Horror vs Detective Fiction: Poe and His Versatility

(There is an italicized parataxis attempt in this piece)

It's known that Poe was the father of detective fiction--bringing forth a different world of media that are well-known today. Mystery fiction was not a stranger to the literary world, but Poe introduced the detective trope when he created C. Auguste Dupin, the first detective.

This later inspires the Sherlock Holmes series.

Poe only had three detective series as an interesting fact; however, it was not the center of Poe's writing: horror was. The difference in the languages and commitment to both is something to consider. Poe wrote three series of detective work but his horror was predominantly short stories without an obvious connection and is written chaotically.

In an educated opinion based without much research, this seems to be a clear connection to Poe's trauma being written into his horror short stories. Trauma response feels like horror stories do, it feels suffocating and rushed and all-consuming. It feels like Poe's short stories. In theory, Poe's short stories is what he feels and how feels about the trauma he's received throughout his life.

This is something I want to delve deeper in but I need some to read more of Poe's works, especially his detective works.

References for this post: Poe's introduction of classic detective stories: https://www.worlds-best-detective-crime-and-murder-mystery-books.com/1841.html

Notes for the author to dive into further in the next post:

Interviews discussing how "Murders in the Rue Morgue" was written and its impact: https://theinvisibleevent.com/2019/12/03/murders-in-the-rue-morgue/

(find more info on the other pieces) https://theinvisibleevent.com/2019/12/31/613-the-man-of-the-crowd-1840-and-the-oblong-box-1844/