The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls.
Edgar Allan Poe
As witches, goblins, and ghosts come out to celebrate Halloween, it is easy for me to think back to a recent visit to the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, where the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe are examined.
Poe was born on January 19, 1809, to traveling actors Eliza and David Poe. When Edgar was a baby, David abandoned the family, leaving Eliza to support three young children. Eliza contracted tuberculosis and spent the last few months of her life in Richmond. She died on December 8, 1811, at the age of 24, leaving behind her three children. A Richmond couple, John and Frances Allan, took in two-year-old Edgar.
The museum, with its excellent exhibits and displays, is housed in three buildings, including The Old Stone House, the oldest residential building still standing in the city.
The museum began in 1922 when Edgar Allan Poe collector and researcher James Howard Whitty, along with a group of literary enthusiasts, met in Poe’s hometown to create the state’s first monument to a writer.
The Poe Museum’s mission is to “illuminate Poe for everyone, evermore” by interpreting the world’s most extensive public collection of Poe artifacts, works, belongings, and memorabilia, including Poe’s childhood bed, office chair, trunk, his pocket watch, rare manuscripts, and a fragment of his coffin.
In addition to the Old Stone House, the museum maintains the historic Poe Shrine and the Enchanted Garden, based on a Poe poem.
The Old Stone Building is the first stop on the tour. Here, I began to understand the upper-class life Poe lived with the Allans.
The next building deals with his literary career and personal life. The last building focuses on the mysteries surrounding his death. The medical community never agreed upon the cause.
In the center of the complex is the Enchanted Garden and Shrine.
Poe’s life and death were shrouded in mystery, as was his literary work. A museum visit offers a glint of understanding as guests view the many artifacts and excellent signage.
A visit here honors the man, his work, and his memory.
I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.
― Edgar Allan Poe
