First in New York City (1837), then in Philadelphia (1838-44), and again in New York (1844-49), Poe sought to establish himself as a force in literary journalism, but with only moderate success. He did succeed, however, in formulating influential literary theories and in demonstrating mastery of the forms he favored--highly musical poems and short prose narratives. Both forms, he argued, should aim at "a certain unique or single effect." His theory of short fiction is best exemplified in Ligeia (1838), the tale Poe considered his finest, and The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), which was to become one of his most famous stories. Whether or not Poe invented the short story, it is certain that he originated the novel of detection. Perhaps his best-known tale in this genre is The Gold Bug (1843), about a search for buried treasure. The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841), The Mystery of Marie Rogêt (1842-1843), and The Purloined Letter (1844) are regarded as predecessors of the modern mystery, or detective, story. Among Poe's poetic output, about a dozen poems are remarkable for their flawless literary construction and for their haunting themes and meters. In The Raven (1845), for example, the narrator is overwhelmed by melancholy and omens of death. Poe's extraordinary manipulation of rhythm and sound is particularly evident in The Bells (1849), a poem that seems to echo with the chiming of metallic instruments, and The Sleeper (1831), which reproduces the state of drowsiness. Lenore (1831) and Annabel Lee (1849) are verse lamentations on the death of a beautiful young woman.

Many of Poe's tales are distinguished by the author's unique grotesque inventiveness in addition to his superb plot construction. Such stories include The Pit and the Pendulum (1842), a spine-tingling tale of cruelty and torture; The Tell-Tale Heart (1843), in which a maniacal murderer is subconsciously haunted into confessing his guilt; and The Cask of Amontillado (1846), an eerie tale of revenge.

Virginia's death in January 1847 was a heavy blow, but Poe continued to write and lecture. In the summer of 1849 he revisited Richmond, lectured, and was accepted anew by the fiancee he had lost in 1826. After his return north he was found unconscious on a Baltimore street. In a brief obituary the Baltimore Clipper reported that Poe had died of "congestion of the brain."