Edgar Allan Poe’s final mystery?

> Author Edgar Allan Poe’s death is as much a “tale of mystery and imagination” agination” as his ma acabre Got thic tale es and poe etry.

T The wri iter of suc ch classics as The Raven, Thee Fall of thee House of Ushher, Thee Pit andd the Penndulum and The Tell-tale Heart was last seen in public on Oct 3, 1849.

He was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in clear need of helphelp.

He was taken to the Washington Medical College hospital, where he died on Oct 7. > Poe was never coherent enough to explain how he came to be in that statestate, wearingwearin clothes that were not his own. He rreportedly called out the nname “Reynolds” many times and his last words were “Lord, hhelp my pooor soul.” > All meedical records, including his death certifiicate, have been lost so tthe cause of death remainns unknown. Speculation included delirium, epilepsy, syphilis, cholera and even rabies. > One popular theory was that he died as a result of “cooping”.

This was a form of electoral fraud where citizens were abducted, locked in a room (a “coop”), forced to drink alcohol and taken out to vote several times for a particular candidate.

Often, their clothing would be changed and they would be given wigs or fake beards. If they refused to comply, they might be beaten or even killed.

This too has not been proven in Poe’s case.

> Somehow, Poe’s greatest enemy Rufus Griswold became his literary executor after his death and attemptedp to destroyy his legacy.gy Hee painted Poe as a drug-addled maadman, producing letters written byy Poe as evidence. Thhese were latter exposed as forgeries annd it has noow been prooven that Pooe was noot a drug adddict.