The Mysterious Death Of Edgar Allan Poe

February 23, 2009 at 3:50 am (Uncategorized)

Edgar Allan Poe was discovered lying unconscious on October 3rd 1849  on a wooden plank outside Ryan’s saloon on Lombard St. in Baltimore. His hospitalization records indicate that at first he was delirious with tremors and hallucinations. He then fell into a coma but soon emerged from it. He was calm and seemed normal, but then became delirious and combative once again,  forcing them to put Poe in restraints . He died on his fourth day of hospitalization. It was said that the cause of death was “congestion of the brain.”  There are also whispers that Poe died from a combination of drinking and opium abuse. He disappeared for five days when he left his home to visit friends and family in Philadelphia. He was seen drunk and babbling through the streets.  Long term use of opiates caused serious neurological damage to his brain. He also had epilepsy and infections. Dr. John J.Moran cared for Poe in his final days. He wrote that in the final stages of rabies,  people have symptoms of confusion that may come and go. In addition with swings in pulse rate, such as respiration and temperature. Poe had all of these side-effects. The  amount of time that a person can live in the final stages of  rabies is four days, which is the exact amount of time that Poe lived from the time he was found. He took care of several animals so many believe he was bitten by one of his cats.

Poe was announced dead on October 7, 1849. His last words were “Lord help my poor soul.” Edgar Allan Poe’s death will always remain somewhat of a mystery. It is completly believable that he abused himself physically and mentally throughout his entire life. And it comes as no surprise that he would die from rabies in the end.