The Balloon Hoax
by Edgar Allan Poe
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Description
The Balloon-Hoax is a thrilling tale of deception, adventure, and the power of imagination, penned by the master of macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. Originally published in 1844 as a journalistic hoax, the story recounts a sensational account of an imagined transatlantic flight in a hot air balloon. The tale follows the supposed journey of a group of daring adventurers as they embark on an unprecedented voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, powered by nothing more than a massive balloon. Poe crafts the show more narrative with meticulous detail, blurring the line between fiction and reality, leaving readers questioning what is possible and what is illusion. An early example of literary hoaxes, The Balloon-Hoax reveals Poe's fascination with science, technology, and the limits of human ambition. This timeless short story continues to captivate audiences with its blend of adventure, mystery, and Poe's unique talent for the extraordinary. show lessTags
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Author Information

3,808+ Works 107,435 Members
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. In 1827, he enlisted in the United States Army and his first collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems, was published. In 1835, he became the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. Over the next ten years, Poe would edit a number of literary journals including the show more Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and Graham's Magazine in Philadelphia and the Broadway Journal in New York City. It was during these years that he established himself as a poet, a short story writer, and an editor. His works include The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, A Descent into the Maelstrom, The Masque of the Red Death, and The Raven. He struggle with depression and alcoholism his entire life and died on October 7, 1849 at the age of 40. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Edgar Allan Poe: Collected Stories and Poems (Collector's Library Editions) by Edgar Allan Poe (indirect)
The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination; The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym; The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe (indirect)
The Works of Edgar Allen Poe in One Volume: Poems, Tales, Essays, Criticisms with New Notes by Edgar Allan Poe
The Best Known Works of Edgar Allan Poe in One Volume: Poems, Tales, Essays, Criticisms by Edgar Allan Poe
The fireside book of flying stories; short stories, fragments, vignettes, observations, reports, essays, a novelette, and a science fiction story, selected from the writings of the age of flight by Paul Jensen
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe with Selections from His Critical Writings by Edgar Allan Poe
Past, present, and future perfect; a text anthology of speculative and science fiction by Gregory Fitzgerald
The annotated tales of Edgar Allan Poe edited with an introduction, notes, and a bibliography by Edgar Allan Poe
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Balloon-Hoax [short story]
- Alternate titles
- The Balloon Hoax [short story]
- Original publication date
- 1844-04-13
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Statistics
- Members
- 24
- Popularity
- 1,109,379
- Rating
- (3.20)
- Languages
- English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 4


























































