The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar cover

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

by Edgar Allan Poe

"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" is a short story by the American author Edgar Allan Poe about a mesmerist who puts a man in a suspended hypnotic state at the moment of death. An example of a tale of suspense and horror, it is also to a certain degree a hoax, as it was published without claiming to be fictional, and many at the time of publication (1845) took it to be a factual account. Poe toyed with the idea for a while before he admitted it to be a work of pure fiction in his marginalia. ---------- This story also contained in: [Basil Rathbone Reads Edgar Allan Poe](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24951848W) [Complete Tales and Poems](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24964639W) [Creepy Classics](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8213021W) [Cuentos de terror](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14948575W) [Future Perfect](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3931584W) [Ghostly Tales and Eerie Poems of Edgar Allan Poe](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14937997W) [Great Book of Thrillers](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8476718W) [Great Science Fiction About Doctors](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16045473W) [In the Shadow of the Master](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14938012W) [Masters of the Macabre](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14926831W) [Mysteries and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24955662W) [Novelas y Cuentos](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24935025W) [Penguin Book of Horror Stories](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1835641W) [Seltsame Geschichten](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14938102W) [Short Stories](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14938142W) [Tales](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24834421W) [Tales](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24695775W) [Tales: Mystery and Occultism](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14938139W) [Tales: Mystery and Occultism/Horror and Death](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24903243W) [Tales: Volume III](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24945061W) [Tales of Mystery and Horror: Vol. III](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19956142W) [Tales of Suspense](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL41009W) [These Will Chill You](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7243354W) [Twelve Creepy Tales](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24900303W) [Works of Edgar Allan Poe](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14938136W) [Works of Edgar Allan Poe: In Five Volumes: Volume Two](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL273463W)

More by Edgar Allan Poe

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?