How Does Poe Present Death In Horror

Death in Horror Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most iconic authors in history, and he is arguably one of the best horror authors of all time. His thriller and horror stories are the favorites of many readers for the exploration of mature themes and his dark and brooding themes. One of the mature themes present in many of his stories is death. Death is a highly intriguing and versatile theme in writing, and especially so in horror. The versatility of death can be contributed to many different ways it can be depicted and interpreted within stories. The stories written by Edgar Allan Poe I chose to read depict death and mortality in a fashion that draws parallels with people’s real world reactions to death. Death is so often found in horror for one main reason, and that is the fear of death. Death is something that affects each person differently depending on the circumstances. However, despite the variously disparate reactions, each person’s reaction to death most often includes a fear of …show more content…
This is the first of several parallels that can be drawn between Poe’s characters’ reactions to death and people’s real life reactions. Much like people will solve a death in real life--if the cause of the death is unknown--Dupin solved the murders because nobody knew who had killed the two women. He decided to go about solving the murders because of the lacking investigation carried out by the police. In his words, “We must not judge of the means by this shell of an examination.” Dupin, like people in the real world, reacted to a peculiar death as something that needed to be solved, for the sake of the deceased. Furthermore, the feeling of sympathy for the deceased stems out from the fear of death. The fear of death produces sympathy for those who have died, and makes people want to find the culprit or cause behind a person’s