Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be one of America's greatest and most influential storytellers, poets and literary critics. Poe's works are generally recognized as the first works of mystery, horror, and science fiction. His wide range of genres and interests can be found in his over seventy pieces of fiction. He managed to convey the feel of his surroundings, and the feel of the era in which he lived, and translate them into powerful stories and poems.
             Poe's greatest influence is found in murder mystery and detective stories. His story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is considered to be the first murder mystery written. Many past and modern fictional detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes, can be traced back to Poe's Detective Dupin. This story concentrated on the facts of the case, rather then just the actions of the case, to solve the mystery. In the short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", Dupin and his companion are walking down the street, Dupin responds to his companions thoughts by retracing each person, event and the surroundings until he comes to the logical conclusion. Dupin used logic to solve the mystery, not just the events that occurred. Many of Dupin's characteristics can be found in the character of Sherlock Holmes, such as the logistical thought process. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter" illustrate Poe's obsession with detail, and his desire to write an intellectual murder mystery. Poe's story "The Gold Bug" was a mystery, with built in clues that leads the reader on a treasure hunt. This was a concept ahead of its time. The influence of this concept in writing can found in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island".
             Another style of writing that can be associated with Poe is science fiction. Many classic tales of science fict...