The Pit and the Pendulum

The Penny Dreadful

The mid to late 1800s was the true introduction of the 'penny dreadful' or cheap, weekly produced literature that was sensationalized. They typically focused on the supernatural or criminal exploits that were often reproductions of older Gothic thrillers. They were a way of allowing working-class individuals the chance to read literature since they were quite cheaper than novels or books in general.

Poe introduced a new area of thriller to society. Although there were elements of the supernatural, his stories and poems focused on the horror of mankind. Indeed, Poe's works are often thought to be the first psychological thrillers written. Evermore: the Enduring Influence of Edgar Allan Poe

An Obsession With Obsession

As much as readers often associated Poe's works with the supernatural, and indeed there are such undercurrents that are apparent throughout, this is often just a cover for their deeper psychological themes. From the guilt-ridden psychotic killers of "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", to the mental breakdowns and inadvertently murderous relationships in "The Oval Portrait" and "The Fall of the House of Usher", the darker aspects of the human mind are dissected and displayed for the reader's horrified pleasure. Evermore: the Enduring Influence of Edgar Allan Poe

The Introduction of Intellect in Fiction

With the story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", Poe introduced a new literary genre: the mystery. It is indeed the precursor and really the inspiration behind much of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characterization for the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. This tale of a 'closed-room case' in which the mutilated bodies of a mother and daughter are found in a locked room is eventually solved through logical deduction in much the same way that almost all later examples of the genre display. Evermore: the Enduring Influence of Edgar Allan Poe

Modern Influence

Even now in the modern era Poe's influence is felt in all aspects of entertainment and crime solving. From the previously mentioned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Stephen King, Clive Barker, Dostoyevsky and Agatha Cristie, just the literary circles alone have followed in his footsteps and created some of the most well-known works of fiction in written history. Indeed, Poe is often called the "father of the modern short story" and the "father of science-fiction and mystery". Evermore: the Enduring Influence of Edgar Allan Poe