Hoaxes of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) published six hoaxes during his brief life. He enjoyed playing games of rationality with his readers. Sometimes he cast himself as a master detective capable of discerning the truth behind any illusion or puzzle, a role which he expressed through the famous character of Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin. At other times, Poe liked to display his ability to hide the truth from his readers, to force them to play detective. In fact, both detective and hoaxer were two sides of the same coin for Poe. Both roles manifested the power that he believed a rational mind could wield over reality. Poe was also fascinated by other hoaxes besides his own. He once referred approvingly to the age in which he lived as the "epoch of the hoax".
A Lunarian-bearing balloon appears above Rotterdam.
Adventure and death in the South Pole.
The supposed diary of the first European to cross the Rocky Mountains.
Account of the first crossing of the Atlantic in a balloon.
Hypnotized man stays alive after death.
The discovery of a means to transform lead into gold.
Text copyright © 2002 Alex Boese