The Tell-Tale Heart, the Raven, The Murders in the Rue Morgue. You may have known Edgar Allan Poe as the famous author, poet, editor and critic. He was a man of mystery, a man full of suspense. His works often reflected his problems and losses in life. Adopting a more gothic style of writing, he was a strange and peculiar man. But did you know that he took part in the military enlistment or that his death is unknown? As you read this essay you will discover that there were many other things about Edgar Allan Poe that you may not have suspected. And the terrible events that happened in his life, he turned into masterpieces, which we still read today. Edgar Allan Poe was born on a cold day in a boarding house in Boston, Massachusetts. It was January 19, 1809 and he was storming Boston Harbor. He was born Edgar Poe to David Poe, Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe. They were both traveling actors. Poe's parents separated when Edgar was one year old. He also had two brothers; Enrico and Rosalia. The youngest was Rosalie and the eldest was Henry, so Edgar was the middle child. In 1810, the father abandoned the family and left Elizabeth to care for the three children. Mrs. Poe then died a year later, in 1811, of pulmonary tuberculosis. The three small children were separated. Henry lived with his grandparents, Rosalie was taken into another family, and Edgar was raised by Mr. and Mrs. Allan. The Allan family was a foster family. They took him in and changed his name to "Edgar Allan Poe" but never adopted him. He was baptized in the Episcopal Church in 1812 when Poe was three years old. His adoptive father, John Allan, was a wealthy Scottish merchant who lived in Richmond, Virginia. He sold tobacco, cloth, grain, gravestones and slaves. He ruined and d...... middle of paper...... Church. It was a small funeral, without much fuss. Charles Baudelaire in France heard the news and said that it was "almost a suicide, a suicide prepared for a long time". His legacy influenced an entirely new genre of literacy. He influenced not only American but international literature. He was one of the first writers to develop the genre of detective, fiction and horror. He is known as the "architect" of the modern tale. Poe was one of the first critics to focus on style in literary work. Steven King, Clive Barker and others followed in Poe's footsteps. The horror genre is bigger than ever today and Edgar Allan Poe was the vanguard of this style of writing. French, Italians, Spanish and Portuguese writers recognize their debts to Poe. If it weren't for Poe, we wouldn't have all the great horror and crime films and stories we still read today.