Nevermore? Mystery visitor misses Poe's birthday

As all of you may know, Edger Allen Poe gets a yearly visitor in his birthday that visits his gravestone and drops off 3 roses and a half bottle of cognac. This event has become a yearly event for people miles around to come and see this. this year, the visitor didn't show up. this link will take you to the full story.

news.yahoo.com...

The question on everyone's mind is, What happened? Is this tradition "nevermore"?

fascinating. i have always thought that this was interesting and followed it. maybe the person is just sick? the world is a richer place when there are still traditions and mysteries such as this in it.

He's known as the 'Poe Toaster.' However, the original toaster died a while back, if I recall. Someone else took over but they didn't appear to have the same level of class as the original. The new individual would leave insulting letters to the press and such.

This story always intrigued me.

If the new one did fail to show, it doesn't surprise me. Like a son who takes over their father's business, the replacement rarely has the same level of passion than the one who started the tradition.

I have been waiting for this event for a long time.

It is a very cool tradition. Perhaps a new character will perpetuate it beginning next year.

I also just noticed the article was published online at 10:30 AM thereabouts. Perhaps the day is young and he will be coming later this evening. The day is young. He may be working since it's a day after a federal holiday.

No idea, of course, but wanted to throw that out there.

People are just too darn lazy to do anything physical nowadays and everything is now done virtually.
Setup a website for this gravesite and I guarantee many people will send/upload more than just roses and cognac.

Here's a decent article from a couple of years back.

A 92 year old guy claims to spill the beans on the "visitor"

Man Reveals Legend of Mystery Visitor to Edgar Allan Poe's Grave

Now, a 92-year-old man who led the fight to preserve the historic site says the visitor was his creation.

"We did it, myself and my tour guides," said Sam Porpora. "It was a promotional idea.

Of course, there is some debate as to if this guy is telling the truth.

Next year there'll be 7 or 8 Poe Toasters show up. Probably end up dueling with cognac bottles.

"I'm the Poe toaster."
"No, I am.'
"Me!"

YouTube hilarity ensues.

I'd never heard of this before. It's a romantic tale that Poe might have wrapped a short story around. It's definitely got the kernel of a mystery. I guess the guys running the boneyard annually remove the cognac, 'for safe keeping.

Flagged for an interesting tale (whether it's promotional or not).

The recession strikes the toaster! Quick Obama get that man a bailout.

the thing was, this was a job that was passed down from father to son to keep the tradition alive or so they say. Many people have been claiming that they was or is the "toaster". many are not believable. Now with this "toaster" not showing up when he was suppose to has many to believe that the tradition has been broken

intresting, my theory is the poe toaster II is dead... prepare for poe toaster 3.0 next year...

I was just about to start a thread on this and glad to see that I am not the only one thinking of this story.

This is very sad news. It has been a tradition here for a long time. The poe grave is a big attraction for Baltimore.

It would be like not having groundhog day in Punxataney.

If you are ever in the area, the cemetary, poe or not, is something to see. It is quite extraordinary, creepy, and something to see. I am a cemetary buff, and have never seen anything like it.

Another tradition is to leave pennies on Poes' grave.

Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849. Even in death, he has continued to confuse and inspire the people of Baltimore. Nothing better demonstrates this than the site of Poe's Grave.
In October 1849, Poe was buried at the family plot in the Westminster Burying Grounds. Because it was a family lot and the Poe family wasn't rich, there was no headstone. In fact, the grave wasn't marked at all until a few years after his death. A sympathetic Church sexton placed a small sandstone block with the number 80 by Poe's grave. Relatives learned of the sad condition of the grave in 1860. They commissioned a stone carver to create a small headstone. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a train accident, and the family was too poor to have a new one made.

Then, near the end of the Civil War, an organization of citizens decided the famous poet deserved a memorial. School children around town collected pennies for Poe's grave. A Philadelphia man donated a large sum of money. Others in the city and beyond gave what they could. With the money that was collected, the citizens purchased a white marble memorial to be placed in the graveyard. The city decided that such a memorial shouldn't be in the back of the graveyard, where the Poe family plots were. So they dug up Poe's remains and moved them to the front corner of the grounds, closest to Fayette Street. The monument was dedicated in 1875. Among others, John H. B. Latrobe and the famous poet Walt Whitman attended the ceremony.

knowing poe

So where Poe is buried now is not the original spot. And there is some local myths that they really don't know where his body is in the cemetary. Kind of like a Mozart thing.

It was like a hurricane blew a bunch of old graves and abstract mosoleums around and left them there. You can see why it has so much mystery.

The cemetary was built before the church. Is not very big. So they actually have the basement full of graves.

Now, the historical society has to be in on the visitor, whoever they may be. Even a worker. For all you know, it is a different person every year.
Because it is locked behind a wall. And not easy to get into. Someone jumpoing over a high cement fence would be pretty noticeable. So someone had to let the person in. So there is more then one person in on the visits.

I actually predicted this was going to happen. The Poe toaster ceasing. Becuase in recent years people have been trying to film, him, catch him. Have been acting like paparazzi. Clips had shown up on the news

It kind of takes the fun out of it. And they should of just let it be.

So my theory is that it was technology that brought it to the end. I doubt they will ever come back. YOu don't miss a year in a tradition like that.

Too much of a good thing, once the media hops on board its usually time to abandon ship. Besides who would still drinking cognac after they turn 200, it had to end sometime.