It Happened Here

Baltimore's Home to Edgar Allan Poe Memorabilia

By Jeesoo Park, WIW Intern

American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe, who is often credited as the
father of the detective story and penned such famous works as "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Raven," was born in Boston, Mass., in 1809. However, it is Baltimore, Md., where his body rests along with several other members of his family.

Poe's parents were traveling actors who died shortly after his birth. Poe went to live with his godfather and foster father John Allan in Richmond, Va. Although he raised Poe, Allan never really accepted Poe as his own son. A disapproving Allan eventually forced Poe, whose youth was riddled with trouble and debt, out of the house.

In 1827, Poe enlisted in the U.S. Army and later entered the military academy at West Point where he neglected his duties and was subsequently dishonorably discharged.

In 1833, Poe moved to Baltimore to live with his Aunt Clemm and cousins, including 13-year-old Virginia Clemm whom Poe later married. The house they all lived in is now The Baltimore Poe House and Museum located at 203 Amity St. in West Baltimore. It was there that Poe wrote "Berenice," "MS Found in a Bottle" and "Enigma." When Virginia died in 1835, Poe left Baltimore.

In 1849, while traveling through Baltimore, Poe was supposedly found
unconscious in a Baltimore gutter and was transported to a hospital in West Baltimore where he died due to unknown causes. Possible explanations of Poe's death included drunkenness, diabetes or even rabies. Although many assume alcohol poisoning as the most likely cause of Poe's death, Poe apparently never exhibited symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption. His death remains a mystery.

Poe is buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church located at the corner of Fayette Street and Greene Street in Baltimore. His gravesite remains a popular tourist attraction. Since 1949, a man whose identity is unknown but goes by the name of "Poe Toaster" leaves cognac and three roses every year between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. on Poe's birthday, January 19. It's reported that this man recently died, however, before his passing, he asked his son to carry on the tradition.

The house was built around 1830 and saved from demolition by the Edgar Allen Poe Society of Baltimore in 1941. After being repaired, the building opened as The Edgar Allan Poe House in 1949. In 1979, the society handed over ownership of the museum to the City of Baltimore requesting that the city preserve the property. The Baltimore Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation currently maintains the site.

The Poe House is a small brick duplex with five bedrooms—the one bedroom on the top floor supposedly Poe's. There are several displays exhibited within the house, including a telescope and lap desk reportedly used by Poe himself. There's also a video about Poe available for viewing. Although not belonging to Poe himself, some furniture of the period including a chair and bed frame is also on display.

There is some talk about a ghost haunting the house, believed to
be either Poe himself or another family member who resided in the house. Reports of strange noises, a shadowy spirit sitting at a writing desk and lights floating around inside the house at odd hours of the night have caused quite the stir among tourists and visitors. If you feel tapping on your shoulder while visiting a room in the house—on the second floor in particular—and turn around to a seemingly empty room, you may not be alone.

During the summer, the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum opens Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 3:45 p.m. Call ahead and check the hours because they may change daily. There is a small fee for admission.

Special events, hosted throughout the year by the Poe Society of Baltimore, honor the author. On Halloween local actors provide theatrical presentations of Poe's life at the house. Poe's birthday on January 19 is honored with the World's Largest Edgar Allan Poe Birthday Celebration that includes music, theatrical presentations, a bagpipe tribute, special exhibits of rare Poe artifacts and the world famous toast to Poe at his gravesite.

Visit www.eapoe.org or call (410) 396-7932 for details and more
information.