The Imp of the Perverse

Edgar Allan Poe (Jan 19, 1809 – Oct 7, 1849) was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.


‘The Imp of The Perverse’ is a tale by American writer Edgar Allan Poe that was initially published in Graham’s magazine in 1845. The story is focused upon the pnenomenon of self-destruction behavior that is metaphorically expressed through the image of  the ‘imp of the perverse’ that tortures the man who eventually gets the death penalty.