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How Did Edgar Allan Poe Died Of Rabies

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Edgar Allen Poe Died of Rabies
Edgar Allen Poe was a great poet and author, he wrote many classic tales. His death has been shrouded in mystery for years. There are many theories although the two dominant theories are rabies and alcoholism. This has been a debate for years in the writing and medical fields, his death is always going to be a mystery but we have a lot of facts in favor to the theory that he died of rabies. Rabies is a disease that is found in small rodents and those bit by said rodents, it has many side effects that are unique to the disease. There are minor coincidences for the alcoholism theory but no solid evidence.
Poe was found delirious outside of a Baltimore saloon in soiled clothes that didn’t fit him, he was unable to speak and the bartender took him in until his family got there to get him to a …show more content…

For a start Poe had a fear of water (hydrophobia). For the brief moments he was sane he refused to drink water, he wouldn’t drink alcohol either. Rabies victims tend to have hydrophobia and refuse to drink water because it hurts their throats. Another point is Edgar was delusional. He had mental problems to begin with but when he contracted the rabies virus they got much worse and he was seeing things that weren't there and saying things that made no sense. This is also common in rabies victims, they're mind goes berserk and they see and hear things. Another thing that helps in this theory is that rabies can stay in your body for one year without you showing any symptoms. Poe could have been bit or scratched by an animal with the disease and not remembered it and the mark would have disappeared. Lastly rabies victims do not remember getting bit by an animal. Poe did not remember getting bit by an animal, this is not solid evidence but it helps prove the theory even more

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This online article reviewed the many theories that surround the death of Edgar Allen Poe to date. The articled emphasized that the alcohol theory is the most commonly accepted cause of death recognized by majority of people. Even Poe’s good friend J.E. Snodgrass felt binge drinking caused his death. Other critics argued Poe was a victim of cooping, a practice that entailed bribing him with alcohol, thus forcing him to vote repeatedly in polling booths for a particular candidate, as Balitmore’s elections were notorious for political uproar and extortion. This would explain the conditions under which Poe was foundOthers suggested Poe died of other medical ailments ranging from brain tumors, heart disease, tuberculosis, rabies, epilepsy,

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There have been many theories about the death of Edgar A. Poe. Many of these theories includes brain tumor, heart disease, flu, alcoholism, rabies, etc. The stories have been supported but, how accurate are they? Out of all the different theories, alcoholism and rabies are the most accurate ones. But, the most common and accurate one is that Edgar A. Poe died because of rabies.

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Edgar Allan Poe was an all around admired poet, but very few tend to actually learning about what made his horrific stories come to life. Many can say it was the loss of loved ones, including his parents and his wife. Others will argue that it was under the influence of alcohol. Although the reasoning is not written on paper, there is a worldwide assumption that all of these more than likely played a key factor in his dark

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It is ironic that the creator of the mystery genre died in the most curious way. The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1859 in Baltimore is one which stumps historians and professors to this day (Semtner). Was his extreme alcoholism the cause of his downfall? Was he beat to death by those whose works he criticized? Or was he simply ill; both mentally and physically?

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The cause of Poe’s death is still widely debated today. Poe died of encephalitic rabies because of the likeness of Poe’s symptoms and those caused by rabies, Dr.Benitez backs his rabies theory up with irrefutable scientific evidence, also Pollin and Benedetto try to disprove the scientific evidence provided by Dr.Benitez with false information that portrays them as unreliable sources. Poe’s symptoms were very similar to those of rabies. Benitez says that Poe refused alcohol and could barely drink water: “Rabies victims frequently exhibit hydrophobia, or fear of water, because it is painful to swallow” (“Poe’s Death” 187). This statement by Benitez shows that he was hydrophobic and was not drinking anything.

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Although some people feel that Poe was killed by Rabies. Evidence:The text states, “ On his fourth day at the

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Poe is actually seem to displaying symptoms of Rabies in this moment. The same article also says “ After an infection, the symptoms can take up to a year to appear. But when the symptoms do appear, the disease is a swift and brutal killer. Most patients die in a few days”(The New York Times). This goes along with Edgar Allan Poe’s sudden death.

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It was said that his wife’s diagnosis of tuberculosis spiked his hunger for alcohol and gambling. What this will explain, is that Edgar Allan Poe died of too much alcoholic consumption on October 7, 1849,

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Poe 's Cause of Death Edgar Allen Poe 's death has been the topic of discussion for many historians and scholars for many years. The reason for his demise has been unsolved, because of the many different sources explaining his death. From what I 've learned from reading counts of Poe 's death, I 've concluded that Edgar Allen Poe died of rabies, rather than alcoholic intoxication. The reason why I believe it is rabies is because his symptoms were too severe and life threatening to be related to just alcohol. One reason of why I believe Poe died of rabies is because he exhibited signs and symptoms of late effects of rabies.

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Poe was showing symptoms of rabies when he was admitting and while he was in the hospital. So it is likely that at sometime Poe contracted rabies somehow and that’s what caused his death. Once you contract the disease it could take anywhere from a week to a year for the symptoms to start appearing or showing. So at some point he would’ve had to contract it somehow, and if he did and rabies is the disease that killed Poe it would help explain why it took the amount of time it did for him to die in the

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Rabies was a much more common cause of death back then than alcohol abuse was. This simply increases the probability that Edgar Allan Poe died of

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Poe was found and brought into the hospital in a trance-like state with symptoms matching alcohol poisoning. Dr. Moran treated him up until his death where he observed and evaluated him for alcohol poisoning. Dr. Moran said, “He remained thus unconscious. . . when he developed a tremor of the limbs. . .

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Poe died under very suspicious circumstances in 1849 when he failed to arrive in Philadelphia. He was found in Richmond completely disoriented and died in a hospital from “congestion of the brain” which could have been chronic alcoholism, drug use, poisoning or mental illness (biography.com). Both Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe wrote about characters who were monstrous and very frightening. In many ways they were both monsters and not human.

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