Poe Theatre On The Air - Edgar Allan, Part One

They say a life at sea changes a man, but this story takes that to the extreme. In this episode, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre on the Air takes on Poe’s tale of tragedy at sea, and the physical toll on those who survive the clutches of a near-mythical storm.

There's always a price to be paid for arrogance.  In one of Poe’s very few comedic short stories, a woman loses her head waiting for the time to come…

Love truly hurts. A beautiful woman, in love with her bookish and obsessive cousin, has a smile to die for. As the woman falls ill, her smile is all that’s left unchanged. Her cousin can’t bear it and takes matters into his own hands.

A man, found wandering in the desert, tells a harrowing tale of his failed efforts to find the fabled City of Gold with his eccentric partner. But what is the secret he can’t bear to admit?

Adapted from Poe’s well-known poem.

A man’s love for his scholarly wife fades as her fascination turns to morbid themes. On her deathbed, she gives birth and curses the man to ensure that he will never be freed from her memory.