Edgar Allan Poe Died Drunk In A Gutter

As his close friend j.

Edgar allan poe died drunk in a gutter. Much of the evidence for this image of poe is believed to have been forged by griswold and though friends of poe denounced it 4 this interpretation had lasting impact. Even though poe was completely addicted to alcohol many times he tried very hard to fight against his alcoholism. The telltale facts suggest rabies instead. Between the many possible causes of edgar allan poe s death his problem with alcohol is really considerable as one important reason of his early death scharf douglas 1.

Poe died in town here at the hospital from the effects of a debauch. Moran reported the cause of death as phrenitis an antiquated term for swelling or congestion of the brain. On a dark and stormy election night in 1849 a newspaperman hurrying to ryan s 4 th ward polling place in baltimore came upon a man lying in a gutter outside the public hall. On tuesday last edgar a.

Michael benitez a cardiologist who practices a mere block from the writer s grave says it s true that the master of the macabre was seen in a bar on lombard street on an election day dreary in october 1849 delirious and possibly wearing somebody else s soiled clothes. Those legends abound and they are apocryphal. The writer died at 5 00 a m. We ve all heard the stories about the death of american writer edgar allan poe.

Poe likely died of rabies. Theories about the exact cause of death include excessive drinking rabies heart failure and. Poe died in 1849 in baltimore s washington college hospital after having disappeared for several days. Griswold who became the literary executor of poe s estate was actually a rival of poe and later published his first full biography depicting him as a depraved drunk drug addled madman.

Edgar allan poe did not die drunk in a gutter in baltimore but rather had rabies a new study suggests. He fell in with some companion here. It has never been substantiated that poe was found in the gutter. Kennedy wrote on october 10 1849.

A hopeless alcoholic poe died at age 40 drunk in a gutter in baltimore a victim of his debauched lifestyle. Poe had been seen in a bar on lombard street disheveled and delirious but it is well established that he died in the hospital. The attending physician dr. Hamilton it s a mystery the father of detective fiction may have penned himself.

Edgar allan poe didn t die drunk in a baltimore gutter according to the first scientific study of the writer s final days.