A long standing tradition appears to be dead. The Poe Toaster, a mysterious man who has left three roses and some cognac on Edgar Allan Poe’s grave since the 1940s, has failed to show up for the third consecutive year.
Poe House and Museum Curator Jeff Jerome said that he waited, along with other die hard fans, for the Poe Toaster to show up last night for the late poet’s birthday, but once again he was disappointed.
Jerome said:
“It’s over with. It will probably hit me later, but I’m too tired now to feel anything else. I’ve been part of a ritual that people around the world read about. I’ll miss it.”
NOLA.com reports that an anonymous man dressed all in black, except for a white scarf, has been visiting the grave on the writer’s birthday since the 1940s. The Poe Toaster failed to show up in 2010 and again last year . This year, a candlelit vigil was held as Poe fans hoped for the reappearance of the mysterious man.
But sadly, the man in black never showed and fans have declared that the Poe Toaster shall occur nevermore.
Edgar Allen Poe, who is best known for his poem “The Raven,” and his short stories “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” died in 1849. The cause of Poe’s death is unknown but many attribute his demise to tuberculosis.
Here’s Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” from an episode of The Simpsons.
Are you a fan of Edgar Allen Poe? Are you disappointed that the tradition of the Poe Toaster will occur nevermore?
