The Philadelphia row house where Poe lived from 1838 to 1844 — the longest period he spent in any city — was the creative peak of his career, during which he wrote "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Black Cat," "The Gold Bug," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," inventing the detective story genre. The modest brick house, the only surviving Philadelphia home of the writer, includes a dark basement that Poe scholars believe may have inspired the story of Montresor and Fortunato.