Poe Toaster

An ephithet that may be applied to anyone using a recently acquired rise in status to deliver an innapropriate -- often selfish -- message to an audience that would otherwise be disinterested.

From the behavior of The Poe Toaster who replaced his father in 1999. (source: Wikipedia)

"Can you believe Stephanie used her valedictorian speech to talk about God for six minutes? What a Poe Toaster."

The Poe Toaster

The "Poe Toaster" is a mysterious figure that arrives at the location of Edgar Allan Poe's grave in Baltimore, every year. He or she has done this at the same time since 1949, early on the morning of his birthday, on January 19th. The "Poe Toaster", dressed in black, with a black overcoat and scarf around their face, enters the gates of the Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds, proceeds to Poe's grave and upon reaching it, toasts the grave with a half-bottle of cognac and leaves three blood-red roses.

Nobody has ever tried to talk to or interupt the figure that appears every year as a sign of respect both to Poe and to the "Poe Toaster", nobody knows who he/she is, but it is commonly thought it is simply a fan of Edgar's work. The "Poe Toaster" has often left messages behind on paper such as "Edgar, I haven't forgotten you" and in 2001 "The New York Giants. Darkness and decay and the big blue hold dominion over all. The Baltimore Ravens. A thousand injuries they will suffer. Edgar Allan Poe evermore."

If you don't belive in the Poe Toaster, go and see him for yourself on January 19th 2006!

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