4 Facts You Didn't Know About Edgar Allen Poe

1. Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" almost wasn't about a raven at all. Poe had an irrational fear of hedgehogs and would often tell stories of being stalked by them. Poe's editor made him change "The Hedgehog" to "The Raven", convincing Poe that most people were not afraid of hedgehogs. The hedgehog in the original penning of the story croaked, "Fiddle-dee-dee, look at me". This was also determined by the savvy editor as non-threatening and was changed to the ominous "Nevermore".
2. Edgar Allen Poe makes a brief cameo in the movie "The Black Cat From Hell" (based on his story "The Black Cat"). In it he plays Phineas Terwhittaker, the animal groomer. Near the beginning of the movie, Phineas is brushing the cat's fur when he sees the cat's eyes glow red. "Aye, that cat's got the devil in him, he does," utters Phineas. The cat lets out a dreadful hiss, causing Phineas to double over in pain, blood pouring from his ears. Luckily, the cat stops, and Phineas is able to finish grooming the soulless beast.
3. Edgar Allen Poe had a hat for every day of the week. On Mondays, he wore a top hat made of finest silk from the Orient. Wednesday's hat was a magnificent tricorn adorned with peacock feathers and small turtles carved from obsidian. Saturday's hat was made from dried apricots and radishes and stuffed with straw. It had to be remade several times a year.
4. 'The Tell-Tale Heart" was based on an actual event. Only the heart was not buried under the floorboards, it was under Poe's bed. And it wasn't an actual heart, but his alarm clock that he knocked over during a particularly hard night of opium smoking. Also, he never found it at all, and it stopped ticking after a few weeks.