1. Edgar Allan Poe Born: January 19, 1809 Boston, Massachusetts Died: October 7, 1849 Baltimore, Maryland. Poe became a literary sensation in 1845 with the publication of the poem "The Raven." It is considered a great American literary work and one of the best of Poe's career. In the work, Poe explored some of his common themes—death and loss. An unknown narrator laments the demise of his great love Lenore..

3. Edgar Allan Poe honored with statue in…Boston? Written by: Stephen Babcock, Monday, Oct 06, 2014 Boston’s “tribute” to Edgar Allan Poe, coincides with the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s death in Baltimore. The milestone provides a date on the calendar to link the author with the city that honors him with a museum, tavern tributes and even the name of its football team. But as this year’s anniversary comes faintly tapping, Boston is trying to get a piece of Poe. And he didn’t even like it there! ….To be fair, Boston has a right to Poe since he was born there. But can they really feel good about immortalizing a man who said Bostonians were “dull people” who “have no soul,” and coined the term “Frogpondians” to describe the croaking nature of the city’s writers? Stefanie Rocknak’s Poe Returning to Boston

4. Poe’s Life After Death "Poe's body was moved twice in 1875, which sparked a rumor about the wrong body being moved. Poe is now located under the Poe Monument just inside the cemetery gates. He was moved in April of 1875 to the location that is now marked as the 'original burial site' and again in November of 1875 to his current location, just inside the cemetery gates. His original headstone was destroyed in an accident immediately after his death and was never replaced, so he was in an unmarked grave from October 1849 until April of 1875. As people came to pay their respects, perhaps pray for his poor, unfortunate soul (rumors about his alcoholism, etc. started immediately after his death) they were unable to find his exact gravesite. Local school children went into the neighborhoods in 1875 to raise money for a suitable monument. Unfortunately, the monument would not fit on his original gravesite (between his grandfather David Poe and the monument marking the second burial place), so he was moved to an unused portion of the Poe Grave (where the 'original monument' is now located). When he was moved in November of 1875, no stone was placed to mark the original grave. In the 1930's they decided to mark the 'original' burial place and basically didn't go far enough into the Church's records, thereby marking the second burial site as the first.” - Luann Marshall, the tour director for the Westminster Graveyard

6. The Poe Toaster Beginning in 1949 (or possible somewhat earlier), on the night of the anniversary of Poe’s birth (as January 18th becomes January 19th), a mysterious stranger has entered this cemetery and left as tribute a partial bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe’s grave. (A newspaper article from the Baltimore Sun in 1950 includes a minor mention of the visitor leaving such items, conclusively documenting that it began at least in 1949, which would be significant as it is the 100th anniversary of the year that Poe died. The identity of the stranger, referred to affectionately as the “Poe Toaster,” is unknown. The significance of cognac is uncertain as it is not featured in Poe’s works. The presumption for the three roses is that it represents the three persons whose remains are beneath the monument: Poe, his wife (Virginia Clemm Poe), and his mother-in-law (Maria Clemm). Out of respect, no attempt is made to stop or hinder him. Several of the bottles of cognac from prior years are kept at the Baltimore Poe House and Museum.

7. The statement occasionally made that the identity must be known by the Poe Society of Baltimore is utterly untrue. Jeff Jerome, the curator of the Baltimore Poe House and Museum, has consistently denied having any such knowledge, although he freely admits to having intentionally withheld some minor details about the event for the sake of differentiating between the “Toaster” and would-be imitators. A note left for Jeff Jerome in 1993 stated somewhat cryptically that “the torch will be passed,” and another note left in 1999 indicated that the original “Toaster” had died within a few months before the annual event. After 1993, sightings of the visitor suggested two younger persons were exchanging the obligation between themselves, presumably in honor of their father. The annual visitations continued through 2009, the bicentennial of Poe’s birth, but not in subsequent years. On January 19, 2012, after three successive years in which there was no appearance from the “Toaster,” Jeff Jerome officially declared that the original tradition had ended.

9. Illustration by Édouard Manet, 1875.

10. Gustave Doré, 1884.

11. Edouard Manet, 1875.

12. "Not the least obeisance made he“, as illustrated by Gustave Doré (1884)

13. "The Raven" depicts a mysterious raven's midnight visit to a mourning narrator, as illustrated by John Tenniel(1858).

14. The raven perches on a bust of Pallas Athena, a symbol of wisdom meant to imply the narrator is a scholar. Illustration by Édouard Manet,(1875).

15. Gustave Doré's illustration of the final lines of the poem