A journey through the madman’s stories

A little background.

Jump in the time machine friends, we’re going back to middle school (which was about 23 years ago – yikes), to a time when I was obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Obsessed is not a hyperbole; when I was in seventh or eighth grade (I mean who can really remember that far back) I recited his poem ‘Annabelle Lee’ at some kind of school function. I doubt it was a talent show, but I remember the stage in the cafeteria-turned auditorium. I remember reciting it and having someone come up to me after and say I did a good job. And, worst of all, I remember telling my brother and parents they couldn’t come because I’d be too nervous. To their credit, they listened.

When I got to high school I had a falling out with literature for reasons that we do not need to spiral down into. The point being, reading Poe was an unfortunate side effect.

But my love for the gothic master never diminished. Films like ‘The Raven’ (the best Poe movie out there – fight me) with amazing performances by John Cusack and Alice Eve (shout out to Brendan Gleeson too!), or Harry Melling’s almost unsettling portrayal of Poe – seriously, check it out. Or TV’s ‘The Following’ whose first season swam in the depths of Poe’s goriest stories.

And those are just the top three. All evidence that this man’s influence on gothic horror is far from ending. So, I figure, why not start at the beginning, yeah?

If you’re unfamiliar with Poe, I strongly recommend getting acquainted (hopefully through this endeavor) with him. However the TL:DR version: a writer, poet, and critic who, for quite awhile, was the definition of romanticism and gothic stories. He died in 1849 at the age of 40 and there is still a bit of mystery surrounding the circumstances. He was a frequent user of alcohol and opiates, and if you’ve read any of his work I’m sure you’ve felt these chemical influences.

I. Edgar Allan Poe – “Loss of Breath”

Published as both “A Decided Loss in 1831, and “Loss of Breath” in 1835. This is in reference to the 1835 version.

“…alive with the qualifications of the dead – dead with the propensities of the living…”

What I remember most about Poe is his uncanny ability to be both direct and subtle at the exact same time, to the point where, on more than one occasion, I felt as thought I was two different people/perspectives reading the same story.

That sensation has not faded.

On the surface, Loss of Breath, is a tale of someone lashing out at a loved one and receiving a pretty karmic smack in the mouth. Like duct tape over the lips. The story unfolds with the narrator trying to find his literal lost breath, while being physically dismembered and presumed dead.

The story is ripe with sensationalism and exaggeration, but even so it isn’t hard to imagine the scenes playing out as Mr. Lackobreath (yes, that’s the narrator’s actual name) is simply getting his well deserved comeuppance.

While pseudoscience and transcendentalism are known to be major themes of the story, what I saw was guilt. And this is something that replays itself a lot through Poe’s catalogue, as we’ll see (simultaneously seeing if my memory is as good as I think it is).

While far from my favorite tale from Poe, Loss of Breath was a fun and off-the-page start to this voyage. We’ll see what next month’s tale, Bon-Bon – The Bargain Lost shall bring.

Till then – see you in a tavern with tables covered in candle wax…