Oh, Woe is Poe! What Killed Edgar Allen Poe?

I’m reading How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg, and there’s a story from this book I want to tell you.

Edgar Allen Poe wrote tons of stories about dead or soon to be dead people, like “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” That’s why he’s famous.

Poe started to get unlucky when his Mom and Dad got divorced, and his Mom was left with him and three other children. When Poe was 3, his Mom died of a lung disease called tuberculosis. Poe stayed in his room next to his dead Mom for several days. (Imagine how creepy that would be!) No surprise then that, when he was little, he would sleep with the covers over his head to protect him from ghosts. He got adopted though, but he was separated from his siblings.

When Poe was older, his first girlfriend died of tuberculosis, and so did his step-mom. And then his older brother and his first cousin did too! He was very unlucky, or, you could say, troubled by woes.

He also drank a lot of alcohol and would get drunk. Once he went to Baltimore (in Maryland) and accidentally took someone’s walking cane, and his luggage got stolen. He had woes! Soon, his aunts dropped him off at the hospital, because they thought he was drunk. The next day, he was energized and talking, but nobody could tell what he was saying. The doctors still thought he was drunk.

The doctors gave Poe water, but he wouldn’t accept it. He was dizzy and kept calling out, “Reynolds!,” until 3 in the morning. Then he died.

So, what does this have to do with animals??????

Well, modern-day doctors and scientists looked at Poe’s records, and they believe he was bitten by an animal with rabies. People with rabies cannot drink water, and they act like they are drunk. Edgar Allen Poe didn’t drink a drop for 4 days, but still acted drunk. Still, no one is completely sure if Poe died from being infected by a rabid animal.

Is that weird or what?

I would recommend this book, because it features people who croaked because of animals like Poe — and others who didn’t. Read this book to find out: Did mosquitoes kill King Tut?