Edgar Allan Poe's influence on American Culture

1. EDGAR ALLEN POE
EFFECTING AMERICAN CULTURE TODAY

2. BEFORE WE HAD
STEPHEN KING

3. BEFORE WE HAD DEAN KOONTZ

4. EVEN BEFORE BRAM STOKER

6. BACKGROUND
Born January 19, 1809, the same year Abraham Lincoln was born
His parents were actors living in near poverty
His father abandoned him at age one, his mother died of tuberculosis when he was three
Raised by the wealthy Allan family, John and Francis, they gave him his middle name
“Allan”, but never adopted him
He married his first cousin, Virginia Clem, she was only 13 and he was 27
Tuberculosis takes the lives of his mother, foster mother, his wife and his older brother.
All were 24 years old at the time of their deaths
Died on October 7th, 1849, the circumstances still a mystery to this day

7. Inspired by a life filled with nothing
but death and tragedy

8. Ironically his tragic life and enemy’s attacks on his
character propelled him into the spotlight of fame

9. H I S M A S T E R W O R K S O F L I T E R AT U R E C A N B E F O U N D I N E V E R Y
F O R M O F M E D I A A N D A R E J U S T A S R E L E VA N T A N D J U S T A S
F R I G H T E N I N G A S T H E D AY T H E Y W E R E W R I T T E N B U T “ ”
S T A N D S A L O N E A S H I S G R E AT E S T A N D M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L W O R K
First published in the New York Evening Mirror in January 1845
This narrative poem chronicles the thoughts of the protagonist and his
conversation with an ominous creature perched on a bust over the
entryway; a raven with a one word vocabulary “NEVERMORE”
This poem earned Poe only fourteen dollars
Launched him to stardom along with his ominous friend the raven
The raven, nearly overnight, became one of the most feared creatures in
America
Penned by Poe while his child bride lay dying of tuberculosis

10. TH E R AVEN, STI LL LI VES I N AMER I CAN’S MI NDS AND
TH E MEDI A
The professional football team from Baltimore adopted the name “The Ravens” and their team
mascot is a live raven named, appropriately enough, “Poe”
University of Virginia, where Poe attended, has preserved Poe’s dorm room as a museum and is
maintained by an elite fraternity named, “The Raven Society”, considered the oldest and most
prestigious honor society at the university
The Raven inspired several movies including a Roger Corman production in 1963 starring
Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff and a young Jack Nicolson
Halloween episode of ”The Simpsons” animated TV series “Treehouse of Horror I” featured
the character Lisa Simpson reading a verbatim rendition of the original poem with Homer
Simpson as the main character and Bart Simpson as the Raven
Excellent “You Tube” renditions by Vincent Price, James Earl Jones and Christopher Walken
2012 movie release “The Raven” starring John Cusack. loosely based on Poe’s life
Professional wrestler Scott Anthony uses the ring name “The Raven”

11. O T H E R N O T E - WO RT H Y I N F LU E N C E S
Known for horror, he was also an excellent mystery writer. Credited with being the father of the detective story
and was said to have pioneered the twist ending. His detective story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” were said to
have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to come up with Sherlock Holmes
Film director Roger Corman made eight films loosely based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, seven starring
Vincent Price: "The House of Usher” “The Terror” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven (starring a young Jack
Nicholson),” ”The Pit and the Pendulum” “The Black Cat” “The Masque of the Red Death” and “Tomb of Ligeia”. These
films vaulted Corman into mainstream movie making and brought Poe’s writings into twentieth century Hollywood
film making
1995 video game called “The Dark Eye” narrated by author William S. Burroughs, allowed players to experience
Poe’s tales through the eyes of the murderer or the victim
A gruesome and controversial animated adaptation of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” in 1953, earned an Oscar
nomination but also received an “X” rating by the British Board of Film Censors; the first ever for animated film
Released in May 1976 a musical rendition of Poe’s works are on a “Allen Parsons Project” album called “Tales of
Mystery and Imagination
There are also some comic book series called “Nevermore”. One is a “Batman” comic and another by horror
author Dean Koontz

12. IN CONCLUSION
In conclusion it seems clear that, though he may have died 163
years ago, he is still alive and well in the hearts of Americans.
His nightmarish tales still haunting us from every form of media; his
name and the symbols of his works on billboards, street signs and
professional sports teams. Statues to honor his memory in every
city he has lived as well as the homes where he lived are now
museums; even his college dorm room preserved for all to see