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Today I’m introducing a new series to the podcast! Welcome to Unscripted, episodes of The Poe Show audio horror story podcast where I talk in greater detail about Edgar Allan Poe, 19th century literature and all manner of horror! This series will be much more laid back and won’t feature audio stories. It will have a much more regular podcast format, allowing for you to learn all the delicious details of Edgar Allan Poe’s life, literature and more.

In today’s episode, I’m discussing some of Edgar Allan Poe’s biggest controversies: his marriage, his alleged affair, the feud with his arch nemesis Rufus Griswold, his infamous obituary, and - probably most controversial of all in the scholarly world - Poe’s implied racist themes in his stories. Be sure to listen to all of his stories in other episodes!

TRIGGER WARNING: discussions of Edgar Allan Poe’s CHILD MARRIAGE, DEATH and RACISM

Research resources:

• Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley
• Poe's Double Marriage
• In Her Own Words: A Valentine for Edgar Allan Poe
• Today Marks Edgar Poe’s 177th Wedding Anniversary
• MARRIAGE: The public scandals and private tragedies of Virginia & Edgar Allan Poe’s marriage
• Edgar Allan Poe and His Tumultuous Romances
• The Women in Poe’s Life
• Grave-side chat with Lynn Cullen, author of “Mrs. Poe”
• To Frances S. Osgood
• The Loves of Edgar A. Poe
• The Long-simmering Feud Between Edgar Allan Poe and Rufus Griswold
• Edgar Allan Poe and Rufus Wilmot Griswold
• Rufus Wilmot Griswold-Poe’s Literary Executor
• Poe’s Character Under Attack
• The Defamation of Poe’s Character
• Death of Edgar A. Poe - obituary written by Rufus Griswold
• Other Obituaries of Edgar Allan Poe
• A Gift for Dr. Griswold
• Black Skin, Red Masques: Reading Frantz Fanon and Audre Lorde in Tension with Edgar Allan Poe
• Jingle Bells by the Edison Male Quartette from 1898
• Age of Consent in the United States (19th century)
• “The story I must tell”: “Jingle Bells” in the Minstrel Repertoire by Kyna Hamill

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Today's horror audio story is the intriguing tale of a lost lover dealing with a personal illness. Eleonora is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most well criticized Victorian ghost stories, and as you’ll see in this episode, for good reason. Not only does it show the extent of Poe’s masterful use of powerful prose and ravishing rhetoric to create an unforgettable narrative, it also demonstrates the layers of hidden meaning he was able to construct within the ongoing story. As a master of scary stories and horror, Poe here seems to take a break from the grotesque and focus on the tragic and the beautiful. Truly, this is a gem, among some of Poe’s best work.

Research sources for this episode:

• The History of Men by Prof. Michael S. Kimmel
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• The Poetic Principle by Edgar Allan Poe

(https://www.eapoe.org/works/essays/poetprnb.htm)

• Agricultural Changes in the Midwest (OR see History of agriculture in the United States on Wikipedia as well)

(https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1560187343/troyk12mius/izy3gyiyjdjy3mcbtx12/Chapter09.pdf)

• Rise of Crime in the Period 1830-1860 by Paul Dolan

(https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2921&context=jclc)

• Poesian Feminism: Triumph or Tragedy by Debra Johanyak

(https://www.jstor.org/stable/44322928?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)

• Love and Death in the American Novel by Leslie A. Fiedler

(https://archive.org/details/lovedeathinameri00fied)

• Edgar Allan Poe and Female Victimization by Xi Li

(https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=dayton1544130664085232&disposition=inline)

• A Damsel with a Dulcimer: An Interpretation of Poe’s “Eleonora” by Sam S. Baskett

(https://www.jstor.org/stable/3043539?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)

• An Analyzing the Portrayal of Women in Victorian Literature by Rani Rathore

(https://www.airo.co.in/publications/64348-victorian-women-(1)-(1)-new.pdf)

This audiobook podcast is perfect for educators, teachers, students and schools/colleges looking to educate themselves and others on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian era writing, old ghost stories and classic horror fiction. As it is a horror podcast, it is also great for fans of horror, lore of H.P. Lovecraft, Gothic fiction, poetry, short horror fiction, and timeless classic scary stories. Be sure to share with any fans of horror audio stories, horror audiobooks and spooky tales.

Music and narration by Tynan Portillo.

TikTok: @poeshowpodcast

Support The Poe Show! https://ko-fi.com/thepoeshow

Website: https://www

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TRIGGER WARNING: this episode will discuss themes of DEATH OF A LOVED ONE and MOURNING.

Today’s episode helped me in very personal ways that I can’t express enough gratitude to Edgar Allan Poe for. Although he wrote this poem all the way back in 1831, it resonates with this fellow creative artist nearly two centuries in the future. It is yet another testament that while writing America’s greatest scary stories and creepy tales, Edgar Allan Poe still found time to write some of the most touching and beautiful poems about love and loss that we’ve yet seen in human history. May this poem also help carry you through any loss you have or will experience.

This podcast is perfect for educators, teachers, students and schools/colleges looking to educate themselves and others on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian era writing, old ghost stories and classic horror fiction. Also great for fans of horror, Lovecraftian lore, Gothic fiction, poetry, short horror fiction, and timeless classic scary stories.

Music and narration by Tynan Portillo.

Support The Poe Show! https://ko-fi.com/thepoeshow

Website: https://www.thepoeshow.com/

Horror Movie Reviews on The Poe Show YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoeshowpodcast

Bluesky: thepoeshow.bsky.social

TikTok: @poeshowpodcast

Instagram & Threads: @thepoeshowpodcast

Email: poeshowpod@gmail.com

Intro music by Emmett Cooke on PremiumBeat.

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TRIGGER WARNING: this episode contains DROWNING, MENTION OF SUICIDE, DISCUSSION OF DEATH AND LOSS OF FAMILY

The Oblong Box is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s horror stories that offer both a slice of Victorian life and an intriguing fictional mystery. Published in 1844 and inspired by true events which occurred during the time, as well as events in Edgar Allan Poe’s life, this creepy tale of a boat ride gone wrong has been crafted with a modern flair that makes it both unsettling and succinctly tragic.

Follow along as our unnamed narrator unravels the nature of a mysterious oblong box and the queer obsessive behavior a dearly beloved friend has with it…

This podcast is perfect for educators, teachers, students and schools/colleges looking to educate themselves and others on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian era writing, old ghost stories and classic horror fiction. Also great for fans of horror, Lovecraftian lore, Gothic fiction, poetry, short horror fiction, and timeless classic scary stories.

Support The Poe Show! https://ko-fi.com/thepoeshow

Website: https://www.thepoeshow.com/

Music and narration by Tynan Portillo.

Horror Movie Reviews on The Poe Show YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoeshowpodcast

Bluesky: thepoeshow.bsky.social

TikTok: @poeshowpodcast

Instagram & Threads: @thepoeshowpodcast

Email: poeshowpod@gmail.com

Intro music by Emmett Cooke on PremiumBeat.

SFX Credit:

nBeats on YouTube

Ambient Academy on YouTube

Sound Effects on YouTube

Authentic Sound Effects on YouTube

Osound on YouTube

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Today’s poem by Edgar Allan Poe is a testament to his ability to craft not only meaningful text but an ethereal aura within it. This poem is also one of his earliest, published in his first collection of poems Tamerlane and Other Poems. What it lacks in his later literary skill, it makes up for in both its youthful wonder and in establishing a new poet stepping onto the scene! Nothing creepy, crawly or scary about this poem, truly a rare instance for Edgar Allan Poe.

This podcast is perfect for educators, teachers, students and schools/colleges looking to educate themselves and others on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian era writing, old ghost stories and classic horror fiction. Also great for fans of horror, Lovecraftian lore, Gothic fiction, poetry, short horror fiction, and timeless classic scary stories.

Music and narration by Tynan Portillo.

Support The Poe Show! https://ko-fi.com/thepoeshow

Website: https://www.thepoeshow.com/

Horror Movie Reviews on The Poe Show YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoeshowpodcast

Bluesky: thepoeshow.bsky.social

TikTok: @poeshowpodcast

Instagram & Threads: @thepoeshowpodcast

Email: poeshowpod@gmail.com

Intro music by Emmett Cooke on PremiumBeat.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone this season! Today, in honor of the spirit of Christmas, the compassion for and connection to our fellow human beings, let’s dive into a circular letter by Robert Frost. This letter expresses Frost’s disdain for the overt commercialization of the world, buying up any and all beautiful things to sell them off for a profit. The antagonist of this poem is one who sees no wrong in taking what’s not his, offering little compensation, then stealing away to make a profit on his scheme. Its poignant message rings especially loud this year…

I decided to keep the music for this episode relatively simple: just one piano plucking away at a sparse melody. I drew upon the tunes I remember loving as a child, like the soundtracks to The Polar Express and Elf. I hope it brings you the same feeling of warmth that helps in this winter cold as it did me.

This podcast is perfect for educators, teachers, students and schools/colleges looking to educate themselves and others on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian era writing, old ghost stories and classic horror fiction. Also great for fans of horror, Lovecraftian lore, Gothic fiction, poetry, short horror fiction, and timeless classic scary stories.

Support The Poe Show! https://ko-fi.com/thepoeshow

Website: https://www.thepoeshow.com/

Episode music and narration by Tynan Portillo.

Horror Movie Reviews on The Poe Show YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoeshowpodcast

Bluesky: thepoeshow.bsky.social

TikTok: @poeshowpodcast

Instagram & Threads: @thepoeshowpodcast

Email: poeshowpod@gmail.com

Intro music by Emmett Cooke on PremiumBeat.

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TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains DOLLS and PARENT LOSING TRACK OF A CHILD.

This Victorian ghost story is the first ever to feature the haunted doll. Although it may be a modern horror trope present in many movies, TV shows and stories nowadays, this tale shows just how new the idea of creepy dolls was. Dolls gaining the innovation of sound was a completely new feature at the time of this story’s publication, and F. Marion Crawford obviously knew the potential for what a creepy story he could tell with them. This scary story of a haunted doll stalking a worried father is sometimes terrifying, sometimes heartbreaking, and all the time spooky. Please enjoy The Doll’s Ghost from 1896.

Composing the music for this episode became much more heart wrenching than I thought could be possible. It was quite difficult for me, emotionally. This score has now become so integral to how I interpret this story that I cannot read it without hearing the music - nor hear the music without growing emotional at remembering Mr. Puckler's fear of losing his child (and the fear of being lost as a child). Experimenting with ways to replay the same melody, shaping it from a child's perspective, graduating to a parent's perspective, then perverting it with the fear of the ghost, was an exhilarating challenge.

This podcast is perfect for educators, teachers, students and schools/colleges looking to educate themselves and others on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian era writing, old ghost stories and classic horror fiction. Also great for fans of horror, Lovecraftian lore, Gothic fiction, poetry, short horror fiction, and timeless classic scary stories.

Support The Poe Show! https://ko-fi.com/thepoeshow

Website: https://www.thepoeshow.com/

Episode music and narration by Tynan Portillo.

Horror Movie Reviews on The Poe Show YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoeshowpodcast

Bluesky: thepoeshow.bsky.social

TikTok: @poeshowpodcast

Instagram & Threads: @thepoeshowpodcast

Email: poeshowpod@gmail.com

Intro music by Emmett Cooke on PremiumBeat.

Grandfather Clock Sound Effect on Pixabay:

Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay

Thunder:

Sound Effect by DRAGON-STUDIO from Pixabay

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In this episode, we dive into a poem that speaks to Edgar Allan Poe’s wit with hidden meanings and symbolism, simply writhing with rich metaphor and a deeper message. The poetry of Edgar Allan Poe is celebrated as some of the greatest quality in the world. Let's see if this poem measures up to the expectation...

Variations & History of The Valley of Unrest:

https://www.eapoe.org/works/mabbott/tom1p049.htm

This podcast is perfect for educators, teachers, students and schools/colleges looking to educate themselves and others on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian era writing, old ghost stories and classic horror fiction. Also great for fans of horror, Lovecraftian lore, Gothic fiction, poetry, short horror fiction, and timeless classic scary stories.

Support The Poe Show! https://ko-fi.com/thepoeshow

Website: https://www.thepoeshow.com/

Episode music and narration by Tynan Portillo.

Horror Movie Reviews on The Poe Show YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoeshowpodcast

Bluesky: thepoeshow.bsky.social

TikTok: @poeshowpodcast

Instagram & Threads: @thepoeshowpodcast

Email: poeshowpod@gmail.com

Intro music by Emmett Cooke on PremiumBeat.

Support the show