Edgar Allan Poe comes up in 5 chapters across 3 episodes of The Higherside Chats Free Show, from September 2017 to August 2018.
Writers Guilds and Dinoskeptic.com Project
The conversation concludes with a discussion on secret societies and writers' guilds, such as those involving Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne, potentially crafting cultural narratives. John Le Bon promotes his upcoming film at dinoskeptic.com, which documents his three-day trip to Winton, Australia, to examine "holotype" dinosaur specimens.
Intelligence Services, Propaganda, and State-Sponsored Writing Guilds
The conversation shifts to the role of writing circles, such as the Wilton group, in serving as state-sponsored intelligence or propaganda arms for royalty. These guilds encoded subtext into literature to distract or influence the masses, a practice that continues in modern media. Edgar Allan Poe is introduced as a potential member of a later iteration of these groups, specifically the Society of the Cincinnati.
Edgar Allan Poe, The Gold Bug, and the Society of the Cincinnati
Edgar Allan Poe’s work The Gold Bug is analyzed for its parallels to Thomas Jefferson’s life and the Oak Island mystery. Poe attended the University of Virginia while Jefferson was alive and was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, a group for Revolutionary War officers and their descendants. Lindahl suggests Poe may have acted as a spy or intelligence asset, using his fiction to communicate or investigate hidden truths.
Hollow Earth Theory, Enochian Models, and the Nine Layers
The discussion explores the Hollow Earth theory and its presence in the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne. Lindahl links the nine layers of logs in the Oak Island Money Pit to the nine-chambered earth model found in the Book of Enoch and the nine degrees of Royal Arch Freemasonry. This section also touches on the symbolism of the labyrinth and ancient initiation rites involving underground chambers and hallucinogens.
Literary Success, Ian Fleming and H.P. Lovecraft
The career trajectories of famous authors like Ian Fleming, H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allan Poe are compared to J.K. Rowling's rapid rise. While Rowling "caught lightning in a bottle," others like Lovecraft and Poe only achieved significant cult status and influence years after their deaths. The discussion questions whether a "hidden hand" or "gatekeepers" facilitate the success of certain esoteric works.
