RUMORS PERSIST

October 7, 1849

Baltimore, MD

Edgar Allan Poe, eccentric writer and maker of enemies, may have died last night. His many enemies are waiting to celebrate until they determine if the overdue death is confirmed. Cause of his possible death, also to be determined, has been cited as rabies contracted from a feral racoon; suicide based on self-loathing; murder at the hands of an angry editor; long-standing and sudden brain tumor; or murder at the hands of an angry neighbor.

There is also the unsettling possibility that he may still be alive.

But seriously…

Feb 22, 2025

Edgar Allan Poe caused drama wherever he went. Extremely ambitious, hard-driving and erratic, he had plenty of detractors. He wore out many welcomes.

His poetry and short stories drew upon some deep, unsettling psychological currents. And all that angst seemed to just spill out in his personal life.

The public was so fascinated by his writing and his personality, it was to be expected that his death would be the subject of rumor.

The rumors began with those closest to him.

He spent the evening before his death with the Talley family in Richmond. Susan Talley described his departure in apocalyptic terms:

“He was the last of the party to leave the house. We were standing on the portico, and after going a few steps he paused, turned, and again lifted his hat, in a last adieu. At the moment, a brilliant meteor appeared in the sky directly over his head, and vanished in the east.”

His editor, Thomas Willis White, added his own speculation:

“I should not be at all astonished to hear that he has been guilty of suicide.”

Source

Poe, A Life Cut Short, Peter Ackroyd