“The difficulty with Poe is not figuring out which of his stories rise to the level required of this collection, but rather which of his stories to exclude from it.”

“Yes, it would nice for this fifty year period, this cradle of all vampire short stories in the English language, to include a vampire tale by Edgar Allan Poe. But the sad answer is that Poe never penned a vampire story.”

“. . . never seen him inspired by any more dangerous stimulant than strong coffee, of which he was very fond & of which [he] drank freely. MacIntosh says that the measure of a man's brain is the amount of coffee he can drink with impunity.SARAH HELEN WHITMAN (POE'S FIANCÉE) TO JOHN INGRAMDECEMBER 13, 1874”

“Literature is the most noble of professions. In fact, it is about the only one fit for a man. For my own part, there is no seducing me from the path. I shall be a litterateur, at least, all my life; nor would I abandon the hopes which still lead me on for all the gold in California.”EDGAR ALLAN POE TO FREDERICK WILLIAM THOMASFEBRUARY 14, 1849”

“The short story is not, as some believe, a lesser form of literature than the novel.”

“People talk and rumors follow,” I said.“Most people claim that only a person possessed of the devil could write such horror.”“And what do you think?”“You are an angel to me, Eddy, but never bet the devil your head.”“That would make a great title for a story,” I observed.”

“Charlotte Bronte borrowed liberally and sloppily from Joseph Sheridan le Fanu when penning Jane Eyre. The originality of this classic novel is tarnished as a result.”