Edgar Allan Poe

Today is the 197th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe. He died here in Baltimore back in 1849. No one really knows what he died from although most people seem to think it had something to do with his drinking problem which very well could have been...I don't know. Anyway there is a tradition that takes place here every year on Poe's birthday where a disguised man places a dozen roses and a bottle of cognac on his grave. No one knows who this man is or why he does it. Most people seem to think of it as a tribute to the great writer. He has been caught on camera although he concealed his face and he also left a not some years ago saying that "the torch will be passed" meaning that someone else was going to take up the tradition when this person stopped. People always try and catch the guy but no one ever succeeds. This has been going on for 57 years in a row. He hasn't missed a year yet and I don't think he's going to miss one.

I think this is one of the coolest stories. I love that there is a tradition like this here. I work right down the street from where he is buried and ride by it everyday. The cemetary he and his family are buried in is behind a locked gate but that doesn't seem to phase the visitor or Poe Toaster as he has been dubbed. Its a big thing here in Baltimore and every year people try and find out who he is. He is always dressed the same and just sort of appears. No one sees him come or go. I don't want to know who he is but I want to see him once. When I was little I thought he was the ghost of Poe....I don't know why...I think it has something to do with that they never saw who did it and never really knew why. I remember seeing video one of the news people captured and it looked to me that he materialized out of nowhere. He didn't...I saw the video later and saw that it walked right up to it did his thing and left. There are a lot of historic places here in Baltimore but the Poe house and grave seem to be the main attraction. We have the Betsy Ross house where the first flag was supposedly made and there is also Fort McHenry where one of the most famous battles of the War of 1812 took place that would give us our National Anthem. There is a buoy where most historians think the ship that Francis Scott Key was on when he wrote the Star Spangled Banner...you can see it if you look down while going over the Key bridge. Just a lot if interesting stuff but nothing seems to capture the attention that Poe's grave does. What a fitting tribute to one of America's most famous writers.