There is a legend that every year on the day of death of writer Edgar Allan Poe, a mysterious man wearing a black hat with his eyes on it appears on his grave. Maybe it's a man or a woman, but it's definitely not known. Year after year, a stranger (a stranger) performs the same ritual: leaves three roses and a bottle of expensive cognac.
They say that flowers are intended for the writer himself, his wife Virginia and... his mother-in-law. No one has ever been able to talk to a mysterious admirer, despite the fact that on this day at the cemetery, where Poe is buried, are on duty numerous yawns. There is a version that such a legend for many years was supported by the only employee of the Edgar Poe Museum in Baltimore. Since the museum was hanging by a thread from bankruptcy, and it was necessary to attract the attention of people to it. But in 2012, this tradition ended...
The biography of Egar Allan Poe's special man
Edgar Allan Poe's life has always been shrouded in a halo of myths and legends. He was born in 1809 to Boston and from childhood was brought up by his mother and stepfather John Allan as a little prince. He had his own horses, dogs, and the boy was allowed to do whatever he wanted. From an early age, Edgar was a smart enough man: he was easily given both natural and humanities sciences. And at school, and later at the University of Edgar Allan Poe enjoyed authority among his comrades. Sometimes he even amused himself by making psychological experiments on his peers. Subsequently, Edgar Poe will tell you that the memories of his early years formed the basis of his story "William Wilson", which plays with the motive of the story of the twins.
The carefree life of Edgar Allan Poe continued until he was 17 years old, until his stepfather stopped funding his pranks. The writer's biographers say that the quarrel was over John Allan's failure to pay the boy's card debts. From that moment on, his real adult life begins. From time to time, Edgar Allan Poe puts up with his stepfather, and then everything starts all over again. However, the writer's character is hardened in difficulties, his poetic and prosaic gift is formed. In 1829 in Baltimore, one of his first collections of poems "Al-Araaf, Tamerlane and small poems" was published. Edgar Poe also worked hard in the early 30s, but lived in extreme poverty. For some time he was saved by the victory in the competition for the story "The Manuscript Found in a Bottle".
During the same period, his wife Virginia, the writer's cousin, appeared in his life and literally loved her madly. At a time when she was seriously ill with tuberculosis, Edgar Poe almost could not focus on work, went into depression and drinking, quarreled with people. His fine mental organization simply couldn't stand the test.
The period from 1833 to 1840 is characterized by the release of a huge number of poems and stories. In 1839, some of the most famous mystical stories by Edgar Allan Poe "William Wilson" and "The Fall of the House of Usher", and in 1843 - another famous work "Black Cat". In parallel, Edgar Poe works for Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and Graham's Magazine. But since 1846, after the closure of the Broadway Journal, Edgar Allan Poe has been left with virtually no means of subsistence. He fell into depression, which worsened after the death of his beloved wife in 1847, was attached to alcohol. The circumstances of his death are still not solved. In 1849 he was found robbed and unconscious.
Edgar Allan Poe and the interiors of his museums
And even after so many years after the death of the writer, interest in him has not diminished so far. Therefore, the Museum of Edgar Poe, established in 1922 in Richmond, continues to operate. By the way, earlier in this building there was a house of the migrant from Germany Jacob Izha in which he lived together with his family till 1911.
The small museum consists of only three halls, but has an extensive collection of exhibits related to the life of the writer. For example, here you can find his letters, manuscripts, family portraits, key chains, chests and even socks and a strand of the writer's hair.
Another museum is located in Baltimore, where Edgar Alan Poe lived with his grandmother and two cousins in 1833-1835. The house is practically unfurnished, but visitors also have the opportunity to get acquainted with the writer's personal exhibits, including a portable desk, telescope, porcelain, dishes used by him.
Sometimes visitors see a black cat here. The image of this animal was immortalized by Poe in the story "The Black Cat", the plot of which the main character, suffering from neurosis caused by the extreme use of alcohol, immured his wife and cat in the wall.
But the ghost of the beast kept this man awkward and chased him forever. Of course, this is not the same cat, but quite different, but apparently he also came from the immense literary universe of the author.