It can hardly have escaped anyone that many books and movies and other media contains Poe's footprints in one way or the other. This page is an attempt to trace those footprints around the world in modern culture. If you know of a reference to Poe in popular culture you wish to add, please let me know by visiting the contact page.
Movies
- The Crow - When Brandon Lee enters the pawn-shop he quotes Edgar Allan Poe's the Raven. El Dorado, 1967 - James Caan recites Poe's "El Dorado" to a clearly unappreciative John Wayne. (1) The Last of the Mohicans, 1992 - Poe's last name was used in place of the hero Hawkeye's literary name of Bumpo, ironic given Poe's extreme distaste for the works of James Fenimore Cooper. (1) The Lost Boys - There are two brothers in the Lost Boys who are self-styled vampire killers. They are called the Frog brothers, and their names are Edgar and Alan. (1) Born to Dance, 1936 - In the opening scene, a submarine full of navy men returning to New York are singing about missing their sweethearts. In the middle of the number, one of them begins to sing in a very deep voice, ending with "Quoth the Raven 'nevermore'." (1) Nightmare before Christmas (Special edition DVD) - In the Special Edition DVD of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, there is a special feature of Tim Burton's early film, "Vincent," about a little boy named Vincent Malloy who wants to be like Vincent Price and he reads Edgar Allan Poe all the time and the last line of the movie is from the Raven, "And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted nevermore..." (7) (10) Young Guns - In Young Guns (Maybe Young Guns II) Kiefer Sutherland "Doc Scurlock" Quoted Poes "El Dorado" to a girl, claiming the work as his own. (16) Young Guns II - In young Guns II, Pat Garretts side kick was named Poe. (16) Con Air - In Con Air, Nick Cage plays Cameron Poe. (16) Batman (1966) - In the movie Batman, the 1966 version with Adam West, Bruce Wayne quotes the first stanza of one of Poe's works. he is talking to Mrs. Kitka while in her apartment, telling her of his desires and his dreams when suddenly they are interrupted by Joker and the gang. (17) Dead Zone (based on Stephen King's novel) - from the movie the dead zone by a stephen king novel in the first minutes they quote the raven... (18) Lady Killers - in 'The Lady Killers' (a Coen brothers movie) Tom Hanks' character recites 'To Helen' and they talk about poe in other parts of the movie as well. (24) Dr. Dolittle 2 - Near the beginning, all the animals are leaving the Dolittle cabin because the bear (Archie) seems like an idiot who will be no help to their cause. The Raven, as he flies away says, "Nevermore"...only this and nothing more. (29) Spookley the Square Pumpkin - In this animated movie there are three spiders named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. (31) Holes - Miss Katherine and Sam quote a portion of Poe's poem Annabel Lee. (33)
TV Shows
- Homicide - Life on the Street ep. "Heartbeat" 4th Season, 1995 - An episode dealing with a Poe inspired killer who bricked up a ten year old boy in a wall. (1) The Simpsons - Homer Simpson in a hurry is blocked in a road by a truck loaded with Edgar Allan Poe's birth house. Homer knocks it off the road and it explodes. The Simpsons Halloween Special (Season 2 - episode 7F04) - James Earl Jones reads "the Raven" acted out by Homer as the narrator and Bart as the raven. The Simpsons (season 6 - episode 1F17) - In a Diorama competition at school Lisa's new friend does a piece based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart". The Simpsons (season 3- episode 8F07) - In an infomercial on a detergent they are demonstrating the product by cleaning Edgar Allan Poe's tomb stone. The Simpsons, The Tell-Tale Head (Season 1 - episode 7G07) - The episode named "The Tell-Tale Head" has both title and story loosely related to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart". Tiny Toons - On an episode of "Tiny Toons Adventures", originally aired on February 19, 1991, "The Raven" was recited with "Sweetie Bird" as the raven. (11) CSI - Edgar Allan Poe is mentioned by Grissom in csi, as "a man who also knew a lot about death". (12) Airwolf - in one episode the show references "El Dorado" specifically, "Over the mountains of the moon, down the valley of the shadow ride boldly ride the shadow replied if you seek for El Dorado" as a clue to the whereabouts of Hawk's freind Caitlin after she was kidnapped. (19) Gilmore Girls - In a season 3 episode of Gilmore Girls (WB), Rory and Lorelai attend an Edgar Allen Poe Society skit in which 2 men perform The Raven. (21) Commander in Chief - Episode 8, Season 1, "Edgar Allen Poe 1809-1849)" is written on the blackboard when the president's son is in the classroom with his teacher. It's funny that the English teacher can't spell Poe's middle name right (it's spelled Allen and not Allan like it should be). Spongebob - An episode of Spongebob is loosely based on the Tell-Tale Heart. Only mr Krabs hears squeaking of old boots. (28) Criminal Minds - They quote Poe's poem "Annabel Lee" at the beginning of one episode. Besides, one of the characters' surname is Usher, as the main character in Poe's short story 'The Fall of the House of Usher'. (30) Warehouse 13 - One episode was all about Edgar Allan Poe. (34)
Books
- Michael Connely, "The Poet" - The book is about a serial killer that fakes cops' suicides and leaves Edgar Allan Poe quotes as suicide notes. Martha Grimes "The Horse you Came in On" (New York: Knopf, 1993) is a detective novel in which a murder seems to have been committed to cover up a "lost" Poe manuscript which turns out to be a forgery. (1) Richard Powers, The Gold-Bug Variations (New York, William Morrow, 1991) (1) Leon Forrest, The Bloodsworth Orphans (New York, Random House, 1977, reprinted in 1987 by Chicago: Another Chicago Press.) - The orphans of the title are a very Usher-like brother and sister, and frequent uses of the word "usher" appear throughout the book. (1) Randall Silvis, "On Night's Shore" - Features Poe as a fictional character solving a murder crime together with a ten-year-old boy.(5) Ray Bradbury, "Farenheit 451" - Ray Bradbury refers to Poe's works in several books. In "Ferenheit 451" the government burns all known works of fiction. A group of people memorize all of the great literary works of the world so that they will never be forgotten. Each person memorizes 1 book, and the Poe book that is chosen is "Tales of Mystery and Imagination." (14) Ray Bradbury, "The Martian Chronicles" - In one of the short stories in "The Martian Chronicles" a man builds a house with mechanized apes, pendulums, red deaths, and just about every other calamity from the works of Poe. He then invites members of a 'big brother' type government to the house where they are each killed. (14) Ray Bradbury, "On Stage" - There is a play in his book "On Stage" where a man is sent into a future where art does not exist. As government officials are slowly wrapping him in gauze to be executed, he recites the last lines of Fortunado as a final protest to the destruction of art. (14) Patricia Cornwell, "Trace" - The "bad guy" in the Scarpetta novel "Trace" is named Edgar Allan Pogue. Roger Zelazny, "A Night in the Lonesome October" - Poe is mentioned in this book. (26) Vladimir Nabokov, "Lolita" - Humbert Humbert's first love, Annabel Leigh, is named after the woman in the poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe. In fact, their young love is described in phrases borrowed from Poe's poem. Nabokov originally intended Lolita to be called The Kingdom by the Sea. (27) Edgar & Ellen - (Book and animated series) Edgar, Ellen and Pet's names were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. It is therefore logical that they have a bust of him in their home in the TV series. Ellen also has Pitcher plants called Berenice and Morella, a reference to the Poe stories of the same names. (32)
Music
- Joan Baez - On her first album she sang "Annabel Lee" and credited Edgar Allan Poe for the lyrics. (2) The Beatles - Edgar Allan Poe appears on the Sgt Pepper album cover. (2) The Beatles - "I am the Walrus" (Lennon/McCartney 1967) from album "Magical Mystery Tour" includes the line "kicking Edgar Allan Poe" (1) Iron Maiden, "Murders in the Rue Morgue" - The british metal band Iron Maiden wrote a song on Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue". The Blues Travellers - The Blues Travellers did a song called "Run Around" which begins with "Once upon a midnight dreary" Public Enemy - Rapper Chuck D, in "Welcome to the Terrordome" includes the lines "welcome to the terrordome / caught in the race against time / the pit and the pendulum." (From Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet album (Columbia CD CK 45413)) (1) The Alan Parson's Project - "Tales of mystery and imagination Edgar Allan Poe," Polygram records is dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe. (3) Donovan - On his 1996 CD "Sutras," Donovan (yes, the Mellow Yellow man) put Poe's poem "El Dorado" to music. (4) Rickie Lee Jones's album "Pirates" has a track called "Traces of the Western Slopes", which contains the line "E. A. Poe and Johnny Johnson" and also ends with the strange, repeated question "Can you follow my voice?" - very appropriate! (6) Good Charlotte - Good Charlotte has a song called "My Bloody Valentine" in which they say, "The Headlines read: A lover died. No tell-tale heart was left to find". (20) Green Day - In the Green Day song, "St. Jimmy" they say, "...I'm the patron saint of the denial with an angel face And a taste for suicidal cigarettes and ramen And a little bag of dope. I am the son of a bitch and Edgar Allan Poe. Raised in the city under a halo of lights. The product of war and fear that we've been victimized..." it's from the new album, "American Idiot". (22) Bob Dylan - In Bob Dylan's song Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues he sings Don't put on any airs When you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue (25, 26).
Comics
- 1964 Comic book for "The Atom" - Has a "Time Pool Adventure . . . featuring Edgar Allan Poe". (1) Roman Dirge, Lenore - the dark comic about the dead girl Lenore is most definitely inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Both the constant theme of Death and the name Lenore, and Nevermore are strong tell-tale signs. Lise Myhre, Nemi - the Norwegian comic about the Goth girl Nemi sometimes refer to and quote Edgar Allan Poe.
Misc.
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E. L. Doctorow - The writer E. L. Doctorow was named after Edgar Allan Poe. The initial E stands
for Edgar.
The Baltimore Ravens - Baltimore NFL team named after a famous poem by Mr. Poe. (2)
The Baltimore Ravens' mascots - Three people in raven costumes named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. (1)
Cigars - There was a brand of cigars around 1910 called "The Raven," with a
very nice picture of a raven standing on a book, with the title "Poe" on
it. Another brand had a picture of Poe on the box and on the cigar label. (1)
The USS Raven - A state-of-the-art US mine-sweeper was commissioned by the Navy on
September 5, 1998. It is named "USS Raven, MHC 61." The commisioning was
held in Baltimore, in part to pay homage to Poe. (1)
Claussen Pickles - During 1998, there was a TV ad for Claussen Pickles which parodied "The
Raven." About 1990, Claussen printed and distributed a little booklet
called "The Case of the Purloined Pickles," clearly a take-off of "The
Purloined Letter," although it more closely parodies Sherlock Holmes. (1)
Life insurance - A 1964 magazine ad for John Hancock Life Insurance features a portrait
of Poe, with a montage of images from his writings, with the caption
"His genius haunts us still . . ." (1)
Bell Scotch - Poe was featured in a Bell Scotch liquor ad in the 1950's. (1)
Bubble-gum - A @ 1880 bubble-gum card sized booklet, has a portrait of Poe and a
brief biography. Issued by Duke Cigarettes as part of a series called
"Histories of Poor Boys who have become Rich, and other Famous People."
Poe is one of about 50 names listed. (1)
Anti-drug campaign - An early 1990 anti-drug ad campaign included a poster of Poe, with the
caption "Did Poe Just Say No?" (1)
Jason Asala - Jason Asala has a comic book series called "Poe" which features a modern
teenager who looks very much like E. A. Poe. (1)
Edogawa Rampo - A Japanese writer named Hirai Taro ((1894-1965) was so interested in Poe
that he changed his own name to Edogawa Rampo. (1)
Montblanc - Montblanc, the famous manufacturer of
high-class fountain pens, has an annual authors' series. Their author
for 1999 is Edgar Allan Poe. (1)
Eternal Darkness - In a videogame named Eternal Darkness, the first thing you see is a piece of the poem "The Raven" (8)
The Nintendo Gamecube game "Eternal Darkness" is based around a lot of Poe's work, and features a introductionary quote from The Raven. (9) The Raven Restaurant - There is a restaurant in Virginia Beach, Virginia that is named The Raven and sells t-shirts and other souvenirs related to Poe. (13) Snoopy the musical - There once was an Off Broadway show called "Snoopy, The Musical" and there is a song from that show entitled "Edgar Allan Poe"...The musical ran in the early 1980's... It's not rocket science, however I think the song is rather sweet...EAP's biography is actually spelled out in the song... (15) Chicago Magazine - In the March 2005 issue of Chicago Magazine, there is an article titled Dust Buster. It is about a forensic microscopist, Skip Palenik. It's a fascinating article on it's own but here is the link to Poe. Skip Palenik is quoted..."If you really want to learn about solving crimes you don't watch CSI-you read Edgar Allen Poe. Anybody who comes to work for me has to read the Poe stories, especially "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" They show how to use reason to solve a crime. That's what we do. But to reason you have to have facts. Our laboratory gives you facts." Palenik's company is called Microtrace and is based in Elgin, Illinois. (23)
Thanks to (1) Edward S. T. Grey, (2) Sparrow, (3) Staffan Morell and others, (4) Thomas Wiloch, (5) Martha Womack, (6) Anthony Marks, (7) Lindsay, (8) Javier, (9) Gillian, (10) Audrey, (11) Sylvie, (12) Bente, (13) Heather, (14) Jered, (15) Tim, (16) Delores, (17) Cobi, (18) Lior, (19) James Olson, (20) ApRiL, (21) Kim, (22) Kay, (23) Jan Brown, (24) Katie, (25) Michael Alan, (26) Tom, (27) Tiphanie Lopez, (28) Annabel Lee, (29) Kim Shannon, (30) Laura Elena González Guzmán (31) Bobbi, (32) Kathryn Sauer, (33) Gretta Hug, (34) Cutler Sheridan for helping me with references.