Powell's Remains

[Laurie Verge]

I didn't find the article or the tour disrespectful. If they had held a seance at the graveyard, that would have upset me! Graveyard tours have been very popular in the D.C. area for a number of years and are held throughout the year.

Edgar Allan Poe used to get lots of attention in October until a few years ago. On the anniversary of his death for over fifty years, an anonymous person would quietly sneak into his burial site at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground in Baltimore and leave a half-full bottle of cognac and three roses.

It got to the point where crowds would gather to see if they could spot the person who became known as Poe's Toaster. Several people over the years claimed to be the Toaster, but I don't think anyone was definitely proven to be him. The tradition appears to have stopped in 2010, and people have said that 2009 would have been an anniversary year and a good time to end the practice.