As October wanes and the veil between worlds feels thinner, it’s worth revisiting the man who gave American literature its first true detective — and its most haunting shadows.

Edgar Allan Poe, often remembered for his tales of terror, also pioneered the detective story with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in 1841. His creation of C. Auguste Dupin laid the groundwork for generations of sleuths, from Sherlock Holmes to today’s true crime podcasters.

But Poe’s genius wasn’t just in plot. He understood atmosphere — the creak of floorboards, the whisper of guilt, the slow unraveling of a mind. His stories invite us to linger in the liminal: between reason and madness, life and death, logic and dread.

Here in New Ulm, where historic buildings line quiet streets and Halloween brings hundreds of trick-or-treaters to State Street, Poe’s themes feel especially alive. Isolation, mystery, and memory — these are not just literary devices, but lived experiences. Perhaps that’s why his work endures: it speaks to the quiet corners we rarely name.

This season, as porch lights flicker and leaves scatter like forgotten pages, let’s honor Poe not just as a master of horror, but as a chronicler of the human psyche. His stories remind us that the scariest monsters often live within — and that the act of uncovering truth, however grim, is its own kind of bravery.

— Amy Zents is a New Ulm resident and is a correspondent for the New Ulm Journal