THE TOP TEN REASONS WHY WE FIND FAMOUS HORROR WRITER EDGAR ALLAN POE, THE MASTER OF THE MACABRE, FASCINATING…

10. Edgar Poe is born January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts 10. Edgar Poe is born January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. Both of his parents die when he is just ____________ years old.

9. Poe began writing poems at age ___ 9. Poe began writing poems at age ___. His novels would come later, and many of them would be written in the 1st person narrative, which caused people to wonder, “Are these stories, or confessions?”

8. Poe gambled away his godfather's (John Allan’s) money; and was kicked out of school.

7. Poe then went to West Point Military Academy

In 1831, stories say that he was kicked out of West Point Military Academy for appearing in a public parade for wearing "white cartridge belts, under arms"-

He wore nothing else!

6. Poe married his first cousin, Virginia Clemm.

She was only thirteen!!! (by the way, he was 27) Virginia Clemm died in 1847 of tuberculosis. The belief is that Poe married her in order to take care of her, and their relationship was more like that of a brother and sister than husband and wife.

(By the way, what is the name of Baltimore’s football team?) 4. On October 7, 1849, Poe died in Baltimore Maryland, penniless, even though he had written many short stories and poems. (By the way, what is the name of Baltimore’s football team?)

3. He died wearing someone else's coat!

2. Poe died in the streets of Baltimore after staggering out of a bar; was thought to have died from alcohol poisoning. It now is believed that he died from rabies, possibly (they dug him up from his grave to find out- how creepy!)

1. Has " Quote the raven, nevermore 1. Has " Quote the raven, nevermore..." written on his tombstone, and from 1949 to 2010, a mysterious visitor, called “The Poe Toaster”, would leave “half a bottle of cognac and three red roses” on his grave… This tradition began again in 2016. The “Toaster” is still anonymous!

A Toast to Poe!