Usher

Poe 1809-1849 wrote and first published "The Fall of the House of Usher" in 1839. It appeared in the September issue of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and was later included in his collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. So sophisticated a short story, I would not place it in my list, until now.

He died on October 7, 1849, at 40. This is what happened. After being found delirious and in distress on a street near a tavern four days earlier, he died unconscious at Washington College Hospital, 100 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, cause of death a blood alcohol level that led to delirium (DTs), as noted in 2024 by University of Mary Washington. It is my opinion that Edgar was considering Catholicism as a result of contact with the Jesuits at Fordham, but we will never know until the Final Judgment.

BTW, I hate all my electronics and would rather read the story to you in person.

What is a Luddite?

1. derogatory: a person opposed to new technology or ways of working, "a small-minded Luddite resisting progress"
2. historical: a member of any of the banded English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, believing that their jobs were at risk (1811–16)