Imagine life in
the Poe house

By Diane Villano
Times Staff Writer

Imagine the horror of seeing your beloved — who only seconds before had been singing sweetly — burst a blood vessel in her throat in a fit brought on by tuberculosis.
If you can, then you might be able to put yourself in the mind of one of the greatest literary figures who ever lived — Edgar Allan Poe, who once called Philadelphia home.
You can celebrate the 198th birthday of the master of mystery by gaining insight to what inspired his terror-filled tales — and you can do it in Poe’s own basement.
Poe, who was born in Boston on Jan. 19, 1809, lived in Philadelphia from 1838 to 1844, inhabiting several houses during that time. The last one, at Seventh and Spring Garden streets, still stands. It also serves as the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site.
Rangers with the National Park Service, which operates the museum, will host free candlelight tours on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 20-21), beginning at about 3:30 p.m.
On a broader scale, plans also are in the works for a spectacular 2009, celebrating the 200th birthday of the father of the detective novel.
"It’s really special to illuminate aspects of Poe’s life, what he wrote and how meaningful he is to Philadelphia," ranger Christopher Elbich said.
As a poet and author best known for his macabre short stories, Poe was both a gifted and tragic figure who died when he was 40. He was found on a Baltimore street in October 1849, distressed and incoherent, and died four days later. Although there had been much speculation about his death, the precise cause was never determined.
Visitors who take part in this weekend’s event at his Philadelphia home will listen to his poems in the reading room or view a special animated version of The Raven before embarking on the tour of the house.
When you step into Poe’s parlor, you’ll have to use your imagination to picture the author relaxing with his favorite peaches and cream, though the room doesn’t offer much character or warmth. The walls, for example, are stripped to the plaster.
Elbich explained that the house, devoid of furnishings and paint, is in that condition because the National Park Service does not have records of how it was furnished during his time there.
On the second floor, it’s very possible that Poe enjoyed the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows of two rooms as he wrote page after page of prose.
On the third floor, the shadows fall as the day winds down in the rooms once occupied by Poe’s aunt, Maria Clemm, and his wife Virginia, who suffered from tuberculosis.
It brought suffering to Poe, as well.
According to Elbich, Poe was tortured listening to the love of his life’s tubercular cough and faithfully fanned her at her bedside, and stayed by her side during many trips to death’s door and back.
"It’s what drove him to drink and made him question his sanity. He’s writing about these things because he feels them," Elbich said.
Near the stairway off the kitchen, a small scrap of old wallpaper still adheres to a wall near the ceiling, though Elbich believes it was probably not to Poe’s liking. While there is no record of his furnishings, Poe had written on the subject, the ranger said.
Poe wrote on many subjects while in Philadelphia. According to Elbich, the writer’s time in the City of Brotherly Love was the most productive of his life.
The brilliant poet and author had come to Philadelphia looking for work, at a time when the city was the publishing capital of the country. He found it as the editor and critic for Graham’s Magazine — one of the nation’s largest at the time.
Poe wrote at least 37 stories, poems and essays, as well as about 60 critical reviews, while in the city. Among the writings were some of Poe’s best-known works, including The Murders in the Rue Morgue, which commonly is regarded as the first detective novel, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Tell-Tale Heart.
Poe also entertained other literary figures in Philadelphia.
Charles Dickens visited him at the United States Hotel on Chestnut Street. While Poe sets his story The Man of the Crowd in London, Elbich believes the description is that of a bustling, gas-lit Chestnut Street.
The only name reference that Poe used from the area came in his essay Morning On the Wissahiccon.
There is no denying, however, that Poe’s The Black Cat sprang forth from the basement of the Spring Garden home, with its well-worn steps and a false chimney wall.
While not all that scary in the daylight, you can imagine how the spot where Poe would dump his fireplace ashes could inspire a place to hide a body. After all, ashes to ashes . . . . ••
Although the candlelight birthday tours are free, call 215-597-8780 for reservations. (There is a 25-person limit in the house during tours.) If you can’t find the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, just look for the big bronze raven in the yard. For more information, visit the Web site at www.nps.gov/edal
Reporter Diane Villano can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com

Written at the Spring Garden Home...

The Gold-Bug
The Black Cat
Morning On the Wissahiccon (The Elk)
Raising the Wind
The Spectacles
The Oblong Box
A Tale of the Ragged Mountains
The Premature Burial
The Purloined Letter
The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
Mesmeric Revelation
Thou Art the Man