One of the rarely seen Poe letters to be exhibited starting this April in the Poe Museum’s new exhibit From Poe’s Quill is this one Poe wrote to Edward Valentine. The letter still belongs to a descendant of Edward Valentine and is rarely available to public inspection. Visitors to the exhibit will be among the few who have had a chance to see it.
Edward Valentine was the cousin of Edgar Allan Poe’s foster mother Frances Keeling Valentine Allan. When Poe was first taken in by the Allans, Valentine became fond of the two-year-old and took him on rides through the country. Valentine was ...
The Poe Museum Blog
Weird Richmond #2 – Premature Burials
What at first might seem a fictional subject of one of Poe’s more grisly tales, premature burial was actually a legitimate concern in the time of the author’s life. There exist numerous accounts of people being buried alive dating from as far back as the 12th century, and stories abound of exhumed caskets discovered to have scratch marks on the roof when opened. In fact, President George Washington was so terrified of being buried alive that as he lay on his deathbed he begged his servants not to put him in his grave for twelve days to ensure that he was indeed dead.
If it was scary ...
Edgar Allan Poe in song!
Alex Harris, a student who has been doing a research project at the Poe Museum for the past month or so, wrote Poe a fun song which he shared with us (and a tour group) today! Check out the video here:
Thanks for sharing your song with us, Alex! and best of luck with your project! ...
Poe and Leap-Year
Today is February 29th, a leap day, which marks the bicentennial of the first leap-year Edgar Allan Poe ever experienced during his lifetime.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase "leap-year" has been used since 1387, and is probably of older formation than that. Thus, the phrase "leap-year" would have been around during Poe's lifetime. Still, Poe might have been more likely to associate the word "leap" with a favorite childhood game of his, leap-frog.
As an energetic young child, Poe would often play leap-frog with the Mackenzies, the family that raised Poe's sister ...