Poe’s History In Irvine

EDGAR Allan Poe is the master of horror, the father of detective fiction and the man whose - some would say 'twisted' -  imagination inspired countless novels, dozens of often dodgy movies and who is in many ways the grandaddy of all things Gothic in the current era..

While he is rightly acknowledged as one of America's most famous author's and poets, it is not as well known that the young Edgar spent part of his childhood in Ayrshire, living in Irvine and, for a time, Kilmarnock.

Many believe his fascination with such themes as entombment and premature burial date back to his time spent in Irvine's kirkyard. It stood close to the old grammar school he attended and young Poe would be taken on class trips there, to learn about history.

Poe being Poe, he dwelled less on the history and more on the morbid.

Edgar Poe was born in Boston, USA in January 19, 1809.  He was the second child of the English-born actress Eizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and the actor David Poe jr. His grandather David Poe snr had emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland around 1750.

Edgar had an older brother, William, and a younger sister, Rosalie. But the family were not together for long.

His father abandoned them a year after Poe was born. And just a year later, his mother died of consumption. But the young orphaned Edgar seemingly landed on his feet. All three Poe children were taken in by well to do families.

 Edgar joined the home of John Allan, a successful merchant in Richmond, Virginia, who made his fortune from tobacco, cloth, wheat, tombstones and, unforgivably, slavery.

John Allan and his wife Frances fostered, but never fully adopted the youngster. He did, however, adopt the name Edgar Allan Poe for the rest of his life.

The Allan family made their fortune in America... but originally came from Irvine.And in 1815 they decided to return to Ayrshire on a trip which combined business with the chance to catch up with old friends and relations. And little Edgar, then aged six, came along too.

And it was in Irvine, some say, that the young Edgar's interest in graveyards, entombment and all things ghoulish first emerged.

The Young Edgar attended Irvine Grammar School, at the head of the Kirkgate, alongside a relative of the Allan's, the future novelist John Galt. In the same square as Poe's new home was Templeton's bookshop, where Robert Burns, as few years earlier, loved to browse among the old songsheets.

Nearby was Irvine's burial ground, near the River Irvine, where all the Allan ancestors were buried. The graveyard to this day remains famed for its original epitaphs on the tombstones, which students were sometimes required to write down as part of their studies.

Irvine history buff Billy Kerr has referred to the grave of a ship's captain which may well have had an impact on Poe after his troubleome crossing over the Atlantic.

'Pray, gentle reader, drop a tear at his untimely fate; You like him may dread no fear, And dangers you await. He that gave can take awaythat life that was his own, Either on the briny sea or lands in frozen zone.'

It was the Allan family's intention for Poe to remain at the Irvine school while they took care of business deals in London. But Poe, backed by his foster mother, objected. Reports say he made “an increasing fuss” and spent his schooldays sulking and refusing to study. After some time, the Allans gave in... and Poe joined his stepfather in London.

Perhaps in later years, Poe felt guilty about his behaviour. Perhaps not, Yet there's no doubt he fully understood the impact of a guilty conscience,  as illustrated in such stories as The Tell Tale Heart

By the year 1820, Poe had returned with the Allan's to Richmond, Virginia. Within a few years, John Allan's wealth greatly increased when his uncle died, leaving him as benefactor – with an estate worth $17million in the present day. But tensions grew between John Allan and the teenaged Edgar. Mostly over money.

Poe had a fondness for gambling... and drink. After an argument with John Allan over the funds for his education, Poe enlisted in the US Army as a private, under the name Edgar A Perry. He was 18, but lied about his age, claiming he was 22. He later failed as an officer cadet at West Point. But by this time he had released his first book of poetry.

Mind you, only 50 copies were printed. And the book received virtually no attention. Nevertheless Poe chose to become one of the first Americans to make a living by writing aloe. He moved to Baltimore and turned his attenton to prose.

He won a prize from the Baltimore Saturday Visitor in 1933 for his short story MS Found in a Bottle and soon became assistant editor of the periodical The Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Sadly, Poe celebrated by going on what Scots today call “the batter”.

He was sacked within a few weeks for being drunk on the job.

Poe  then decided to return to Baltimore... and fell in love, with his cousin Virginia. He was aged 26... she was just 13. Those were indeed different times.

He was quickly reinstated at the Literary Messenger with a promise of good behaviour and returned to Baltimore with Virginia and her mother. His writing continued, but he was best known as a literary critic. And his often harsh, but witty criticism earned him a few foes in the industry.

But Poe's melancholy nature was soon to take a turn for the worse. In 1842, his young wife Virginia broke a blood vessel in her throat as she sang and played the piano. It was the first sign of consumption, now known as tuberculosis.

Poe began to drink heavily again. And he alienated himself from his fellow writers by accusing the reknowned Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of plagiarism. But in those years some of his finest work was completed. And in January 1845, a poem was published which made him a household name... The Raven.

Believe it or not, the Raven brought Poe the astonishing sum of $9 for its publication. Nevertheless, he and his wife moved to a cottage in New York.. in what is now known as the Bronx.

Things took a turn for the worse when his wife Virginia died in their cottage on January 30 1847. Distraught, he threw himself into his writing – and into a bottle.

During his career, Poe was known as poet and once of the earliest horror writers. But he also became the first writer to come up with that mainstay of modern TV and movies – the detective thriller. His stories of the French detective C Auguste Dupin, including the Murders in the Rue Morgue and the Mystery of Marie Roget made more impact in Europe - particularly France – than in his homeland. Those stories also inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to come up with his own detective character. No shit Sherlock...

But all that was decades away. And by 1849, Poe, now in Baltimoe once more, was in a very bad way indeed. On October 3, he was found delirious in the streets. He was incoherent, wearing clothes that were not his own and repeatedly calling out the nane 'Reynolds'.

Some say Poe's last words before he died on October 7 1849 were “Lord help my poor soul”

All medical records – and his death certificate – have been lost. Newspapers reported his death as from congestion of the brain or cerebral inflammation... both euphamisms for death from disreputable causes, such as alcoholism. But the true cause of his death remains a mystery.

One theory was that he was beaten and dragged to a polling station to vote for a particular candidate – a common occurance in such times. However he died, his enemies did their best to destroy his legacy.

His literary rival Rufis Griswold wrote a slanted obituary – under a pseudonym – casting Poe as a lunatic, drunk and madman. It circulated across the USA.

It began: 'Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many but few will be grieved by it.”

Griswold somehow managed to become Poe's literary executor and did his best to destroy Edgar's reputation, depicting him as a depraved, drunken, drug-addled madman.

But Poe's reputation grew after his demise, particularly in France.His work influenced early science fiction writer Jules Verne in particular, who even went so far as to include the town of Irvine in his short story the Underground City.

And he proved a major influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who said: “Each of Poe's detective stories is a root from which a whole literature has develop. The Mystery Writers of America went on to name their awards for excellent “The Edgars.”

His work inspired many movies. Roger Cormans's Poe adaptations in the 1960's may have borne little resemblance to Poe's work beyond the titles, but, with Vincent Price invariably in the lead role, the remain classics of neo-Gothic horror.

And the master of movie thrillers himself, Alfred Hitchcock,  once said: “It's because I liked Edgar Allan Poe's work so much that I began to make suspense films.”

If you attend any of the Poetic Justice Productions performances or events, you may find yourself feeling a bit easy – or even queasy – as you walk down the dark streets to your home.

But as the author himself would says, these are but stories.

After reading the M Valdemar Case in 1946, a druggist from Stonehaven wrote to the author demanding to know of the macabre story was true.

STEVEN: Poe replied: “Hoax is precisely the word suited to M. Valdemar Case. Some few persons believe it — but I don’t — and don’t you.”

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