

An undated photo of Edgar Allan Poe. (AP)

The myth of the Poe Toaster is extensive. And there have been few attempts to discover his identity; he’s better shrouded in mystery. Poe, who resided in Baltimore (the Ravens are named after his most famous poem), would have preferred it that way.

Now it appears, the legend may be at an end.

The tradition dates back to the 1940s, when the graveside tributes at the city’s Westminster Burial Ground began. The Toaster, who has had many impostors, occasionally left notes — once, indicating that the tradition had been passed along to the next generation and once indicating his political beliefs, according to a 2004 Washington Post Names & Faces column:

For more than half a century, an anonymous person has marked the birthday anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe by slipping into the Baltimore cemetery where the writer is buried and leaving three roses and a bottle of French cognac on his grave. This year the mysterious visitor also left a note with a possible reference to French opposition to the war in Iraq.



"The sacred memory of Poe and his final resting place is no place for French cognac," the note said in part. "With great reluctance but for respect for family tradition the cognac is placed."



A flashlight shines on items left on the gravestone of Edgar Allan Poe by people who pretended to be the mysterious "Poe Toaster" in Baltimore, Jan. 19. The Toaster was a no-show for a third year. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

In 1983, Washington Post reporter Chip Brown attended the Poe vigil. Here is his story:

Evermore: Roses, Cognac At Poe's Grave