit. So there are a number of theories 506 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: and sub theories out there, as you can see about 507 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: why and how Poe really died. But unfortunately, no one 508 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:48,400 Speaker 1: knows for sure what the real story is. And as 509 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: you can tell by what we've recounted so far, there 510 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:54,480 Speaker 1: are just too many personalities and possible hidden agendas involved 511 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:56,960 Speaker 1: to really get to the heart of what happened. It's 512 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: just a bunch of possibilities that we can sort of 513 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 1: mall over all over for a while and debate about that. 514 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 1: We can't really get a definitive answer. But in the end, 515 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 1: despite his fame, Poe was buried hurriedly in Westminster Presbyterian 516 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 1: Churchyard in Baltimore, with only a handful of people present. 517 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,800 Speaker 1: In two thousand nine, though, which was about one hundred 518 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: sixty years after his death, Baltimore's Poe House and Museum 519 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,320 Speaker 1: through Poe another larger funeral to In fact, I think 520 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: that had something like seven people in attendance. So so yeah, 521 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 1: people do continue, of course to celebrate the author, to 522 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: look into his life and his death. I mean, I 523 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: have to say, one of my favorite Pope things is 524 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: the Simpsons Tree House Support. It's a classic, but um, 525 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: you know, on on whatever level, whether it's a cartoon 526 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 1: like that or whether it's a serious study of his work. 527 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: People still clearly appreciate his writing today and it still 528 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: resonates with people. So true. And I mean when it 529 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,600 Speaker 1: comes to this mystery, it's fun to talk about into 530 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: explore all these possibilities, but I have to wonder do 531 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: we really want to know the answer? I mean, isn't 532 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: it sort of fitting in a way that Poe's own 533 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: story has this element of mystery to it. It's po like, 534 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: it is very pol and with that, I think that 535 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:18,720 Speaker 1: we are going to close out this episode about Poe, 536 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: but it's been really fun to talk about them. If 537 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,440 Speaker 1: you have any favorite po stories or poems that we 538 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: didn't mention that that or theories, yes, I mean we 539 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: talked about a few of them here, but we know 540 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: that there are many that we didn't touch on in 541 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 1: many aspects, even of the ones that we did touch 542 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: on that we didn't didn't really have time to include 543 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 1: in this flesh out completely. Yes, and this fairly sustinct 544 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,640 Speaker 1: but not so sustinct podcast, I think we've rambled on 545 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 1: for a little while, But definitely share those with us 546 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,000 Speaker 1: and let us know. If there's anything else about the 547 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: story you'd like us to look into. You can find 548 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: us at History podcast at Discovery dot com. We're also 549 00:30:57,880 --> 00:30:59,920 Speaker 1: on Facebook and you can also find us on Twitter. 550 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: This in history and if you want to learn a 551 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,280 Speaker 1: little bit more about rare books, we do have an 552 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: article called ten rare Books And um, didn't you say 553 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: one of his works is included in that? Artist tamer 554 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 1: Lane and Other Poems is number eight on that list, 555 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: and go go read about it, and to do that 556 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,560 Speaker 1: good to our homepage and search for ten rare books. 557 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: If that www dot how stuff works dot com for 558 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Is that 559 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:56,080 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com.