The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, Edgar Allan Poe
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, Edgar Allan Poe
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The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Narrator: Gid Newell

Unabridged: 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/25/2026


Synopsis

Can death be postponed by the power of the human mind?

Fascinated by mesmerism and determined to test its limits, an unnamed experimenter proposes a disturbing question: What would happen if a dying person were placed under hypnosis at the precise moment of death?

His willing subject is M. Ernest Valdemar, a terminally ill man whose physicians believe he has only hours to live. As midnight approaches, the mesmerist begins his work while doctors and witnesses carefully document every change.

Valdemar’s breathing stops. His pulse disappears. His body takes on the unmistakable appearance of death.

Yet he remains suspended in the trance.

For seven months, Valdemar exists in an impossible state—neither fully alive nor permitted to die. When questioned, he responds through a voice so unnatural and horrifying that those present can scarcely endure it.

Eventually, the experimenter decides to awaken him.

What follows is one of the most grotesque and unforgettable conclusions in all of Edgar Allan Poe’s fiction.

Written with chilling clinical detail, *The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar* blurs the boundary between scientific report and supernatural horror. Originally published in 1845, the story was presented so convincingly that some readers believed Poe’s fictional experiment to be a genuine account.

A disturbing classic of mesmerism, suspended death, and forbidden experimentation.

Narrated by Gid Newell.

About Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, and literary critic who is credited with inventing the detective fiction genre and with contributing to the emerging science fiction genre. He began his literary career with the anonymous publication of a collection of his poems entitled Tamerlane and Other Poems. He then turned to writing prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming well known for his particular style of literary criticism. He served for a time on the staff of the New York Mirror, in which his poem "The Raven" was published. Poe's other well-known works include his stories "The Purloined Letter," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and "The Mystery of Marie Roget."


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