The Tell-Tale Heart and the Mask of the Red Death by Edgar Allan PoeWhen people think of Edgar Allan Poe, they probably think of dark writings and murder. His writings have been in print since the early 1800s. (Giordano) Many of his works are literally classics, like "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Mask of the Red Death." Much like most of his stories, Poe's life was dark. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. His mother and father were artists. His father abandoned the family to pursue his acting career, and just a year later, Poe's mother died. (Hoffman) When this happened, he went to live with John and Frances Allen. Although Poe was never adopted, he had a family. While he attended the University of Virginia, his classmates described him as a dark, gloomy person. John Allen withdrew Poe from school because Poe had accumulated a gambling debt and at the time John was supportive of him. When this happened, Poe joined the army. He was a cadet at West Point, but left shortly after John stopped sending him money. Afterwards, Poe moved to New York and began publishing his poetry. IN 1835, Poe got a job working for the Southern Literary Messenger. At this time he married his cousin, Virginia Clemm. Poe remained employed until January 1837. At that time, he moved to Philadelphia where his drinking problem, which he had had since adulthood, worsened. (Blum) The years 1846 and 1847 were difficult for Poe. First, the newspaper he worked for failed, then his wife fell ill and died. At this time, his drinking took over his life. A few years later, Poe became very ill and was taken to the hospital. He took his last breath on Sunday October...... middle of article ......Poetry Review11 1995: 11. ProQuest. Internet. April 1, 2014. Pritchard, Hollie. “Poe is the revealing heart.” The Explainer 61.3 (2003): 144-7. ProQuest.Web. April 1, 2014. Blum, Jonathan. “Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart.” Academic scope October 18, 2002: 13-6. ProQuest.Web. April 4, 2014. Giordano, Robert. www.poestories.com. June 27, 2005. the web. April 1, 2014. "Overview" eNotes Publishing Ed. Scott Locklear. eNotes.com, Inc. eNotes.com April 2, 2014http://www.enotes.com/topics/tell-tale-heart#summary-overviewSparkNotes Publishers. “SparkNote on Poe's short stories. » SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. March 31, 2014. Poe, Edgar A. “The Masque of the Red Death.” The Mask of the Red Death. Np, nd Web.April 29, 2014Poe, Edgar A. "The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe." The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Np, ndWeb. April 29. 2014.