On October 3, 1849 Poe was wandering the streets of Baltimore, not in his right mind. Joseph W. Walker found him "in great distress, and...in need of immediate assistance." Poe died a few days later on Sunday, October 7, 1849 at five in the morning.
The mystery remained since Poe never became coherent long enough to explain what was wrong and how he ended up in such a dire condition. Even stranger, he never got the chance to answer why he was wearing clothes that weren't his. Reportedly, Poe did call out the name "Reynolds" on the night he died, but nobody had a clue who he was referring to.
The cause of death in the papers were "congestion of the brain" and "cerebral inflammation," common phrases for excessive alcohol. Unfortunately, the true cause of death will remain unknown since all his medical records and death certificate have been lost.
