Toaster's Tribute to Poet Edgar Allan Poe May Be 'Nevermore'

It may be time to quoth the raven and say, "Nevermore."

For the second consecutive year, the mysterious stranger known for leaving three roses and a half-empty bottle of cognac at the Baltimore grave of famed poet Edgar Allan Poe failed to appear.

The unusual tribute, steeped in folklore and speculation, had occurred since 1949.

The last known visitation of the man known as the "Poe Toaster" was 2009, the bicentennial of Poe’s birth. 

“I think he’s done,” said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum in Baltimore. Jerome has watched for the Poe Toaster from within Westminster Church since 1977.

“We’ll wait one more year, then see what happens,” Jerome said.

Crowds around the cemetery this year were lighter than usual, partly due to last year’s disappointment as well as a cold drizzle through most of the evening.

Poe enthusiasts clustered around the Westminster Hall and burying ground gates included visitors from New York, Richmond, Chicago and as far away as France and Russia.

“Part of the fun is the mystery of whether or not he will show up,” said Jessica Vera of New York, who also made the trip in 2009. “I was here the last time he showed. It was nice to be there, to be a part of that. But if he doesn’t show, that’s okay."

Attempting to step into the void left by the absent Poe Toaster, was a flurry of impostors appeared at this year’s event, the first arriving in a stretch Hummer limo shortly after midnight. Three more fakes, dubbed "Faux Toasters" by the crowd, appeared before 2 a.m.

Jerome keeps certain details of the Poe Toaster’s visit secret, including a gesture made at Poe’s grave, to avoid being duped by a copycat.

At 4:45 a.m., Jerome called it a night and opened the cemetery gates to the public. A handful of stragglers filed to Poe’s original burial site to place roses and take photographs.

“I think I’ve had the best night waiting for the Poe Toaster ever,” said Fred Blonder of Bowie, MD, who made his sixth annual pilgrimage to Fayette and Greene streets. “I got to see four of them.”

“I’m kind of disappointed,” said James Barnett, who drove from Chantilly, VA. “I had a good time, though.”

Poe's dark and romantic poems and stories have long captured the public's imagination. One of his most famous poems, The Raven, begins with the famous lines, "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary." It's tale of lost love features a talking raven and states, "Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"