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Do you know that Edgar Poe had his muse? His inspirer was a tortoiseshell cat named Cattarina. Poe really enjoyed Cattarina’s company and would let her sit on his shoulder while he was writing. When his wife Virginia became seriously ill, the cat would curl up in the bed beside her. Historians believe that Cattarina became a part of Poe’s family. In 1847, Edgar suffered another terrible blow: Virginia died of tuberculosis. He was devastated and couldn’t cope with the pain of losing his beloved wife for a long time.
After much suffering, fortune seemed to smile on Edgar. He began seeing his adolescent sweetheart Sarah Royster Shelton, who had been widowed by then. It turned out that she had cherished the memory of her childhood love for all those years. Poe became engaged to her again, but their dreams weren’t destined to come true – the writer died under suspicious circumstances. Not long before he was to be married, Edgar Allan Poe disappeared, and no one knew where he had been for nearly a week. On September 27, 1849, he left his home in Richmond and had to go first to Philadelphia on business and then to New York to escort his aunt back to Richmond for his upcoming wedding. As it turned out, he never made it to either. On October 7, Poe was found semi-conscious wandering outside a local pub in Baltimore. How he could get there is still unknown. Poe never gave any explanation about what had happened to him, leaving crucial questions unanswered. The legendary writer was delirious and wearing someone else’s cheap clothes: a spotted worn-out coat, a pair of old shoes, and a straw hat. The man who found Edgar Poe recognized the well-known writer and offered his help. Then Poe was taken to hospital where he spent his last four days. The cause of his death remains a mystery, as all medical records, including his death certificate, have been lost. It’s known that Poe was kept in a windowless room, and the only one who interacted with him was Dr. John Moran. However, the question about the accuracy of the information provided by him remains controversial. Poe is said to call out the name Reynolds, but it’s still unclear to whom he referred. There was much speculation about the cause of his death including rabies, murder, alcohol, and illness. One of the most popular theories was that Poe was a victim of “cooping” – a common pre-election tactic by which people were kidnapped on the streets and forced to vote for a certain candidate against their will. This theory was supported by the fact that Poe was found on Election Day. There were rumors that Poe drank himself to death. However, the truth was that, according to many historians, Poe couldn’t handle alcohol. It had been documented that after a glass of wine he got drunk very quickly. Besides, a physician who tested Edgar Poe’s hair samples claimed that he had been avoiding alcohol for a few months. As for the rabies theory, some suggest that he could contract it from his cat Cattarina, who went to her eternal rest within weeks after his death. In fact, at the time there were no vaccines for pets. Another theory suggests that Poe could die of the flu complications – pneumonia. A few days before his departure from Richmond, he visited a physician complaining of illness. Surprisingly, his fiancée, Sarah, confirmed this theory, claiming that Edgar had a fever and a weak pulse. There were also rumors that Poe was likely murdered by Sarah’s brothers, who were against their marriage and might have threatened Edgar. The legendary writer like his fictional characters may have disguised himself and disappeared for a week, but was eventually found and beaten. However, none of these theories explain the mysterious death of the greatest writer.
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