Mysterious Poe visitor doesn't show for 2nd year
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BALTIMORE -- Maybe the time for nevermore is finally here.
For the second year in a row, the mysterious Poe Toaster failed to show up at his namesake's Baltimore grave under cover of darkness Wednesday morning. And the curator of the Poe House, who has spent years protecting the famed writer's legacy and fanning the flames of the toaster's legend, is about ready to give up on the ghost.
"I will be here in 2012, but that will be it," said a weary Jeff Jerome, who stayed by Edgar Allan Poe's gravesite until 5:45 a.m. waiting for the toaster. "If he's a no-show, I will officially pronounce the tradition dead."
Not that Poe, dead for 162 years, or the toaster, missing for two, are without fans -- or potential successors. Mr. Jerome said four toaster wannabes showed up at the gravesite with the requisite cognac and red roses. But all, he insisted, were pretenders to the tradition, not the real thing. Even though the toaster's identity has remained secret -- even Mr. Jerome swears he never knew a name or clearly saw a face -- his general appearance remained constant. None of the four who showed up Wednesday morning matched it.
For some 60 years, the toaster would appear every Jan. 19 to pay tribute to Poe, a Boston native who died on Oct. 7, 1849, in Baltimore under circumstances that have never been fully explained. Arriving at the gravesite without fanfare, he would leave behind three red roses and a bottle of cognac, then quietly disappear into the night.
Last year's no-show was the first since at least 1949. Speculation over the true identity of the Poe toaster has raged for years. Many names have been floated, including a Baltimore prankster who died in 2010, an ad man who said he started the tradition as a publicity stunt, a father-and-son team, even Mr. Jerome himself.
But Mr. Jerome, who has been shepherding the tradition since 1977, insists it's not he. And none of the other possibilities has conclusively panned out.
About a dozen people waited outside the gates of the Westminster Burying Grounds on Wednesday morning, but as dawn approached, it was clear the true toaster would not be showing up. Mr. Jerome eventually opened the gate and allowed the visitors to leave their own tributes on Poe's grave.
Interest in Poe, the writer of such mystery and horror classics as "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat," remains strong.
In in Baltimore, the city's National Football League team invokes the name of one of Poe's most famous poems, "The Raven," every time it takes to the field.
First Published January 20, 2011 12:00 am
