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No other 19 th century author is as omnipresent in today’s pop culture as Edgar Allan Poe . He has “guest-starred” on the animated series South Park and The Simpsons and been featured as a character in numerous movies. His face graces the cover of a Beatles album, he has fought crime alongside Batman in the comic Batman: Nevermore, and hunted a serial killer in the 2012 movie The Raven . Every Halloween season, Poe impersonators portray him around the globe; throughout the year, his legions of fans wear his instantly recognizable face on T-shirts, jewelry, and tattoos.

While Poe is best remembered today for his tales of psychological terror, he was acclaimed in his own day for his satires, mysteries, science fiction, literary criticism, and

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