Poe Toaster
Encyclopedia
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
by visiting the stone marking his original grave in Baltimore, Maryland in the early hours of January 19, Poe's birthday. The shadowy figure, dressed in black with a wide-brimmed hat and white scarf, would leave three roses and a partially-filled bottle of French cognac, then disappear into the night. Onlookers gathered annually in hopes of glimpsing the elusive Toaster, who did not seek publicity, and was rarely seen or photographed.
According to eyewitness reports, and notes accompanying offerings in later years, the original Toaster visited the tomb from 1949 until his death in 1998, after which the tradition was passed to "a son." Controversial statements were made in some notes left by the post-1998 Toaster, and in 2006 an unsuccessful attempt was made by several onlookers to detain and identify him. In 2010 there was no visit by the Toaster, nor did he appear in 2011, triggering speculation that the 60-year tradition had ended.
Origins
Poe diedDeath of Edgar Allan Poe
The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious: the circumstances leading up to it are uncertain and the cause of death is disputed. On October 3, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance",...
at the age of 40 in Baltimore on October 7, 1849, under mysterious circumstances. The Poe Toaster tradition is said to have begun on Poe's birthday 100 years later, in 1949, and continued annually until 2009. Each year, in the early hours of the morning of January 19, a black-clad figure (presumed male), face obscured by a scarf or hood, carrying a silver-tipped cane, would enter the Westminster Hall and Burying Ground
Westminster Hall and Burying Ground
The Westminster Hall and Burying Ground is a graveyard and former church located at 519 West Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Occupying the southeast corner of Fayette and Greene Street on the west side of downtown Baltimore, the site is probably most famous as the burial site...
in Baltimore. At the site of Poe's original grave, which is marked with a commemorative stone, he would raise a cognac
Cognac (drink)
Cognac , named after the town of Cognac in France, is a variety of brandy. It is produced in the wine-growing region surrounding the town from which it takes its name, in the French Departements of Charente and Charente-Maritime....
toast and place three red rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s on the grave marker in a distinctive configuration, along with the unfinished bottle of Martell cognac. The roses were believed to represent Poe, his wife Virginia, and his mother-in-law Maria Clemm, all three of whom were originally interred at the site. The significance of the cognac is uncertain, as it does not feature in Poe’s works (as would, for example, amontillado
Amontillado
Amontillado is a variety of sherry, characterized by being darker than fino but lighter than oloroso. It is named for the Montilla region of Spain, where the style originated in the 18th century, although the name 'amontillado' is sometimes used commercially as a simple measure of colour to label...
). However, a note left at the 2004 visitation suggested that the cognac may have represented a tradition of the Toaster's family, rather than Poe's. Several of the cognac bottles are kept at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum
Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum
The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, located at 203 Amity St. in Baltimore, Maryland, is the former home of American writer Edgar Allan Poe in the 1830s. Now open as a museum, the small unassuming structure is a typical row home, and also houses the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. It was...
in Baltimore.
A group of varying size composed of reporters and Poe enthusiasts observed the event each year. A photograph, reputedly of the Toaster, was published by Life Magazine in 1990.
The notes
A note left at the 2001 visitation, which happened to occur a few days before Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
between the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
and the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, stated, "The New York Giants. Darkness and decay and the big blue hold dominion over all. The Baltimore Ravens. A thousand injuries they will suffer. Edgar Allan Poe evermore." The note's content caused a minor furor for several reasons: Never before had the Toaster commented on current events, such as sports, nor could anyone explain the negative reference to the Baltimore Ravens, whose team nickname was inspired by "The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
," Poe's most famous poem. The prophecy, a play on the last line of "The Masque of the Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death
"The Masque of the Red Death", originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death" , is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague known as the Red Death by hiding in his abbey. He, along with many other wealthy nobles, has a...
" ("And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all"), proved inaccurate, as Baltimore won the game, 34–7.
The Toaster's 2004 note was apparently critical of France's
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
opposition to the war in Iraq: "The sacred memory of Poe and his final resting place is no place for French cognac. With great reluctance but for [sic] respect for family tradition the cognac is placed. The memory of Poe shall live evermore!"
Events leading up to Poe's bicentennial
In 2006 a group of onlookers unsuccessfully attempted to intercept the Poe Toaster. Aside from that incident, spectators, out of respect for the tradition (and, perhaps, the mystery), have never interfered with the Toaster's entry, tribute ritual, or departure, nor has any concerted effort been made to identify the individual.In 2007 a 92-year-old man named Sam Porpora claimed that he had started the Poe Toaster tradition. A former historian for Baltimore's Westminster Church, Porpora claimed that he invented the Toaster in the 1960s as a "publicity stunt", to reinvigorate the church and its congregation, and had falsely told a reporter at the time that it had begun in 1949. However, reports of the annual visits date from well before the 1960s, for example a 1950 article in The (Baltimore) Evening Sun that mentions "an anonymous citizen who creeps in annually to place an empty bottle (of excellent label) against the gravestone."
Porpora's daughter said she had never heard of her father's actions but that it fit in with his mischievous nature; but Jeff Jerome of the Edgar Allan Poe Society pointed out that the details of Porpora's story seemed to change with each telling. "There are holes so big in Sam's story, you could drive a Mack truck through them," he said. Jeff Savoye, another officer in the Edgar Allan Poe Society, also questioned Porpora's claims, but admitted he could not definitively prove or disprove them. While never retracting his claim, Porpora later acknowledged that it was not he making the annual visits, that someone else (he knew not who) had made the tradition his own.
In 2008, Curator Jeff Jerome reported that nearly 150 gathered to observe the Toaster's appearance. 2009 marked the bicentennial of Poe's birth; despite this milestone, the crowd was smaller than in past years, and the Toaster left no note. In 2010 the Poe Toaster failed to appear. Jerome, who had witnessed every visitation from 1976 on, had no explanation, but did speculate that if the Toaster intended to end the tradition, the 2009 bicentennial would mark a logical ending point.
The 2011 anniversary saw only the appearance of four impostors (immediately dubbed "faux Toasters"), identified as such because all four walked in clear sight of waiting observers (contrary to the real Toaster's secretive nature), none gave the secret signal that only Jerome knows – a gesture the Toaster predictably made each year at the grave – and none arranged the roses in the unique pattern established by the Toaster. Their appearance sparked controversy: Some suggested the tradition should die a "dignified death", while others praised the impostors' efforts and urged that the tradition be carried on, whether by the "original" Toaster or not.
Jerome (who has denied rumors that he himself was the Toaster) said on January 19, 2011 that he will keep watch for one more year, and if there is no genuine appearance in 2012 he will consider the tradition ended.
In popular culture
The Poe Toaster has appeared as a character in books, occult documentaries, and other media. The 2001 novel, "In a Strange City," by Baltimore crime fiction novelist Laura LippmanLaura Lippman
Laura Lippman is an American author of detective fiction.-Biography:Lippmann was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a well known and respected writer at the Baltimore Sun, and Madeline Lippman, a retired school librarian for the...
features dueling Poe Toasters, one killing the other, during a tragically failed "Poe Toasting" at Westminster Hall and Burial Grounds. The Poe Toaster is the subject of numerous non-fiction occult treatises, most notably Curt Rowlett's "Labyrinth 13: True Tales of the Occult" wherein a chapter is dedicated to the Poe Toaster mystery. More recently, the 2011 audio play "The Poe Toaster Not Cometh," by Washington Audio Theater seeks to explain the Poe Toaster mystery by suggesting the Poe Toaster is in fact a contemporary of Poe's, surviving through the centuries via occult means.
See also
- Rudolph Valentino's "Woman in Black"
- Norwich Visitor - less known but similar memorial to Hannah ArnoldHannah ArnoldHannah Arnold, also known as Hannah Waterman King, was the mother of Benedict Arnold.-Biography:She was born Hannah Waterman in Norwich, Connecticut circa 1708 to John Waterman and Elizabeth. Her first husband, Absalom King, was a wealthy merchant who had settled in the area. The couple had a...
, mother of Benedict ArnoldBenedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
.
Further reading
- Rowlett, Curt (2006). Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & Conspiracy, Chapter 5, The Tale of the Poe Toaster. Lulu Press. ISBN 1-4116-6083-8.