The Poe Shadow

The infamous Poe Toaster has left his annual gift with no mishap  even though nearly 150 spectators were on the scene. 

Each year on  Edgar Allan Poe's birthday a stranger leaves a rose and a half bottle of cognac on the writer's grave.  It is believed  the tradition started in 1949, but a former church historian and advertising executive has claimed he developed this scheme as a publicity stunt in the 70's.  However Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum disputes this. Nevertheless, I'm sure it's a great show.

I picked up The Poe Shadow at Barnes and Noble this weekend.  It's a fictional account of a lawyer investigating the mystery around Poe's death.  It was assumed Poe died of alcoholism but the cause of death has never been confirmed.  Poe was found wandering, and incoherent in the streets of Baltimore  in clothes that did not belong to him and taken to Washington College Hospital where he died four days later.  One theory is he was a victim of cooping, a practice  common at the time where people were forced against their will to vote numerous times for a specific candidate. Victims were often drugged, plowed with drink, and taken to various polls which may explain the strange clothes.

Perhaps next January, I will take a take a trip to Baltimore.

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