American author Edgar Allan Poe, “Master of the Macabre”, was born on January 19, 1809, and died on October 7, 1849.
On what would have been Poe’s 100th birthday in 1949, a mysterious stranger visited Poe’s grave in Baltimore. The visitor wore black clothing, hid his face underneath a scarf and a large hat, and left a bottle of Cognac and three roses at Poe’s grave.
Every year for the past sixty years, the visitor has returned on Poe’s birthday. In addition to the Cognac and roses, the visitor occasionally left notes for the deceased author as well. (“Edgar, I haven’t forgotten you,” read one.)
In 2010, for the first time in sixty years, the “Poe Toaster” as he (he?) has been dubbed failed to materialize. In what was once most likely a solitary visit from an admirer has become a social event. As word of the Toaster’s visits spread, crowds began gathering at Poe’s grave site to try and catch a glimpse of the shadowy visitor.
In 1993, a note declaring “The torch will be passed” was left at Poe’s grave, and according to those who have seen him the visitor post-1998 is indeed a different individual.
Sounding like a plot out of a comic book, in 2006 the growing crowd attempted to physically detain the Poe Toaster to obtain his identity. Their attempt failed, and the Poe Toaster — thank goodness — escaped back into the shadows. This act, as crude as rushing a magician on-stage, may have accelerated the Toaster’s retirement.
The bicentennial anniversary of Poe’s birth appears to have marked the Poe Toaster’s final visit. In 2010, the mysterious visitor failed to appear. Last week at least four impostors arrived at the site, although all were quickly discounted by those who had witnessed visits of the original Toaster. Unlike both the original visitor and his official replacement, those appearing gradeside in 2011 did not appear to know the proper flower arrangement or a secret “signal” the original Toaster apparently made.
In 1990, a reporter managed to capture a fuzzy photo of the original Toaster. Who the Poe Toaster was and why the tradition began or ended may never be solved, a mystery fitting of Poe himself.
Out, out are the lights, out all.
And over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm.
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the Play is the Tragedy ‘Man’
And it’s hero – The Conquerer Worm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1NRtUsbQrM
I always wanted to go and see this…. but God, getting a flight from Colorado to Baltimore three weeks after all the expenses of Christmas… well, I was never able to do it. And it seemed, with the Toaster not showing last year, that the new Toaster picked the bicentennial to let it go. Missing this and the Luna City Arcade has basically completely reformatted my thinking towards these kind of special things, and that new line of thinking is: GO. Go!! Just go, because awesome stuff won’t be around forever. It may not even be around in a year.
That being said, the new Toaster was terrible and ruined everything anyway. I don’t know how you can “be” the Poe Toaster, and leave a message (when the Ravens are playing the Giants in the Super Bowl) that not only references a current event, which is awful, but makes it quite obvious that you’re **not in favor of the team named after the guy you’re toasting.** That awkwardness might never be topped. By anything.
Additionally, the new Toaster making a childish comment about France, because France wasn’t all in about us blowing up the Middle East was another example of the guy the torch was handed to being a simpleton and a cretin. It sucks. He was probably a family member, but the original Poe Toaster clearly handed it off to the wrong guy.
I hope the identity of the original Poe Toaster is never revealed, but if it does get out, someone ought to toast that guy’s grave. He did a little thing that made the world more special.
ICJ bringing up Luna City Arcade made me hope that Peter is doing okay.
Apparently when it becomes news, respect and dignity go out the window. That’s too bad. I guess all we can look forward to appearing every year is that groundhog.