A True Story of Edgar Allen Poe's Grave

Black Cat

When I was young my family took a long trip, and at one point we made it to Baltimore, Maryland, which is the burial site for writer Edgar Allan Poe. My dad went to Poe’s grave alone, and saw something that still gives me chills whenever I hear him talk about it.

The Black Cat SynopsisIn Poe’s story the Black Cat, a man who was once the most benevolent caretaker of animals becomes a terrible enemy to them. He consistently abuses them— even his favorite black cat, whom he mutilates and kills. He does feel a little remorse, and he adopts another black cat. He eventually tries to kill this cat, too, so he grabs an ax to kill it but his wife stops him. He buries the blade in her skull instead. Then he tears down part of the cellar wall so that he may hide his wife in a hidden fireplace, and after patching it up notices the cat must have ran away. The police come to search his house and find the woman’s body only after they hear the screaming of the cat from behind the sealed wall.

My OpinionPersonally, I love reading Edgar Allan Poe. I believe he is a brilliant writer and I think he has a unique way of seeing into the darkest recesses of human nature. Nonetheless, the Black Cat is not a story I really enjoy reading. Not only do I find it highly disturbing, but I know that this tale has found its mark in me due to my father’s experience with Poe’s grave.

The Real GraveMy dad left the hotel and located the small church with the cemetery next to it. Poe’s grave wasn’t hard to find, and as he stood looking at it he heard someone come up from behind. He turned, and standing there was a hunched old man with wild white hair.

“Want to see the real grave?” he asked. “Then follow me.”

Hobbling, he took my dad behind the church, explaining that the other headstone was there for tourists. The second part of the cemetery my dad was led to was overgrown and looked like something from a horror film, but what added most to my dad’s amazement was the giant black cat sitting on top of one of the headstones. The old man pointed the grave out as belonging to Poe. The cat stared at my dad with glowing yellow eyes for a few moments before slinking away through the grass. The old man left, and my dad stood there for some time in silence. He likes to collect souvenirs wherever he goes, and he decided that the ultimate prize from our vacation would be a stone from the top of Poe’s grave. As he reached down to work one from the dirt, a sudden feeling of intense anger and hatred filled his body. He jerked his hand away and stepped back. The feeling still lingered, and he left the cemetery quickly.

My dad’s experience has stuck with me, and I can’t help but imagine that the ghost of Poe and the black cat in the story watch over his grave together.



Image Credit: Pinerest.com "Grave Protecting Scary Fast Solid Black Cat" saved from Kelli Guest