Poe in the Present

Descriptions of dark rooms, rich red colors, and heavy fabrics fill the pages of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. After reading a number of them and also his poems, I've become familiar with the setting that Poe uses as the backdrop for his stories. The places seem haunted, old and mysterious. They aren't places I'd see in my day to day life unless I went to a museum. This makes me wonder, if Poe were alive today, would he keep his stories set in these Arabesque style, antique homes?

The setting of his stories adds a great deal to them. The lit candles add a spooky element even though that was the necessary means of light during the time period. I'm not one to enjoy anything that is remotely scary so even these small details alarm me. However, Poe's stories captivate me with their level of description of the setting. If the stories were in present day, in a normal setting, they lose much of what makes them so remarkable. There would be too many easy solutions to the problems the characters face if they were in a present setting. If it is a dark, scary night, just turn on a light and watch a movie. If there is a question about a woman in a coma, take her to a responsible doctor instead of burying her in your spooky cellar. If your friend is going crazy, simply call the police. These simple solutions would take away the scary aspects of Poe's stories. Even though it would solve all the characters problems if the stories were set in the present time I can't help but think that this would cause them to lose much of their drama and mystery.