“THE RAVEN” Encourages Consideration: How DID Poe Die?

Several recent conversations I have had  regarding THE RAVEN, coming out March 9 (and featured in the next issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS), one with director James McTeigue and the other with star John Cusack, have gotten me thinking about Poe’s final days. THE RAVEN tells the story of Poe aiding in the investigation of a series of murders aping his stories, and takes place during the week-long period between September 27 and October 3, 1849 when the iconic writer went off the radar, eventually turning up disheveled and semi conscious at a Baltimore pub. Upon being discovered, he was taken to a hospital where he wavered in and out of lucidity, alternately battling with nurses and sitting near comatose, staring into the void for hours on end.

In the early morning hours of October 7, Poe allegedly uttered his final words, “Lord, help my poor soul,” and passed away. His cause of death was attributed to “congestion of the brain,” interesting, as no autopsy was performed. He was buried two days later, and no sooner was he interred, than word started circulating around the globe, the story getting richer and more sensationalized as news traveled. 163 years later, the exact cause of his death is still an enigma, one of the few missing puzzle pieces in a life scrutinized, timelined, and analyzed endlessly by scholars and literati.

Just what happened to Edgar Allan Poe over that week-long period where he was neither heard from or seen? Who was “Reynolds,” the name Poe is said to have moaned repeatedly while in the hospital? Just what was this troubled genius dealing with as he moved through his final days and hours?

The following is a list of the various reported causes for his passing.

• Beating (1857)
  The United States Magazine Vol.II (1857): 268.
• Epilepsy (1875)
  Scribner’s Monthly Vo1. 10 (1875): 691.
• Dipsomania (1921)
  Robertson, John W. Edgar A. Poe A Study. Brough, 1921: 134, 379.
• Heart (1926)
  Allan, Hervey. Israfel. Doubleday, 1926: Chapt. XXVII, 670.
• Toxic Disorder (1970)
  Studia Philo1ogica Vol. 16 (1970): 41-42.
• Hypoglycemia (1979)
  Artes Literatus (1979) Vol. 5: 7-19.
• Diabetes (1977)
  Sinclair, David. Edgar Allan Poe. Roman & Litt1efield, 1977: 151-152.
• Alcohol Dehydrogenase (1984)
  Arno Karlen. Napo1eon’s Glands. Little Brown, 1984: 92.
• Porphryia (1989)
  JMAMA Feb. 10, 1989: 863-864.
• Delerium Tremens (1992)
  Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar A1lan Poe. Charles Scribner, 1992: 255.
• Rabies (1996)
  Maryland Medical Journal Sept. 1996: 765-769.
• Heart (1997)
  Scientific Sleuthing Review Summer 1997: 1-4.
• Murder (1998)
  Walsh, John E., Midnight Dreary. Rutgers Univ. Press, 1998: 119-120.
• Epilepsy (1999)
  Archives of Neurology June 1999: 646, 740.
• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (1999)
  Albert Donnay

What are some of the theories you have heard? Any fantastic stories you have come across about what happened during that “lost week” that might have led to the death of America’s first literary superstar?