The headline might seem a little confusing at first, but I promise it will soon make sense. At least, I hope so. Okay, it could possibly make sense. Let me try to explain.

A recent article from Earth.com’s Eric Ralls cites an article from the journal Physiology. A study led by Professor Peter Noble from the University of Washington in Seattle and Alex Pozhitkov from the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California have found there could be a third state of existence between life and death.

The researchers determined the third state happens “when the cells of a dead organism continue to function after its death, sometimes gaining new capabilities they never had while the organism was alive.”

The research discovered, however, that the conditions had to be right for such an occurrence to, uh, occur, such as temperature and the availability of energy. A far cry from replicating humans, but it is a start.

“But Robert,” you may ask. “What does that have to do with Edgar Allan Poe?” Excellent question, astute reader. Poe just happened to hypothesize a state between life and death in his short story “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.”

In his tale, Poe uses mesmerism as the driving force that could stave off death. M. Valdemar is a person on the verge of death, suffering from tuberculosis as well as general declining health. The narrator, known only as “P.,” uses mesmerism to keep Valdemar in a hypnotic state just as he is on the cusp of buying the harp farm.

Valdemar was, for most intents and purposes, dead. Except for his tongue, which lolled around in his mouth, allowing him to communicate with P. He is kept in this state for seven months, until the decision was made to attempt to revive him.

Valdemar screamed, “For God’s sake!—quick!—quick!—put me to sleep—or, quick!—waken me!—quick!—I say to you that I am dead!” P. tried to put the man back to sleep and to awaken him, but the body shouted “dead! dead!” as it disintegrated into a liquid, rotting mass. I tried to come up with something pithy to say about the ending, but “liquid, rotting mass” will have to suffice.

Well. I’ve given you two parts of this story of three halves, now it is time to tie it up in a pretty bow. Here is where the actor(s) come(s) in. Boy, October is going to be a great month for theatre lovers. The Maysville Players have not one, but four events going on for the month, while the Maysville Children’s Theatre will present the world premiere of “Broomsticks-Once Upon A Maysville Moon.” More about both in forthcoming articles. But for now, here is the promised Poe tie-in.

The Appalachian Creatives Theatrical Society is going to present “The Edgar Allan Poe Afterlife Radio Show” October 5th, 6th, 19th and 20th at the Baker-Bird Winery, 4465 W. Augusta-Chatham Road in Augusta.

The story sounds like a lot of fun: Accompanied by a very opinionated feline companion, Edgar Allan Poe sets out to keep his stories alive from beyond the grave. Presented in the format of a ‘radio show’ complete with live Foley sound effects, wandering spirits gather to revive Poe’s creepiest classics, from The Fall of the House of Usher to (my favorite) The Cask of Amontillado.

Admission is $20 per person and wine will be available for purchase. Reserve you seats now at acts_ky.eventbrite.com.

Keep your dance cards free this Halloween, because there is going to be a lot of fun to be had this holiday season. More details on how to not miss a heartbeat of it in upcoming columns. Meanwhile, the spooky season is upon us!