Lurking in the shadows behind everything from the cases of Sherlock Holmes to the films of Alfred Hitchcock is the Irvine-educated “Godfather of horror” Edgar Allan Poe.
According to actor and Poe enthusiast Stephen Smith, it’s difficult to overstate the influence of the American author and poet – his tendrils are everywhere.
Smith is celebrating his hero by bringing six of his short stories to the Edinburgh Fringe (in three separate shows) under the banner of One Man Poe. Most fit snuggly into the horror mould while others, like The Business Man delve into other dark areas of the human psyche.
Smith believes that Scotland, and Poe’s Scottish family influences, had a profound effect on his identity, life and writing. Indeed, performing Poe in Edinburgh is almost a homecoming.
He said: “So much great literature would not exist without Poe’s writing. And Poe’s writing would not have happened without Scotland.
“Scotland was the source of so many of the ideas, settings, stories and relationships that shaped him. Performing Poe’s work in Edinburgh feels like coming to the wellspring.”
Born in Boston in 1809 and orphaned in 1811 he was taken in by John Allan (the source of Edgar’s middle name), a Scottish merchant based in Virginia, and his wife Frances.
In 1815 he had the exceptionally unusual experience of crossing the Atlantic and being educated for a year at grammar school in Irvine while John worked on business ventures, including in Edinburgh. The relationship between Edgar and John was a tortured one.
Smith says many of the bleak, rugged settings Poe described in his stories are likely to have come from the wild coasts he saw in Scotland.
More directly, Poe was a fan of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (known as Maga), which was famous for its “tales of terror” – stories that were a powerful influence on his own work. He even penned a satirical short story called “How to Write a Blackwood Article”.
Smith will be presenting two tales per show:
- The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pit and the Pendulum
- The Black Cat and The Raven.
- The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar.
He had sell-out runs at the Fringe in 2024 and 2025 with the first four, scooping the Derek Award for Best Overall Show and the Spookies Award for Best Horror Solo Show.
But the final pair of spinechillers are new for 2026.
All are performed in the atmospheric surroundings of Greenside’s 16th-century Riddles Court complex, a place Poe might have seen when he visited Edinburgh as a child.
Described by the author’s descendants as a “tour-de-force”, One Man Poe offers horror fans and classical literature lovers an atmospheric experience rich with imaginative storytelling.
Poe’s influence
- Father of the detective story – Poe created the first great armchair sleuth, C. Auguste Dupin, whose methods of observation and deduction inspired countless fictional detectives, most famously Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle acknowledged this debt, asking, “Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?” Doyle even has Dr. Watson compare Holmes directly to Dupin in A Study in Scarlet.
- God of fiction – H. P. Lovecraft, one of horror’s most influential figures, referred to Poe as his “God of Fiction.”
- Hitchcock’s inspiration: Alfred Hitchcock remarked: “It’s because I liked Edgar Allan Poe’s stories so much that I began to make suspense films.”
- Founder of modern horror: Frankenstein director Guillermo del Toro famously noted: “[Poe’s] work is without a doubt the fundamental stepping stone between the legacy of Gothic horror and the threshold of its modern incarnations.”
- Sci fi and adventure pioneer: Long before Sci fi genre formally existed, Poe was exploring mankind’s relationship with the cosmos, speculative technology, and extraordinary voyages beyond the known world. He influenced writers such as Jules Verne and helped establish themes that became central to science fiction. His impact can even be found in Robert Louis Stevenson, who drew inspiration from Poe’s MS. Found in a Bottle and The Gold-Bug when crafting Treasure Island.
Praise for One Man Poe
★★★★★ “Captivating” The National
★★★★★ “Powerfully moving,” Everything Theatre
★★★★★ “A compelling and repelling experience,” MyTheatreMates
★★★★★ “Edgar Allan Poe would love this powerful performance,” The Derek Awards
★★★★★ “A terrifying horror experience that you will struggle to beat,” North West End
★★★★★ “The definitive Fringe interpretation of much-loved works,” The Wee Review
★★★★★ “A captivating night of terror, guilt, grief and murder most foul,” Broadway Baby
-Ends-
Production information
- Written by Edgar Allan Poe
- Directed and performed by Stephen Smith
- Music by Joseph Furey / Sound Design by Joseph Furey and Django Holder
- Supported by Watford Palace Theatre and The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA)
- Produced by Threedumb Theatre (www.threedumbtheatre.com / @3dumbtheatre)
Listings details
One Man Poe: The Black Cat and The Raven
- Venue: Greenside Venue @ Riddles Court (Willow Studio) – Venue 16 – 322 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PG
- Start times vary: 12:45 and 18:35
- Dates for 12:45 starts: Aug 7 (preview), 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27
- Dates for 18:35 starts: Aug 9, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29
- Duration: 55 mins
- Prices: Concession £15/£16, full price £16/£17, preview £12.50
- Advisory: Contains distressing or potentially triggering themes
- Age: 12+
- Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/one-man-poe-the-black-cat-and-the-raven
One Man Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pit and the Pendulum
- Venue: Greenside Venue @ Riddles Court (Willow Studio) – Venue 16 – 322 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PG
- Start times vary: 12:45 and 18:35
- Dates for 12:45 starts: Aug 9, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29
- Dates for 18:35 starts: Aug 8 (preview), 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28
- Duration: 60 mins
- Prices: Concession £15/£16, full price £16/£17, preview £12.50
- Advisory: Contains distressing or potentially triggering themes
- Age: 12+
- Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/one-man-poe-the-tell-tale-heart-and-the-pit-and-the-pendulum
One Man Poe: The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar
- Venue: Greenside Venue @ Riddles Court (Willow Studio) – Venue 16 – 322 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PG
- Start times vary: 12:45 and 18:35
- Dates for 12:45 starts: Aug 8 (preview), 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28
- Dates for 18:35 starts: Aug 7 (preview), 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27
- Duration: 55 mins
- Prices: Concession £15/£16, full price £16/17, preview £10
- Advisory: Contains distressing or potentially triggering themes
- Age: 16+
- Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/one-man-poe-the-business-man-and-the-case-of-m-valdemar
About Stephen Smith and One Man Poe
A huge fan of the late Roger Corman / Vincent Price’s Poe-cycle when a child, Smith reignited his love of classical horror stories during the pandemic by creating online renditions of Poe’s work via Facebook Live. When the theatres reopened, he combined four of Poe’s most popular pieces in a solo show and named the extravaganza One Man Poe.
First performed in 2021 at Watford Palace Theatre, One Man Poe has had multiple runs in London on tour in the UK. Poe is sometimes referred to as “America’s Shakespeare”, and Stephen is thrilled to share the stories to UK theatre audiences. However, the show has toured internationally; to Dubai, Malaysia, on Off-Broadway in New York, and the International Poe Festival in Baltimore MD. Stephen has had the pleasure of performing the show at the Poe Museum in Richmond VA, Poe’s cottage in the Bronx, and even a special VIP catacomb performance at Poe’s burial site in Baltimore!
- Interviews available – just get in touch.
- Media pack with photos and videos: www.tinyurl.com/onemanpoe
Social media:
Media contact: Matthew Shelley, SFPR, 07786 704299 Matthew@Scottishfestivalspr.org
