The Death of Edgar Allen Poe

On Sunday, October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died in a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, ten days before the wedding to his second wife. Poe was on his way to Philadelphia for an editing job to which he sadly never arrived. Poe was found lying on the streets of Baltimore semiconscious and dressed in cheap, ill-fitting clothes on October 3. Poe was unaccounted for for three days. Theories surrounding Poe’s death have ranged from epilepsy to murder. One of the first theories suggested that Poe died from injuries sustained in a beating. Some accounts mention that “ruffians” had beaten Poe before his death, and following that, he developed a brain fever. In 1872, Eugene Didier wrote in an article titled “The Grave of Poe” that Poe had drinks with friends from his years at West Point. Sometime during the night, Poe allegedly was unable to handle his liquor and left to wander the streets. Another theory is that Poe fell victim to cooping, a practice where an unsuspecting person is chosen against their will to be plied with liquor and drugs, then sent to various polls to vote for someone’s favorite candidate. Poe’s death occurred during the 1849 election in Boston. At the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, the curator suggested that the cause of Poe’s death was cerebral inflammation, which is a severe neurological disorder. Poe’s central nervous system could have been attacked by a viral disease, making rabies the cause of his death. Historical accounts of Poe’s condition while in the hospital demonstrated symptoms related to rabies. The Poe Museum also lists a number of other possible ways Poe could have died. Since there was no autopsy, a conclusive death theory cannot be determined.