Celebrating the anniversary birth date of Edgar Allan Poe
January 19, 1809
We all admire Poe as one of the finest writers of supernatural and horror. This week, honoring his birthdate, I am featuring one of his lesser-known short stories Mesmeric Revelation (1844, published in Columbian Magazine). This is Poe’s 215th birthday.
Let’s begin with Poe’s thoughts on mesmerism:
“The most truthful and beautiful art form arises not from the workings of the rational mind (deductive and inductive reasoning) but from a way of knowing that goes beyond reason and seems inherent in human existence.” —Edgar Allan Poe, Poe, Fuller, & the Mesmeric Arts by Bruce Mills.
Are you awake or are you sleeping? Come meet Mr. Vankirk, a ‘sleepwalker,’ who lies on his deathbed speaking to a man named “P” the mesmerizer. Sleepwalker in this context does not mean the conventional definition of the body walking during sleep. This is more like the mind is walking into unknown realms.
“P” is telling us the story as a private conversation that takes place with Mr. Vankirk: Vankirk’s thoughts as he struggles to breathe focuses on the physical impressions and the soul’s immortality. They discuss the laws of mesmerism and the assent of the will over the intellect.
Mesmeric influence dominates here, and it becomes a blurry line between the mesmerizer and Vankirk. Interspaces give way to newly created spaces. You will discover the power of unparticled matter and you will step beyond reality into the “luminiferous ether.”
As a reader of this story, prepare to be induced into the otherworldly through Poe’s language, the literary rhythms, and suggestive magnetism. This is a slow-burn read with every paragraph swirling you through a trance-like journey into—possibly—a realm outside your imagination.
If you look at this story through the lens of Poe’s mesmeric philosophy, you will find this tale is dripping with fictional imaginative realism. [Forgive me, I think I just made up that term after reading this story twice!] This is a fiction that is subtle and circular with a ringing conclusion.
Read Mesmeric Revelation here:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Tales_(Poe)/Mesmeric_Revelation
Listen to the Librivox short story here (30 minutes):
If you would like more of Poe’s stories on the theme of mesmerism, a subject he was reportedly obsessed with, read The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. And, the Tale of Ragged Mountains, link below.
More of Poe’s stories free to read here at Reading Fiction Blog:
Poe, Edgar Allan Spirits of the Dead (poem) January 19, 2013
Poe, Edgar Allan The Oval Portrait, January 22, 2013
Poe, Edgar Allan A Descent Into the Maelstrom, May 28, 2013
Poe, Edgar Allan The Premature Burial, September 24, 2013
Poe, Edgar Allan The Fall of the House of Usher, April 15, 2014
Poe, Edgar Allan Tale of Ragged Mountains, October 28, 2014
Poe, Edgar Allan Ligeia, October 27, 2015
Poe, Edgar Allan Murders in the Rue Morgue, September 6, 2016
Poe, Edgar Allan Some Words With A Mummy, October 25, 2016
Poe, Edgar Allan The Shadow, September 12, 2017
Poe, Edgar Allan The Black Cat, January 16, 2018
Poe, Edgar Allan Masque of the Red Death, January 25, 2022
Poe died on October 7, 1849, and was said to utter these last words:
“Lord, help my poor soul.”
Visions of Poe, music by Gerhardt (4 minutes). Very cool!
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
And on my Amazon Author Page.
Comments are welcome!
Feel free to click “LIKE.”
Other Reading Web Sites to Visit
Kirkus Mystery & Thrillers Reviews
Books & Such Bibliophilica NewYorkerFictionOnline
For Authors/Writers: The Writer Unboxed
Discover Author of the Week posted on Mondays.
Thank you for supporting Reading Fiction Blog
© 2012 Paula Cappa, Reading Fiction Blog
Paula Cappa