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 Exactly 160 years after Edgar Allan Poe’s death on October 7th, 1849 fans and mourners were given a true funeral at his museum home in Baltimore.  One of the most notorious mystery and horror writers in American history, Poe died broke and delirious at age 40 outside of a bar under questionable circumstances and was never given a funeral fit for a figure of his stature.  Only 7 to 10 people showed up for the original one as the funeral wasn’t announced.  

The city of Baltimore decided to rectify this miscarriage of justice with a big event.  Mourners and fans were able to view a replica of his body in a pine casket at his museum home located at 203 Amity Street.   Services were held at Westminster Hall which is near the Westminster Burial Grounds where the famous author of the American Romantic Movement is buried.  These services included eulogies by actors who portrayed other famous writers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Sir Arther Conan Doyle and Walt Whitman.  His “body” was then carried out by hundreds of mourners and pallbearers and pulled through the streets in a horse-drawn carriage reminiscent of a 19th century funeral.  This was followed by an all-night service at his graveside.

AP Steve Ruark

 Edgar Allan Poe was famous for his works of fiction and horror.  He is said to be the inventor of detective-fiction and some even say science-fiction as well.  He wrote short stories before most other authors often focusing on macabre topics.  His stories such as “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Pit” still resonate with us today. 

For more information on the life and styles of Edgar Allan Poe, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19th, 1809 and his parents died young.  He was taken in by his Aunt Maria Clemm.  In 1832 she moved into the small 2 1/2 story, 5 room brick house on Amity Street (originally called Number 3 Amity) with her mother Elizabeth Caines Poe, her daughter Virginia Eliza Clemm, her son Henry Clemm and nephew Edgar Allan Poe.  The house has narrow, winding stairs, two fireplaces with brick hearths and wood-plank flooring all throughout.  Featured in the house today are several period furniture pieces, some china belonging to the family, Poe’s travelling desk, sextant or lap-desk, a set of Gustave Dore’s illustrations for the “The Raven” from 1884 and a full-color reproduction of one of the only known portraits of Poe’s wife Virginia done at the time of her death in 1847.  Poe was 23 at the time he moved to Amity Street and stayed in the house about 3 years before moving to Richmond, Virginia to take a position with the Southern Literary Messenger.  He is said to have penned the collection “Tales From the Folio Club” in this house in Baltimore which he was never able to sell as a collection during his lifetime.  For a complete list of the works he is reputed to have written during his time in the Baltimore house check out the Edgar Allan Poe Society.

Courtesy of the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore

The Edgar Allan Poe house and museum in Baltimore is open for tours April thru November, Wednesday thru Saturday from 12- 3:30.  It is curated by Mr. Jeff Jerome and run under the control of the Baltimore City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation otherwise known as CHAP.

This museum and house of Poe’s in Baltimore is not to be confused with the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia.  The Poe Museum is located a few blocks away from the first home and workplace (Southern Literary Messenger) of Edgar Allan Poe in Richmond.  For more information on this museum see the Poe Museum website.