Poe's Birthday "Toaster" Is a No-Show

Edgar Allan Poe
Born January 19, 1809 Died October 7, 1849

On the birthday each year of Edgar Allan Poe and mysterious figure appears at the graveof the famouse writer leaving a bottle of cognac and 3 roses. It is thought that one rose is for Poe's wife, another for his mother-in-law Maria Clemm and the third for Poe himself Between the hours of midnight and 5:30 a.,m. the Poe Toaster (unoficially named) walks into the Westminster Burying Grounds in Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Fayette and Greene Streets and leaves the gifts for Poe. After a short and touching ceremony of kneeling and placing his hands on the stone the toaster leaves. The persons identity has never been known and the tradition has been kept since Poe's 100th birthday in 1949.

However, this morning the Poe Toaster did NOT visit the burial site of Poe! For the FIRST time since 1949 no one crept into the cemetary leaving the traditional cognac and roses. Last night 30 to 50 people stood outside the gate singing Happy Birthday to Poe several times during the night while awaiting the mysterious visiter.

At 5:30 this morning the curator the Edgar Allan Poe House, Jeff Jerome, broke the news to the crowd that had been standing vigil outside the locked gate through the night. The Poe Toaster had not had not shown. Jerome did make the statement that he plans to keep the vigil through 2012.

"After two years if he doesn't show up, I think we can safely assume the tribute has ended," Jerome said.