Hellooooooo, Story Lovers!
On this Blog, we like to zero in on some of the record setters and pioneers of sports, crafts, and other summer camp activities. And, in honor of the upcoming holiday of Halloween, I thought we’d set our scopes on the classic horror writer of the 19th century: Edgar Allan Poe, author of such chilling tales as ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’, he was also a poet—perhaps best known for his work, ‘The Raven’.
While people nowadays associate Poe mainly with his tales of terror, he actually wrote a variety of other genres including adventure stories, science fiction, and even comedies! Yet, what he was best known for in his own time were his mystery stories.
Like a true pioneer of the Writing trade, Poe didn’t just write in the genre of mystery—he invented it. He wrote the very first detective fiction in 1841 with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." It was a success and people nicknamed him ‘The Father of the Detective Story’. Poe began to get recognition just a couple years later for his story ‘The Gold Bug’ that focused on secret codes and hunting for treasure.
A true master of short fiction, Poe not only created the mystery story, but designed the perfect storytelling tactics. For example, Poe contributed the element of the sidekick character—the assistant to the detective character. The detective’s sidekick is really helpful in making the detective look good and add amazement at the work and reasoning he displays to crack the case. Arthur Conan Doyle used the same idea for his characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
So gear up for the haunting holiday on the horizon and peruse some Edgar Allan Poe short stories or poetry. The Raven just may be the most haunting piece of literature there is! And thanks for reading this Blog post! Till next time.
- John