Edgar Allan Poe’s Death

No one knows how Edgar Allan Poe Died. People have many theories, such as brain tumors, rabies, suicide etc. Although, there was never any actually proof how he died. He was given an autopsy, but the documents were never discovered. Cooping was one of the many theories of how he died. Cooping was used in the early 1800's for elections. Multiple men would be beaten, stripped of their clothing and forced to drink until they were drunk out of their minds. Then they were given new clothes and would be sent in to vote for a certain person. It was a way people cheated to get a certain candidate elected. This was very common. This is how Poe is believed by many to have died because of, where and when he was found, what would happen around where he was found and Poe's overall health at the time.

Edgar Allan Poe was found near a tavern in Baltimore, drunk and in bad condition. He was immediately rushed to a hospital where he soon died mysteriously a few days later. According to many sources he was found, Edgar Allan Poe Found Delirious Outside Baltimore Tavern. On Oct. 3, 1849...(findingDulcinea Staff). Edgar was found on election day, the day cooping would have taken place all over Baltimore. When cooping happened the men were dressed in different clothes. Edgar was dressed in clothes he wouldn't normally wear. He was immediately taken to the nearest hospital where he remained in a febrile state, delirious and confused, drifting between vague awareness”babbling incoherently”and complete unconsciousness(Israel Centeno) Variety of sources prove that Ppoe was found in bad shape, like he had been drugged, or not sober. A stage in cooping was, beating the victim and forcing him to intoxicate himself with alcohol or other drugs. All these facts leave a variety of proof pointing his death to cooping. Was the fact he was found outside a poll in cooping condition just a coincidence?

According to a source, Edgar was found around Ryan's Fourth Ward Polls which was a place where people went to vote. At this time, election ballots were stolen, judges were bribed and voters for the other candidate were intimidated and pressured. So basically, at the voting building where Poe was found near, was where many bad people did bad things. Especially on election day, which was the exact time for cooping to take place. It says, Some gangs were known to kidnap innocent bystanders, holding them in a room, called the coop. (natasha Ggeiling) Then To ensure compliance, their victims were plied with liquor and beaten. Poe could have easily been grabbed, thrown in a room, and beaten for compliance. The odds are just too good for this death to be a coincidence.

If Poe actually died from cooping, then he would have either been too injured to live or the liquor would have killed him leaving a small chance for him to survive. No, if you drink liquor once you're not going to die in a matter of a couple days. Although, Poe could have. Poe had an alcohol problem long before he died so he would have eventually ended up dying anyway. This just my have added the cherry on top. At the time he had barely any money, he was just getting by when he had to provide for his family. Now he couldn't even support himself, especially when he lost all hope when his family passed away. According to sources poor nutrition and a weakened condition(The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe) could have killed him. Think about it, if Poe wasn't eating a lot and was dehydrated then kidnapped and beatin his body would be able to handle it. He was already weak from not getting protein but this would have killed Poe. Besides the rich people in this time period, it was very hard for people to live long. People were not eating enough and the common cold could kill you. Poe wasn't upper class so he had as much of a chance to live as the poor boy that stole bread to survive.

Poe was found outside a poll with different clothes and not in his right mind. Was this all just a big Coincidence? Or was Poe a victim of the act Cooping? People at the time were weak and did not live long. Poe may have made beautiful works of literature, but that didn't differ him from anyone else health (body strength) wise. Many facts point to Poe being a victim of cooping, but no one will ever know for sure.

Centeno, Israel. The Cooping Theory. Sampsonia Way Magazine, www.sampsoniaway.org/fearless-ink/2013/06/04/the-cooping-theory-israelcenteno/.

findingDulcinea. On This Day: Edgar Allan Poe Found Delirious Outside Baltimore Tavern. FindingDulcinea, www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/September-October-08/Oct-3--On-this-Day--Edgar-Allan-Poe-Found-Drunk-and-Delirious-.html.

Geiling, Natasha. The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 7 Oct. 2014, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/still-mysterious-death-edgar-allan-poe-180952936/.

Jaz. The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Articles - E. A. P.: A Critical Biography (A. H. Quinn, 1941) (Chapter 01), www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poedeath.htm

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