Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on 19 January 1809 and died in Baltimore on 7 October 1849. Poe was one of the most influential writers in the history of modern literature, and his novels gave rise to two literary strands: the detective story, of which "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is the first example, and modern horror.  Taking up some of the characteristics of the 18th century Gothic novels, Poe created a new concept of physical and psychological horror, no longer associated only with the imagery of castles and ghosts, but with multiple thematic forms that would then be developed in the following centuries by writers of the genre, who are still inspired by him today.