Edgar Allen Poe, Father of Modern Horror… Detective, Science Fiction, and Treasure Hunt Stories

This is what this is our American stories to show where America is the store and the American people and to search for the L American story podcast go to the iHeartRadio app or every you get your podcast Edgar Allan Poe was known for his scary short stories and poems and we look at his life. Early tragedies explain a lot. But we don't often think of when we consider Pope or his comedic writings is detective stories and even a bit of early science fiction here to pull back the curtain on Poe's preceptor curator at the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia thank you waitress Poe was born 1809 the same errors. Abraham Lincoln is brought up in Boston. His parents are traveling actors. His mother was from England she come here to the states.

As a little girl and she been acting estates up and down the East Coast.

You usually traveled up and down the coast with the theatrical seasons always try to stay one step ahead of the next yellow fever outbreak and she had a pretty rough, she lost her mother to yellow fever in South Carolina. Her stepfather yellow fever in North Carolina that her first husband yellow fever in Virginia all the time she was 18 and she remarried at age 18 to David Junior was Edgar's father and he appears to run on the family left Poe's mother defend herself and three kids and when she is dying here in Richmond. Some local ladies heard the famous actress Mrs. who is an ill health.

She's out of resources and they sure bring her mu. Even though a society lady when associate with neck caring for mother's legs was Francis Valentine Allen and she agreed taken little Eddie so she and her husband Chris and Jim Edgar Allan Poe and his sister and brother went to live a different family shall hear a lot about his brother. He damages 24.

His sister stay here Richmond and she became a schoolteacher. She taught art and penmanship. So Paul grew up here. Richmond and went to local schools when he was six years old.

Allen's went to England and Scotland to get to see Europe from allowing it go to good boarding school in London came back here and was just enchanted by the landscape around here. The river, annexing River that's just a few blocks from where were sitting now how crackly Griffin that wherever he describes how a sale out to islands, Miamisburg.

They were the best swimmers over that river today. He holds record assuming 6 miles against the time the danger still hadn't been. We had a guy come out here a few years ago. The swim fins.

Everything sounded be Poe's record and we never heard from again made maybe still down there, but Poe also developed a love for poetry.

His foster father never really warmed up to and never legally adopted and that he is an import or export import Lovelace British magazine supposed got a chance to read the latest British Romantic poet in the he thought that sky Lord Byron McCalla called mad dad endangers the nose for much the greatest thing ever.

The rock stars they dressed in black.

Byron swung the Hellespont as part of the reason why Poe Swenson was the danger he's trying to be like Byron. But while Poe was here. He also first fell in love he met a girl called Jane Stan recall the first purely ideal level, my soul is pulled to Helen is dedicated to her. He thought she was held at Troy the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

Problem was, he's 14. His best friend's mother so literally worked out poets like unrequited love.

They like to worship some live from afar.

So he showed her his poetry. She had a motherly advice and encouragement. She finally select your kid within. Shortly after they met. She went insane and died and left a lasting impression on colonies going up. His mother died when he was to his first love. Isaac was 15, his foster mother died when he was 20s over and over again. He really became attached to someone they have dying early and then he got married and his wife got sick and she damages 24 years old, so he always said that since the beauty was mingled with loss and when he was about 15 he met another girl's name is Elmira Royster.

She careful pretty wealthy family. Her father was a merchant and there is no way her father when her mess around this punk kid this actresses son who never legally adopted was in a heritage anything. So, Edgar, Omar, had to sneak Wade's little garden up on Franklin Street just to see each other in a May dispatch him to go to college and make a name for myself. Can education think Poe probably thought he was to become a professor, because you could make a living off your poetry out is be crazy to make a living from his professorship and right potion is three times for the Longfellow game plan.

Young Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Prof. Harvard married a wealthy woman and then he got to write poetry is free time and was out there. Poe excelled at languages he studied ancient and modern languages. Jefferson had this plan that students could pick their own curriculum so he's design a study that back here Mr. only import or export it up why you waste your time learning that you need to learn skills that help you take over my import export business.

Suppose there no money Allen wouldn't pay. He had no money. Say this bright idea why my gamble raise my tuition money and finance about $2000 in debt after the first nine months he couldn't stay there dropped out of college came back here and found that Elmira had dumped in. She done them wrong so he decided will know more Elmira I can go back to UVA.

I would go out and find adventure so he stoneware boric whole cities 18 years old and is ran away from home. He Poe still know the full story though she still loved him.

Apparently he'd been sending her letters in college as soon as he got to her house. Her father destroy them.

Her father did not want her to know the poet and writer for other events or the poet had forgotten about or maybe immensely better college in the all boys back then, so she thought she been forgotten. She accept her proposal from somebody else that's who she married and you been listening to Chris Symphony talk about the early life of Edgar Allan Poe and my goodness only knew his loss beauty and love always mingled with loss with young Edgar when we come back more of the story. The life of Edgar Allen Poe here in our American stories. We have been here the house in our American stories every day on the show were bringing inspiring stories from across this great country.

Dorsum are big cities and small towns, but we truly can't do the show without our stories are free to listen to, but they're not free to me if you level you hear go to an American stories.com and click the donate button give a little of a lot, but our American stories.com and were back in our American stories and the story of Edgar Allan Poe, Chris Zentner, curator at the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, which is telling us about the unfortunate losses.

Poe experienced as a boy. Now his childhood sweetheart Elmira married another man. As a result, Poe decided to strike out on his own that's returned to Chris so he decided to see the world level. Such adventures illicitly U.S. Army up in Boston. They sent him down to Fort Moultrie in South Carolina initially appear. Fort Monroe in Virginia and in two years later for private so Sgt. major he did outstanding job different jobs during the time in a clockwise artifice remix gunpowder explosively technical demanding job because you know as good as he didn't blow off on arm or leg doing it is a lot of this was really experimental back and making sure that if you have the right amount of powder that the project with market just the right pointing to go this route, I velocity supported so well. He said no. I could make a living that military I could become an officer and he is really chummy with his officers and they got in large recommendations. Also, back in Richmond. The Allen's were friends with Gen. Winfield Scott in this the guy he was in the war of 1812. Similar wars Mexican-American warriors even later an advisor to Lincoln during the Civil War… Somebody that you got some influence, and he helped hug it into the United States military Academy at West Point may check the records and for 10 years before then, 10 years after that nobody else was on record for having gone from enlisted man to a cadet at West Point also heard while he is in the military. His foster mother Francis Allen was sick and she said the last thing she want to see before she died was her little anti-and he made it back here daily for her funeral and he was just heartbroken over that is a Sanyo nine makes of myself or Francis Allen say canal and helped them get out of his list because he still is enlistment taste officer that so what you do back in.

If you have the money was higher semi-Taken Pl. in Soroptimist reenlistment for immediate summary for $25 proposed desperately off the sky boy graves $75 a big chunk of change to take his place, but never paid in men's Allen had the money Allensworth about three quarters million dollars of this at Bill Gates, but he didn't want to pay for it publicly got a letter from Boley asking where's my money and conserve natural enlistment for a wearable money and Poe wrote back. Will Allen has so ask him zero Allen almanac Matignon Albania soberly wrote Poe again while Poe's West Point and since Allen says he's done anything about.

It's a Polaroid stack is not sober.

Very often the pride is get drunk and forgot about the whole thing so any parties be reminded in that letter we found in Allen's files.

Apparently bully show that Allen says all yeah you you sense talking smack about. She says your drunken at that time, Allen cut Poe offer good homicide. West Point is not the place for him. He hated theories racking up demerits left and right but the cadets love to admit I was a funny guy. The great sense of humor or practical joker and they all chipped in about 425 cadets chipped in to helping publish a book of poetry think is me funny poetry, making follow the command officers. Instead, the book came out as much a sad poetry about death and mourning in this air and they threw most the copies in the Hudson River diskette move and even our copy has obscenities from the front page. But how much that cadet hated ripped off the book is achieved. They probably encoded beating except he'd already been Excel.

He wasn't there anymore.

By the time the book came out so that book didn't really make a lot of waves select some the poles that now we look back and say oh yeah that's Lenore. That's the sleeper leader so his major poems. He's already publishing here at the age of 22 is already off to good start age of 22. This is his third book of poetry and fell on his classic pulse but half the bones never write he got the hint. Now that poetry really willing to pay the bills, but he saw that magazines were popping up everywhere says that one of magazines once and he remembered growing up with Mr. Allen reading the latest British magazine that Allen was importing and they wanted scary weird mysterious stories supposed put together a bunch of bizarre stories and he heard there was a contest coming up hundred dollars for the best story, you should change your years rent for the best story he submitted a whole pack of stories and none of them one by the magazine printed them anyway so his worst out-of-print believing it pay for size of probably so I strongly get paid from unscrupulous magazine editors and publishers but he kept submitting more short stories getting his work published finally won a literary contest story manuscript found the bottle and that made the right connections were he can get a job back in Richmond.

His foster mother died the previous year. They never reconciled. Poe wanted to reconcile one to see him the last time and last thing ever saw.

I was here to force his way into the house pass Allen second wife and Alan just shook his canines and get out. I never see again. I don't want to talk to you so I left without ever rebuilding that bond but now have new bond seeds really become very attached to his aunt Mariah and her daughter Virginia and there was another cousin who was can take in Virginia. Looks like he/she will. He was gonna take in the mother to Xander when both these women, he will them to be near him. So he moved them down a ritual with a mini married his cousin, which was the usual back and they also made a lot younger back then. These two them just supporting through everything and this guy. He really had to struggle at the messenger is making a decent living, which was, not too much day-to-day equivalent of 17,000 year so you may get by if you're single, but not with the family got take care of the lifejacket tutors for her at a piano instructor or another how Corey was a major Shattuck can apply because he loved to hear his wife play the piano and singing anger would sing along and play his flute when Paul got the job. The southern literary messenger he's 26 years old.

He's kind of a nobody here but the magazines not regarding where the circulation of 500 copies a month. Nobody's buying it. The idea was that all the big cities of North near their powerful their educator influential. They have the big magazines all the writers of North and the South needs a writer so he started out by sending a story called Berenice and he very specifically told we need to write stories would educate and entertain the public about offending them and Berenice is a love story about a man named Aegis who falls low vision cousin Berenice and this Aegis explains you that sometimes is a one track mind. He can see us on the edge of a piece of paper and stair for so long.

He doesn't a self induced trance thing about the spot. So one day he sees Berenice smile like nothing else but her precious pearly white teeth becomes fascinated obsessed with his teeth but then she gets sick and she waste away and she's buried so he goes back to his chamber needs, fantasizing dreams of her teeth until he puts himself into it.

Tooth trance until he snapped out of my servants and bank of the North is wake up, snap out of it.

Your wife was really Debbie actually better live in her screaming. The cemetery rushed out to rescue their motel.

We got there somebody else that only Deborah and she didn't have a teeth.

It was a pretty gruesome story can anger reviews. Rather, magazines, and you can't publish this is dangerous to the public, moral should ban the sort of thing almost got fired a Beatles boss. Trust me, this is what's gonna sell you're going to see if this is successful or not, based on the circulation amazing.

This is what people want and is right now your stellar circulation increase seven times as most popular general South here national reputation and you been listening to Chris Simpson or the curator at the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia and at James River. 6 miles Poe swam it still a record. By the way upstream.

No joke. And what a story were hearing about loss, about the writers struggle and still to this day the artist struggle is it is and he had to pay the bills.

We have this idea had this inner knowledge of what the people wanted and he gave it to them when we come back we can learn more about what happens next in Poe's remarkable life here on our American story and were back with our American stories and the story of American author Edgar Allan Poe Lester, the poet published one of his famously eerie stories and been threatened with termination from the magazines writing staff until the magazines readership went up sevenfold and started Poe's dissent is a national figure, let's return to the curator of the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia. Chris Kempner the people in big cities were reading Poe now. They knew of and so from here.

He was able to move to New York and into Philadelphia and go from one magazine to the next publishers of the biggest banks in the country like Gilly's latest book was at circulation about 100,000 copies. That's where the cask of amontillado was first printed silly Strother regularly because some of the stories that follow along this vein a little bit too much like the telltale heart got rejected by the Boston Michelin is not to accept that something a little bit quieter next time. So he only paid $10 for that by the Boston pioneer which now it's desperately needed money, but these kind of stories they attract an audience, but he will show people the right more diverse things he was story, Hans fall, the magazine is about a fellow who dictated a debt collector something totally very well this I want to just build a spaceship and go to the movies supposed to know what kind of spaceship would get you there deftly have to be sealed up so that you wouldn't dies and you if there is atmosphere and how quickly would have to travel in order right for you. There is atmosphere.

How long would it take to get to the moon and he started thinking about the same behind the fiction and 23 gave birth to a new genre well-versed on science fiction hero stories about balloon trips and about the future willing to talk to us about the year 2848 hour off-line across the ocean rather than sale to get three weeks to get tingling in his zipping back and forth in the area communicate electronically long distance across the ocean so he envisions what the future will be likely also uses science fiction as way to comment on contemporary society say is always very interested in that and Jules Vern Stella Cadman.

The story came out seven years old. Will Hans fall was published about the trip to the moon reading Poe's works and he said he's on to something. I like the scientific barrel similar to this idea of science used to make a fantastic story seem possible and may have inspired Vern to make his living as a great science fiction are the father science fiction. Why is this important if you really think about it we been to the moon and the people who start our space program. They say when they were growing up they are reading Jules Vern Powell was interested in the lines of murderers and he actually one point reported on a trial is valid. James would is on trial for murder. He claimed that he is insane he claim he is not guilty by reason of insanity. So Powell was reporting on the case for his magazine and watching the way would act, and he said will know everybody expects that someone is insane to be ranting and raving because that's the way we seen in literature and art, but he's been calm and everything he says maybe that's a sign is insanity at natural resources possibly for the telltale heart of the sky who assures you is not insane to alcohol only how helpfully I can tell the whole tale that this is a guy that's just boiling underneath the surface and codify what is that underneath the surface that separates the madman from the same.

What is it and in some of the stories he writes about this this urge within us that we have is ego telling us what to do. We have this file what's right and wrong with me on this dark force inside of us. He sometimes calls him for the perverse makes us do the wrong thing for the wrong thing sake to do harm her to ourselves.

That feeling of an edge of a cliff urging us to jump off the cliff. Even though we know to destroy us is also interested in the new science of criminology. There is affiliation with the dock. The French TIF of chief of police, who is a former criminal who became the police chief and he started studying the way crime scenes can be analyzed way criminals behave and this is a tempo drawing it New York City still in Napa Police Department. The word detective is not get into the English language. This combination of close observation and analysis and Poe created a new hero. A new kind of fictional hero had seen before. He's not the typical hero is not brave or more powerful or strong or anything like that.

This is a guy who works entirely within his mind's names and do stupid hand in his and his sidekick seemed to soften possible crimes just by using reason analysis for one crime. There's two of them murdered inside a locked room is still locked from the inside of the please break down the door and do pan studies the crimes electric things are out of place, like some strands of hair that don't quite look human and Poe launched a new literary genre of the detective story just to your letters. This is 1841 and later the same year there's a lady called Mary Rogers. She was very popular cigar store clerk in New York City when proper ladies didn't typically work in cigar stores and then Allison. She disappeared and she is missing for three days. They fetter floating the Hudson River off of Hoboken back in you that a Seven actor you confession. Nobody can vastly gave up and see you know what that is, the Irish, there's a lot of Irish and German immigrants, the United States, then forming gangs. Surprisingly, like the gangs of New York and they said I pry a gang of hoodlums killed and there's a nearby roadhouse's near where she was found in Hoboken and the lady living there. The law said softly. I think I heard some gang of hoodlums out there that night and gastritis.

Hoodlums killed and Poe said will make any sense.

We know there's been rewards offered and somebody will return and the other guys get the award for a gang. Also, the scratch marks are back in the cage is dragged to regain his picture conductor of the river were looking personally different. And not only that Poe wrote letters different magazine saying figured out a crack the case and yes I will get sued for libel or anything like that. I'm in a change the setting from New York to Paris and I need to make the hero of the story. Mild fictional detective Agusta pan, but all the crime scene, everything is tragic in a matchup to the real case and it all matches up the real newspaper descriptions and he said in his eyes letters he wrote to magazines in Baltimore and Boston saying no, this is not just can be an entertaining story. This is can be a roadmap that law enforcement can use in the future to solve cases just like this, so he wanted to be practical application she was. He wanted this to change the way we investigate crimes so he really saw this as being a game changer. So the story got imprint and he never did solve the mystery because of the very illusion of managers basically say they will only be seen for libel by same his names of neck until you did it but he said you know you can trim it. Just follow the clues and figure out who did it and Poe claimed he'd always solved it but that he couldn't tell you and you been listening to Chris sympathetic curator of the Poe Museum telling the story of Edgar Allan Poe in a diversified literary portfolio.

Poe assembled from poetry to science fiction, literally creating the detective story in it didn't exist before he did it this genre did not exist, and by the way, and actually help detectives be better detective in the end what we learn here also is how one person's vision affects another, and then affects real life.

The science behind science fiction interested Poe's work influenced Jules Vern, Jules Vern's work influences our astronauts who end up going to space because of something imprint more of the story of Edgar Allen Poe ear and our American story and were back with our American stories in the final part of our story on the life of Edgar Allan Poe we just heard from Chris sent there always instrumental in creating a brand-new genre of storytelling. The detective story, and it claimed to solve a real-life murder mystery back to Chris with the final portion of this tale. Eventually he moved out to Philadelphia so Richmond to New York to Philadelphia. That's where he published the murders in the Rue morgue may publish the goal by the black caddy start to make a name for himself thinker starting to go his way, and you can pretty come to work in grams magazine which became the most popular magazine in the country at the time and one night his wife was singing the piano and she started coughing up blood, they realize she had tuberculosis was a death sentence.

There is no cure for it other maybe some mercury pills which would kill you by giving mercury poisoning Tillius on the way so he spent the next five years trying to figure out what would help her. Nothing really couldn't really have a careless intent of beer they gave her that I would do anything they thought cold fresh air would help her needs giving the money and stand still.

Undeterred, he moved from there to New York City and really want to make a splash there and since he got there he reported in the New York Sun that somebody had just crossed the ocean a higher balloon.

Everyone rushed out to buy the papers and learn all about it turtle holding was fake.

He played a hoax and everybody but God. He noticed so Paul is getting popular. His stories are getting read, but he still to be recognized as a poet and he worked for months and months on this perfect pole. This is can be a good hundred live Paul must slowly allow the other things he'd written, and he finally got the nerve essential publishing to grams mating used to work for is amazing that they are true owners, amazing London and they wouldn't publish it to end.

It took note amazing rejected and one magazine, they passed around the room and read it. I felt so sorry for them that they cash on hand to collect donations as well. Buys punk is awful, but Elisa given me a few bucks to get some food and you're saying this Paul is making a sentence. Why is a guy talking to a bird obviously only knows how to say one word why you keep asking questions. It's only me the same word answer especially if you don't want that answer like tell the soul sorely method in addition, a Mitchell class. The St. and maiden the angels name Lenore. Why would you ask the Raven if you ever to be reunited with your beloved Lenore, if you know it's an Italian ever more is making since the guys torturing himself. He's driving himself to do this. This guys really pay Canada scabbing knows these he longs for Lenore. So why would he keep asking the Raven to say nevermore to remind him he can never see her again and finally got publish the dingo publish the literary magazine I got it published in a political journal for the Whig party called the American review and they paying the space rates the day like about $15. 300,000 days money so not great but it's filler material and healing put his name on it.

He said the one person so bad enormous room is reputation up in his name on the outside, pseudonym corals, and as soon as I got imprint another magazine science and editor reprinted without panting, but that we say president or his name in the added introduction so this will stick to the memory of everyone who ever reads it and today we know that's true because you can't hear the word nevermore without thinking of Edgar Allan Poe in the Raven. So that's all that made him a huge superstar and he is able to travel the country giving performances of it. Finally achieve that start of, but this is also his wife is dying and and see encourage them to move the country with the fresh country air would help to tiny cottage in the Bronx branches to be the countryside about the 2 miles outside New York City and that's where she died aged 24 he only survived another two years he spent a lot of traveling, but finally at end of his life he was back in Richmond and he was lecturing at exchange hotel. The biggest hotel in town, spending time with his sister catching up with old friends and he happened to hear his old girlfriend Omaira was single now, so he starts show up her house the first time he showed up out of the blue, but he kept coming back and coming back until she accepted Inman he convinced her that they should be married after all those years and he got her nice gold engagement ring on her gold locket was of his hair inside of it, but she agreed to marry him and she wrote a letter to his aunt where his biological father, sister or his mother-in-law. She still up in the cottage, the Bronx oppose traveling and Omaira said I never really stopped loving Edgar and Omar also wrote the money that I look forward to calling you mother into blocking you into my home so she is your take is well aligned with her. So imagine having your husband's first wife's mother living with you, but she was no greater into the house along with her summer 17 years old.

Her daughter was a teenager she already married and moved out of the house by then, but is any prior Full House and editor would have to go back to the Bronx is good, goes far as New York and pick up his mother-in-law and bring her back here for the wedding so he caught the early morning steamship is very sick and Omaira city. The fever in a week.

Colson's had disease. She said he should travel stay a few more days even visit a doctor.

The doctor the other child, be the death yeah know exactly what was wrong, but he may as far as Baltimore.

The steamship was taken from here to Norfolk to Baltimore may become a train to Philadelphia and he disappeared five days in the fountain is still Baltimore and they took him to the hospital where he was in that consciousness for four days. Delirious talking to shadows on the wall not make any sense that he kept saying NY package Mahaska back to my wife when he died 10 days free to marry Omaira 10 days before you happy ending, and the only clue he gave us was he screen the name renal over and over again is very last night to calm down his last words were Lord help my poor soul died. Page 40 doctor says case of Anaïs inflammation of the brain which can be catchall, it could mean meningitis for cooking other things and he's been up there in Baltimore to Newberry, where he died, unmarked graves and overgrown weeds, but people kept coming to see the grave kept wanting to see it in the sextant article rock on there so if you know where the grave was a bishop. You have x-rays very right there and it was 26 years after he died. Teachers and students who love reading Poe's works really got behind this idea of putting a monumental post greatly galvanizes migrants the whole cemetery to make a spot where he was, in fact, they said, put the monument in a place of honor right next to cemetery gates of right now the sidewalk so evening after breaking the cemetery to see if it would be right there at his face on the front.

This big huge thing is, after all these years, it was the kids who love reading close works and the teachers who love teaching cohorts, assuring them they got behind the idea of building him a monument for his grave, and even if it was a different spot actually to dig them up and move them across the cemetery to get new spot that's wasted day and he's been memorialized by teachers and artists and writers ever since tropical and also the really wasn't much original you do apropos that he invents protective source and where was the tech assortment for Poe breathed the breath of life into any established genre of the characters, the different plot devices in the whole series. These detective stories and Jules Vern, leader of the cult of the bizarre. I was first American writer really make a huge impact on the world, not just a popular overseas. Like say Washington area, but actually to be influential overseas actually change the way underwriters thought about their art of the gold bag and it's about an eccentric entomologist name LeGrand LeGrand's says he got a drawing that he doesn't have the drawing internally holds a piece of parchment over flame reveals his invisible ink. There's a whole encoded message that is in the series of clues as to follow the fine Capt. kids treasure space is the plot of the group meets also a national treasure da Vinci code.

The other origins in the story H.P. Lovecraft the whole book about the history of weird fiction, though it's a whole chapter oppose other people at the share chapters but Poe gets his own chapter. There is a film director, Alfred Hitchcock, who said that because I like reading Poe's work so much that I ceramic suspense films.

Everyone should come to the growing companies in Richmond because where else are you to see Poe socks or his hair or the ponies and cats a terrific job on the editing and storytelling by Shad Straley and Robbie Davis and a special thanks Chris Sumter curator of the Poe Museum in Richmond to Poe Museum.org. By the way the story of how the Raven got shopped around and rejected everywhere is the story of art, but the persistence of Poe. The perseverance of both against all odds to stick with it and that he creates these new genres, so much so that legends like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Hitchcock in England are affected and these are masters of their domain. The story of Edgar Allan Powell, an American classic ear. I am American story