Poe’s stories convey in a few pages what some writers take hundreds of pages to tell. They contain wordplay and symbolism but also anticipate more realistic writers like Fyodor Dostoevsky. Before the formal field of psychology existed, Poe’s stories explored guilt, paranoia, delusions, and obsessions. Poe helped create the overlapping moods and genres of horror, mystery, historical fiction, slipstream, and science fiction and fantasy as we know them today. Known mainly as a literary critic in his lifetime, Poe worked for several literary journals. Unlike many other 19th century writers, Poe thought that fiction should never be didactic or moralizing. His theory and fiction helped define the short story as a form. You can buy Poe’s Short Stories at bookstores, and most are available to read for free online at Project Gutenberg and other sites. Sources disagree on how many works of fiction Poe wrote, although most estimate it was at least 70 or 80. For January 19, 2022, the 213th anniversary of his birth, here is a ranking of ten of his best stories.
The Top 10 Poe Stories, Ranked
Other Works
Edgar Allan Poe began writing poetry as a teenager, and his poems are just as fascinating and enduring as his stories. His most famous poems include The Raven, Annabel Lee, and “Lenore.” His critical theory includes “The Poetic Principle,” published posthumously and compiles several of his literary theory lectures. Poe’s influence is everywhere in 20th and 21st century fiction, from Modernism to the twist endings of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. Horror movies with victims trapped in torture chambers are influenced by “The Pit and the Pendulum.” The modern thriller, particularly ones with confessions or narration by murderers, are also influenced by Poe’s stories. In 2019, Book Riot published a list of some examples of Poe references in pop culture, including The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror. In House of Salt and Sorrows, a 2019 YA gothic horror novel and fairytale retelling by Erin A. Craig, several character names reference Poe and his characters. Can’t get enough of Poe’s stories and poems? Check out these songs inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and His Hideous Heart, a YA anthology of Poe retellings edited by Dahlia Adler.
