To the Buried That Repose Around Us

Fifty nine years ago today on January 19, 1949, a shadowy figure clad in black and carrying a silver-tipped cane entered the Westminster Hall and Burying Ground in Baltimore, Maryland.

The spectre proceeded to raise a toast to mark Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, leaving three red roses and a half bottle of cognac on the grave of the burial ground's most celebrated resident before departing. Thus began a mysterious tradition that has transpired every year since.

The "Poe Toaster" paid his annual tribute early this morning and according to reports the curator of the on-site Poe House and Museum said the inscrutable visitant was the same individual who has come to the grave site many times in the past, recognizing him from his build and distinctive gait.

In wishing Edgar Allan Poe a Happy 199th Birthday, AudioBookCase shares the sentiment expressed by the wraith-like figure in a note left on the grave on one of his previous visitations: "The memory of Poe shall live evermore!"