Poe died in hospital on October 7, 1849. The cause of his death remains a mystery. One theory suggests that he died of cooping, a type of electoral fraud in which voters were forced to vote in a particular candidate after being drugged. However, newspapers also reported that Poe’s death might have been caused by ‘cerebral inflammation’ or alcoholism.
Following his death, his fellow literary critic and enemy Rufus Wilmot Griswold wrote an obituary that portrayed Poe as a drunken, mad, and womanizing opium addict. He went on to publish Poe’s first biography, “Memoir of the Author,” a scandalous piece that depicted the author as a depraved and drug-addicted mad man. The biography haunts Poe’s reputation to this day.
Following his death, his fellow literary critic and enemy Rufus Wilmot Griswold wrote an obituary that portrayed Poe as a drunken, mad, and womanizing opium addict. He went on to publish Poe’s first biography, “Memoir of the Author,” a scandalous piece that depicted the author as a depraved and drug-addicted mad man. The biography haunts Poe’s reputation to this day.
