Edgar Allan Poe: The King of Mystery and the Macabre

Edgar Allan Poe is considered one of the greatest representations of American Literature. This poet, author, and literary critic was born in January 19th, 1809 in Boston, MA. An orphane since a very young age, he was adopted by a wealthy family. Although he is now labeled as one of the greatest authors and the creator of the detective-fiction genre, his life was infested of tragedy, pain and suffering. His mother died of tuberculosis, as well as his greatest love: Leonore, which is the center and the inspirations of some of his most popular works. He dedicated a great portion of his life to literary criticism; and he was hated by plenty of people for that. His "sharp" and humilliating language to look down on other writers' work was constantly disputed and it added a great number of enemies to his list. He had a few great moments such as his marriage to his young cousin, Virginia Clemm. Nevertheless, those good moments were always obscured by death and illness. The most famous work, The Raven, provided temporary glory to Poe, but his bad decisions as well as his alcoholism ended up with his luck and his life. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7th, 1849 but the cause of death remains a mystery up to this day. His works influenced American Literature, the Romantic Movement and several works of past and current writers. The detective-fiction genre inspired series such as CSI (Crime Scene Investigation), Criminal Minds, NCIS, etc. 

His works have been trasformed to movies as well. Some of those stories are The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of Red Death, The Murders of Rue Morgue, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Cask of Amontillado and the Raven. Most of them represented by Vincent Price, considered the master of horror and who personally admired Poe's work. 

Without a doubt, Poe had the gift to keep readers at the edge of suspense and horror; goose-bumps are one of the effects of his works. Definitely the master of macabre, and although he was not glorified during his life, he will sure be present in ours for years and centuries to come.

His most famous works can be found in the following website: www.poestories.com