The Edgar Allan Poe Toaster

Today is the 102^nd birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, born on Jan. 19, 1809, died on Oct. 7, 1849. And, for the second year running, the mysterious man who left three roses and a half-empty bottle of cognac at Poe’s Baltimore grave has not made an appearance.

Since 1949, the ritual has been observed and recorded. But the tradition was broken last year, and apparently it’s fallen by the wayside, although there are those who believe it will eventually be re-established. The legend is that a man dressed in black with a white scarf and wide-brimmed hat toasted the literary genius until his death in 1998, when his son began carrying on the tradition.

A few years ago (2007), 92-year-old Sam Porpora alleged that he and four other guides made up the legend as a promotional idea to increase visits to Westminster Presbyterian Church.

The Edgar Allan Poe Monument

There are actually two sites of Poe’s grave. Poe originally was buried in lot 27, the family lot, and a marble headstone indicating the original burying place was placed near the plot in 1913. A monument dedicated to Poe was erected on Nov. 17, 1874, and this is the Memorial Grave most viewed.

When I was attending a conference in Baltimore in (I believe) 1994, our Environment Section took a tour of the city, including a “ghost tour” at Westminster Church. After crawling around under the church and listening to a rather eerie lecture by one of the guides, we went to the Poe monument.

Lo and behold, a man dressed in a black cape and a wide-brimmed black hat, with a white scarf wrapped around his neck stepped out from behind the monument and identified himself as the Poe Toaster. He proceeded to tell us a history of Edgar Allan Poe, then answered our questions.

Whenever it became obvious that he didn’t know an answer, he would launch into recitations from Poe’s works.

That, I have to say, was one of the best conference activities I’ve ever attended.