Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)

The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall

This short story by Edgar Allan Poe was published in the June 1835 issue of the monthly magazine Southern Literary Messsenger. It was intended by Poe to be a hoax. He had planned to continue the hoax in further installments, but was upstaged by the famous Great Moon Hoax which started in the August 25, 1835 issue of the New York Sun daily newspaper. Poe later wrote that the flippant tone of the story made it easy for educated readers to see through the supposed hoax.

Yan Dargent's illustration for Jules Verne's "Edgar Poe et ses œuvres" (1864)

The story opens with the delivery to a crowd gathered in Rotterdam of a manuscript detailing the journey of a man named Hans Pfaall. The manuscript, which comprises the majority of the story, sets out in detail how Pfaall contrived to reach the moon by benefit of a revolutionary new balloon and a device which compresses the vacuum of space into breathable air. The journey takes him 19 days, and the narrative includes descriptions of the Earth from space as well as the descent to its fiery, volcanic satellite. Pfaall withholds most of the information regarding the surface of the moon and its inhabitants in order to negotiate a pardon from the Burgomaster for several murders he committed as he left earth (creditors of his who were becoming irksome). After reading the manuscript, the city authorities agree that Pfaall should be pardoned, but the messenger who brought them the text (apparently a resident of the moon) has vanished and they are unable to restore communication with him. Read it HERE ...

Also Read Poe's Great Balloon Hoax HERE ...