There are many theories on the death of the infamous poet Edgar Allen Poe. Some are just hoaxes with no real factual evidence behind it while others are potentially very possible. What if the real reason of Poe’s death was not just one theory but multiple theories combined into a bigger picture? I began to create my own theory using textual evidence such as testimonies, newspaper articles and side notes by other people. I believe that Edgar Allen Poe died from alcoholism and cooping. Poe had a very harsh relationship with alcohol throughout his life. Many thought that Poe’s drinking was a genetic issue since his father, David Poe Jr, and his brother, Henry Poe, were both known alcoholics. Poe wrote to John Allan on August 10, 1829 “. . . Henry …show more content…
Cooping was not uncommon during this time period, so anyone with any knowledge of his struggle with the bottle would have put a target on Poe’s back. Victims would be kidnapped, disguised and forced to vote for a certain person many times while wearing different clothing then were given alcohol as a sort of “reward”. Many people believed that this is what took the life of the young poet, one being William Browne, who sent a letter to Poe’s biographer saying “"…the general belief here is, that Poe was seized by one of these gangs, his death happening just at election-time…'cooped,' stupefied with liquor, dragged out and voted, and then turned adrift to die.” (Geiling). Being that Poe was found five days after his disappearance in different clothing that were not considered Poe’s “style” and in semi-conscious state that could be a “drunken” state. All fingers point to him being a victim of cooping that became too much for Poe’s deaerating health from being an alcoholic for so long along, with mixing his medication with alcohol and the drug Opium, which Poe was prescribed at one point. With all of the evidence I have read and researched, I believe Poe died of Alcoholism and