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Edgar Allan Poe was famous for his tales and poems of horror and mystery. He was an American writer, poet, critic and editor. His imagination of mystery and horror stories was the birth to the modern detective story.

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Developed for the Language Arts Classroom, this video is a brief look at the life and influence of Edgar Allan Poe.

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Edgar was born on January 19, 1809. His birth parents were Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr. who were poor traveling actors but sadly 2 years later his father had abandoned the family and his mother died. Eventually Edgar was adopted by John and Frances Allan, who couldn't have any childrens. This is how he ended up with a second last name "Allan"

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"Convinced myself, I seek not to convince"

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When Poe attended the University of Virginia in 1826, he wasn't so thrilled with the experience there so he dropped out and joined the army and went under the name Edgar A. Perry. There he enjoyed the life of an Army man and decided to enroll at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Poe had written a book of property but he did not take the credits for it. Once he was in, he knew it wasn't meant for him and got kicked out. However he did his publish second book of poems.

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Poe had fallen in love with Virginia, his 13 year-old cousin and he was 24 at the time, and were married on May 16, 1836. Fate had met Virginia and she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and died. Poe went into depression and became a heavy drinker.

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"Keeping these impressions in view, I was cautious in what I said before the young lady; for I could not be sure that she was sane; and, in fact, there was a certain restless brilliancy about her eyes which half led me to imagine she was not"

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After he left West Point, he had published his third book and wanted to focus more on being a full-time writer. He traveled to New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond for opportunities but still struggled. Eventually he won a contest in Baltimore Saturday Visiter for one his short stories, he began to publish more short stories. He finally landed as an editorial in 1835 for the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Poe then moved to New York city and published a news story in the New York Sun, in 1844, about a balloon crossing the Atlantic Ocean and had also published "The Raven" in 1845. Poe had became a literary sensation.

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Poe's death still remains as a mystery. On September 27, Poe was departing Richmond and was heading to Philadelphia but on October 3 was found couscous and was dressed in clothing that wasn't his. He was taken to the hospital of Washington College and 4 day later, he died. His last words were "Lord, help my poor soul". For over 150 years, Poe's scholars, medical professionals, and others had been solving this mysterious death.

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"In our endeavors to recall to memory something long forgotten, we often find ourselves upon the very remembrance, without being able, in the end, to remember"

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Scott Peeples: Why should you read Edgar Allan Poe?

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The prisoner strapped under a descending pendulum blade. A raven who refuses to leave the narrator's chamber. A beating heart buried under the floorboards. Poe's macabre and innovative stories of gothic horror have left a timeless mark on literature. But just what is it that makes Edgar Allan Poe one of the greatest American authors?