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The samples here are of stories which we would now class as "horror" or "suspense", but which Poe submitted to the public mainly as essays.

The Premature Burial (1844) by Edgar Allan Poe purports to be a factual account or essay. It tells of several cases where a person suffering from catalepsy was buried alive, some of which were discovered in time, some not. There is a strong attempt on the part of the narrator to convince the reader that, "truth can be more terrifying than fiction," in order to prepare the ground for belief in his final example.

Nowadays we would probably categorise this condition as sleep paralysis but it was a common fear of the time. Indeed it is one of Poe's favourite themes, as is the crypt. After the careful build-up (view spoiler)[ of "true cases" we are presented with a personal experience. The narrator has lived a shallow life avoiding reality through his catalepsy. He has indulged in fantasies and visions because of his obsession with death, and many precautions were taken on his part to avoid being buried alive. (hide spoiler)] The ending to this tale provides a nice twist.

Some Words with a Mummy (1845) was again presented as an essay, but is actually an example of Poe's satirical humour at its blackest. The narrator has overindulged at a dinner he has attended, and retires to bed. He is (ostensibly) awoken and summoned to an unwrapping of a mummy at his friend Dr Ponnonner's house, along with a group of other learned men. There is a careful account of the unwrapping of the mummy's many-layered coverings, (view spoiler)[ followed by the men's use of a "voltaic pile" (an early form of electrical battery) to reanimate it.

The enlivened mummy goes on to explain that Ancient Egyptians had a significantly longer life span than modern men, living in total for about one thousand years. Their process of embalming arrested their bodily functions allowing them to sleep through hundreds of years. They could then be reactivated and go on with their lives centuries later. The modern-day men in turn proceed to boast about all the discoveries and progress they expect to have taken place since Ancient Egypt, only for the mummy to counter with his own examples every time. In desperation a trivial contemporary product is suggested, for which the mummy has no counter-suggestion. Having saved face the men return to their homes, where the narrator becomes dissatisfied with his life and times. He considers the advantages of going back to his friend's house to get embalmed for a few centuries - after eating his breakfast. (hide spoiler)]

The story satirises both science and knowledge, poking fun at Egyptology on the way. The prevailing attitude of the time was that in the Western world humanity had reached the height of civilization and knowledge due to scientific and industrial revolutions. (view spoiler)[ The mummy is able to prove them mistaken at every point, and that his society's inventions were far from being inferior, and frequently superior. The only progress which is unquestionable seems to be the invention of cough drops. (hide spoiler)] A nice touch is that the mummy of the title is called "Allamistakeo".

William Wilson (1839) is a semi-autobiographical story. It takes much of its setting from the early schooldays of Poe himself, referring back to when he spent 3 years at a boys' boarding school in Stoke Newington, London. It is told in the first person; William meets another boy in his school who shares the same name, has roughly the same appearance, and is born on exactly the same date. This other William often imitates the narrator's voice and mannerisms, whispering arrogantly in the narrator's ear, making him increasingly uneasy and nervous. (view spoiler)[ The narrator describes his own actions as he tries to run away from his tormentor, but becomes more and more debauched and criminal. The other William is always there insinuating and condemning.

There is a growing suspicion on the part of the reader that this other William is a doppelganger, especially since he seems to follow the storyteller around the world dogging his footsteps. Despite the cogent rational descriptions, the narrator seems almost to be haunted by his namesake, and is losing his sanity. It is interesting too that the other William seems to be a better version of himself, as if he is acting the part of his conscience.

The final episode describes a murder which then reveals itself as a reflection in a mirror, saying, "In me didst thou exist - and in my death, see how utterly thou hast murdered thyself." (hide spoiler)] Poe sent a copy of this story to Washington Irving, so the ending may well be an homage to a specific story of Irving's, (view spoiler)[in which the main character kills his double with his sword, only to see his own face behind the mask. (hide spoiler)]

Thou Art the Man (1844) is an early experiment in what became known as "detective fiction." It is however not nearly as successful as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", possibly because the standpoint taken is that of the narrator seeking to expose the true murderer, so that the element of mystery is missing. It is a tale of a missing body, murder and betrayal; there is a decaying corpse, a case of vintage wine and a certain amount of sleight-of-hand. And somebody near the end pronounces the devastating words, "Thou art the Man!"

The Imp of the Perverse (1845) is another example of a story posing as an essay. It is an examination of theories, rather than being heavy on plot. The "imp of the perverse" is a metaphoric spirit, and refers to the urge we humans feel to do something "merely because we feel we should not." The flimsy story describes (view spoiler)[ an act of murder, which was meticulously planned to look like an accident, and therefore would never have been detected save for "the imp of the perverse." The narrator arouses suspicion by behaving oddly, by running around and ultimately by confessing to the murder in a clear and "distinct enunciation." The entire story describes an act of self-destruction, as the narrator was ultimately tried and hanged for the murder. (hide spoiler)] Some critics theorise that Poe was forming an early theory, which was later developed by Sigmund Freud into that of the self-conscious and repression:

"We stand upon the brink of a precipice. We peer into the abyss - we grow sick and dizzy. Our first impulse is to shrink away from the danger. Unaccountably we remain�"

Five of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories have been reviewed here. I have previously reviewed many others, and those reviews can be displayed by searching for Edgar Allan Poe on my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ shelves.

Here are links to reviews of 2 other stories which the author himself presented to the public as essays:

The System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether link here

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar link here