An Unhappy Hour with Edgar Allan Poe

Wondering who is the Godfather of horror stories? Edgar Allan Poe leads the pack. Poe revolutionized the genre in the 1840s with his first-person narrative stories like “The Black Cat,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Tell Tale Heart.” He was one of the first to use psychological horror. Visiting the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia provides a good understanding of who Poe was and how he wrote such masterpieces.

The Poe Museum tells Poe’s life with many rare and valuable artifacts. Housed in multiple buildings centered around a garden, the museum boasts the most extensive collection of Poe artifacts and manuscripts in the world. Within the collection is an original staircase from his childhood home, along with china and glassware from the home of the Allans, who fostered young Edgar. Silverware, Poe’s personal items, portraits, and photos on display help tell the story of his extraordinarily complex and sad life.

Poe’s Personal Horror Story

Poe’s life proved to be somewhat of a horror story. Born on January 19th, 1809, to traveling actors, David and Eliza Poe, his father abandoned him as a toddler.  His mother died at 24 when Poe was a baby. The Allans family fostered him, but he never had a good relationship with his foster father.

Poe was court-martialled and expelled from West Point. When he was 27, he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. She died only 11 years later at the age of 24. Odd coincidence, his brother, William Henry, died at 24 as well. Poe’s own death has many speculations as to the cause. Even after death, his spirit reputedly lived on. Spiritualist medium Lizzie Doten claimed Edgar Allan Poe’s ghost dedicated the poem “Farewell to Earth” to Virginia 14 years after his death.

The Edgar Allen Poe Museum Photo: Kathleen Walls

Discoveries at the Poe Museum

The Poe Museum highlights various periods of his life.  Explore Poe’s childhood in a section of the museum displayed in The Old Stone House–the oldest residence in Richmond. In 1824, Poe served as a lieutenant in the Richmond Youth Honor Guard when the city celebrated the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette. Poe stood guard at Old Stone House while Lafayette was there. The parlor of the Old Stone House displays furniture items from Poe’s childhood, including his childhood bed with a tiny, realistic-looking cat curled up on the bed, and a piano that once belonged to Poe’s sister.

Another room tells of his later life with treasures like the wedding ring he gave Virginia when they married. You’ll also find Poe’s name engraved on the pocket watch that inspired “The Tell Tale Heart,” where the killer liken’s his victim’s heartbeat to the sound of a ticking watch. The penknife with its mother-of-pearl handle he used to sharpen his quill to write his stories adds to the treasures on display. There are lots of family photos including one of Virginia’s mother, Marie Poe Clemm, who was both Poe’s aunt and mother-in-law.

Poe’s love story didn’t end with Virginia. He had been engaged to Elmira Royster when he left for his short-lived college time, but her father persuaded her to marry a more promising suiter. After Virginia’s death, Elmira, now a widow, and Poe once again became engaged in 1849. Poe planned to move permanently to Richmond to be with Elmira but he died on October 7th, 1849.

Original staircase in The Poe Museum Photo: Kathleen Walls

Mysteries Surrounding Poe’s Death

Hopsitalized and delirious for several days–possibly because of his heavy use of alchohol–Poe left the earth but not without leaving mysteries behind. His cause of death was listed as brain fever–a term used by doctors when the actual cause could not be determined. Several times on his last day, Poe screamed the name “Reynolds.” No one knew who Reynolds was or why Poe was calling out his name. To date, about 26 theories about his death have been proposed as the mystery continues.

The museum displays a report about a modern-day test that used Poe’s hair sample to determine the cause of his death. Among other heavy metals, there was a high level of arsenic found in his hair, possibly because of elevated levels in the water supply and the coal used for heating. High levels of mercury was also noted possibly due to his use of calomel, a mercury chloride mineral commonly used as a medicine from the 16th to early 20th century.

Unhappy  Hour at the Poe Museum

Held in the museum’s Enchanted Garden, UnHappy Hour is a recurring after-hours event series (held April–October) designed to mix darkly themed fun, music, food, and a literary (or gothic) twist. One singer entertained with an almost operatic voice. Local folks dressed in fairy garb, complete with wings.

The garden is based on his poem, “To One in Paradise.” To the rear of the garden stands a Poe Shrine built using bricks and salvaged building materials from the office of the Southern Literary Messenger, where Poe once worked. The stone benches around the garden came from the Yarrington Boarding house, where Poe married his wife, Virginia. Ivy vines taken from Poe’s mother’s grave climb the old brick walls of the museum buildings.

But of Edgar Allen Poe Photo: Kathleen Walls

More for Poe Fans

Another spot Poe fans will want to visit is St. John’s Historic Church. The church, founded in 1741, served as a meeting place for the Continental Congress. This was where Patrick Henry gave his impassioned “Give me liberty or give me death” speech. It is also the graveyard of many early Richmond citizens. I attended a tour, and the gift shop attendant was kind enough to show me Poe’s mother’s grave and the grave of the editor of Thomas W. White, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. A diagram of the cemetery at the visitor’s center displays the lcoation of the graves and other important items at the cemetery.

Visit Richmond recently created an augmented reality program where the bust of Poe comes to life and tells you about his museum and “Mysterious and Spooky Richmond.” The sign with a QR code is installed near the Poe bust in the museum garden courtyard. The program is also accessible at the Visit Richmond website.

To paraphrase “The Raven,” a visit to The Poe Museum is something you will remember evermore.

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