Edgar Allan Poe 
Angel of the Odd 

In England, fans of Charles Dickens were gripped by the four ghosts that visited Ebenezer Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol’ to get him to change his mean ways.At the same time, Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘Angel of the Odd’, made out of a keg and wine bottles, drops in on the narrator, who does not believe in strange occurrences.He chases the angel away and has a booze-induced afternoon nap.When he wakes, his house is on fire. A ladder appears at the window and down he climbs — only to collide with a pig, fracturing his arm in the fall.Things cannot get worse, can they? They sure can! For he is given the elbow by his would-be wife, who notices that he wears a wig because it was burnt off in the blaze.The mishaps just keep coming. But when the ‘Angel of the Odd’ reappears, will the poor man swallow his pride and halt the barrage of blows?’Angel of the Odd’ is the ideal read for those interested in Poe’s lesser-known works. —