To @arratoon@mothninja Questions about my death are frequent in my contemporary posthumous performances around the country. Though I do look back on my life and legacy in my presentations, I am unable to answer any question without some sort of factual basis or well-researched basis in fact. To that end, I do discuss theories of my death. 🧵 💀
@arratoon@mothninja There have been many theories. Indeed a new book discussing my death was just published. Oh..and today is the anniversary of my death. I cannot give you a final (deathly final) answer, but I can give you the theory that my great detective C. August Dupin, would find more intriguing: 🧵 💀
@arratoon@mothninja Most people miss an important clue. I was found senseless outside of a pub in Baltimore after an election, wearing shabby clothes that did not belong to me. I was taken to a hospital. I slipped in and out of consciousness over a period of a few days, and finally expired. The clue is "after an election". 🧵 💀
@arratoon@mothninja In American, in my day, voting was held where men frequented: pubs. Not schools or town halls, but bars. Men (and only white, land-owning men could vote) walked up to the officials in the bar, stated out loud who they voted for, or handed over a big ballot in front of everyone, and got free alcohol for participating. 🧵 💀
@arratoon@mothninja As voting continued, the men would stay in the bar to watch the voting and keep drinking. This got rowdy. Violence and even murder was COMMON in American elections for over a century. One argument to keep women from voting was that it was too dangerous. Only men should deal with the danger of politics. 🧵 💀
Let me address the question about hallucinogens first, then alcohol use.
There has been no evidence to indicate that I ever used opium within my lifetime other than one incident which I will address in a moment. Annoyingly, many people have published articles referring to some of my fictional stories in which some characters imbibe opium (or laudanum, an opium derivative) as evidence that I used opium. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge By that logic, I would also have to be a murderer many times over since characters in my stories also do that.
The only evidence for any use of opium is from an incident near the end of my life after my wife passed away. In 1848 I was deeply enamored with Mrs. Annie Richmond. She was separated from her husband at the time and we became socially intimate (though not physically). I wrote a number of letters to her and believed that we may be married soon. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge I began to have doubts and fell into anxiety. In a letter I wrote to Annie, I told her that I was unable to sleep, crying all night, so I procured 2 ounces of laudanum with the prescription to take half to sleep that night, then half the next night. In my letter, I say that I took the first dose, then became so insensible, that I took the second dose by mistake. I was sick for three days. Eventually, I recovered and wrote to Annie detailing what happened. 🧵
Some think that it is clear evidence that I never used laudanum until that time since I would not have reacted to strongly to the first dose if I was already accustomed to the drug.
Others think that it actually was a suicide attempt that I covered up by saying it was an accident.
Still others think the incident may have been wholly fabricated or at least greatly exaggerated for Annie's attention. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge
Any of these theories are possible, but unprovable. What is known is that I didn't reference using laudanum or opium in any of my personal letters. Further, none of my acquaintances who spoke about me after my death ever referenced opium or laudanum. Any references to opium use arose after my death and have, unfortunately, become part of my legend.
Now, let's move on to some hard truths: alcohol. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge
Within my lifetime, it was clear I had some sort of problem with alcohol. It's difficult to call it "alcoholism" because that's a modern diagnosis with specific meaning. All I can say is that, first, many historians think that my brother, William, died of the effects of alcohol, which could indicate it possibly being a problem that ran in my family.
🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge
Next, I had left an exemplary scholarship at Jefferson's University and a meteoric rise to Sargent Major in the army. After the army, I joined Westpoint at the age of 21 with stellar recommendations for my conduct, intelligence, and reliability. In Westpoint is the first time that colleagues mentioned I had problems with drink. After Westpoint, I eventually started my career as a writer on literary journals. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge I lost several good paying jobs due to drink. I missed an important interview of a government position due to drink. I made promises to my wife, friends, and employers to reduce or control my drinking. I was able to maintain control for some periods of time, but eventually would fail again and again. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge
It plagued me throughout my adult life. I was possibly even arrested for public intoxication at one point.
Sadly, after my demise, many people seem to think that drinking was part of what it meant to be a poet, or a talented artist. That somehow it contributed to my work or my "tortured genius". That's a terrible falsehood. I wrote that alcohol was my enemy. I struggled to avoid it for my sake, for my family, for my work. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge
When I was drinking, I was not writing. I was not composing. I was not being inspired to do anything, but keep drinking.
There was no understanding in my time about alcoholism as a disease or as, perhaps, self medication for what today may be thought of as possibly depression or chronic anxiety or any number of diseases that can be treated through emotional support and careful medical interventions. 🧵
@1dalm@Bam@ianbetteridge So, in answer to your question, yes, I often considered not drinking. I often was successful, thankfully. Often, however, I was unsuccessful.
It's possible that drinking led to my death at only 40 years old; having founding the Mystery Genre, revolutionized the Horror Genre, created some of the most famous, influential, and beloved works in the modern English language, and died at 40.
What could one more year have given the world?
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