Poe's Grave Visitor Mystery

[Empty_Purple_Stars]

57 years of mystery: Who visits Poe's grave?
Roses and bottle of cognac appear on writer's birthday each year
Thursday, January 19, 2006; Posted: 9:13 a.m. EST (14:13 GMT)

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- For the 57th straight year, a mystery man paid tribute to Edgar Allan Poe by placing roses and a bottle of cognac on the writer's grave to mark his January 19 birthday.

Some of the 25 spectators drawn to a tiny, locked graveyard in downtown Baltimore for the ceremony climbed over the walls of the site and were "running all over the place trying to find out how the guy gets in," according to Jeff Jerome, the most faithful viewer of the event.

Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum, said early Thursday he had to chase people out of the graveyard, fearing they would interfere with the mystery visitor's ceremony.

"In letting people know about this tribute, I've been contributing to these people's desire to catch this guy," Jerome said. "It's such a touching tribute, and it's been disrupted by the actions of a few people trying to interfere and expose this guy."

Jerome has seen the mysterious visitor every January 19 since 1976. Poe was born in 1809.

"They had a game plan," Jerome said of the spectators. "They knew from previous years when the guy would appear."
'Hoping for wind and rain'

But Jerome declined to reveal details of what the Poe toaster was wearing, what he did at Poe's grave, and whether he left anything besides the roses and cognac, such as a note.

It was a the crisp, cold, clear night. "I was hoping for wind and rain in keeping with a Poe story," Jerome said.

But the museum curator was saddened by the disrespectful spectators.

"I hope to preserve this tribute. It's one of those things that make Baltimore so unique," he said.

For decades, a frail figure made the visit to Poe's grave. In 1993 the original visitor left a cryptic note saying, "The torch will be passed." A later note said the man, who apparently died in 1998, had handed the tradition on to his sons.

Poe, who wrote poems and horror stories such as "The Raven" and "The Telltale Heart," died October 7, 1849 in Baltimore at the age of 40 after collapsing in a tavern.



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[Saya]

Thats kinda sweet. People should leave him alone, though. Its more romantic with the mystery ^_^

[angleangel_doom]

I'd want someone to do that for me on my birthday when I die. So romantic.

[swt&inc angel??]

The fact that those people are ignorent enough to screw with this traditional birthday cerimony really pisses me off its sad that a guy cant respect the dead in his own way without being bothered. Who cares who he is, its really sweet and I think its a great thing that he does it. And everyone needs to LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE. You know what I mean,its just rude and disrespectful for them to do.

[pheramoans]

I don't understand why people have such a desire to know who the guy is and why 'the public' can't just leave him alone to carry on with his tribute. It really doesn't matter who the person is that's doing it, it's a nice gesture.

[Jane13]

I think my dad was telling me about this 0.o I think it's sweet. They should just leave him alone. Poe obviously meant something to their family, and though many know him through his stories and poetry, no one else really has that connection. Respect for the dead and all that.

[edible_eye]

i think it's poe.

now that he's dead, he comes back to toast his birth, as a tribute to his having been able to experience death. the roses signify his blood and the sweet sense of coagulation his soul was privy to while rigor mortis set in.

the cognac is a symbol of the intoxication he experienced while his heart slowed to a halt, finally creating an internal eruption of urgent frenzy that culminated in the blackness of death. and of course, in a more literal sense, it is also the proverbial toast he makes to himself with his favorite alcohol, as i mentioned before.

it's a touching tribute, i agree - for a man who wished for death to come back on the day of his birth for the sole reason of celebrating his own death... with himself.

[emeraldlonewoulf]

It's interesting that you mention him visiting himself........
I don't really believe in reincarnation, but that was the first thing that came to mind. Very Poe-etic. (Yes, I know that is a very bad pun.)

[WolfMoon]

I think it's Mark.