Edgar Allan Poe House
Edgar Allan Poe’s ghost makes this museum into a truly horror-inspired experience for some visitors
Paranormal Activity at the Edgar Allan Poe House
- Poe’s apparition is seen roaming around inside
- Phantom hands will tap visitors on the shoulder
- Muttering ghostly voices are heard
- A gray woman’s figure is spotted around the house at times
- Display items and gifts are moved by unseen forces
- Mysterious cold spots are reported
- Windows slam shut on their own
History of the Edgar Allan Poe House
We often expect the homes of history’s larger-than-life figures to be, well, larger than life. But for every major public figure who lived a life of luxury, there are enduring historical symbols who lived much simpler lives. One such figure was Edgar Allan Poe. Now revered for his gothic horror storytelling, Poe found little success in life, and only managed a simple living.
That simple living led him to the small home on Amity Street in Baltimore. Known today as the Edgar Allan Poe House, the tiny Baltimore abode was Poe’s home for a few years in the 1830s. And now, local legend says it is one of the horror writer’s forever homes in the afterlife. But he may not be the only one haunting his namesake house.
Timeline of Edgar Allan Poe House's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Edgar Allan Poe House through the years
1830
Built in 1830, the future home of Edgar Allan Poe was much the same as any other home in early 1800s Baltimore. It was part of a duplex, with both units offering small, simple accommodations at a reasonable cost. The reasonable cost led Poe’s extended family to the home shortly after its construction. The main tenant was Edgar’s aunt.
But soon after she moved in, Edgar, his grandmother, and his cousin all joined her in the small house.
1833
Edgar Allan Poe moved into the Baltimore home in 1833, after a tumultuous time working at West Point. During his first months in the home, Poe resolved to dedicate more time to writing. Later that year, he won a prize for his writing of ‘MS. Found In A Bottle.’ Soon after, he became a contributor for the Southern Literary Messenger, a Virginia periodical paper.
Two years after moving to the Amity Street address, Poe packed up. He moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he hoped to solidify success with the Southern Literary Messenger.
1835
After Poe moved out of the Baltimore home in 1835, both he and the Amity Street home ran into uncertain times. Poe was ultimately lost to that uncertainty, dying at 40 in 1849.
The Baltimore home lived a quieter life through the 1800s, but into the 1900s, seemed destined to go the way of its former tenant.
1930
In the early 1930s, as new development encroached, the small old house was listed for demolition. But, fundraising and support from the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore saved his former residence from the wrecking ball.
1949
With the house saved, the Poe Society started restoring the home to open as a public museum. The society’s work found success in 1949, when the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum opened its doors. Immediately, Poe fans found a haven of information, artifacts, and exhibits.
But more than that, they found strangeness, enough to make them feel like they had gone from the Poe House right into a Poe story. Even today, new, unsettling ghost stories come out of the museum, suggesting Poe’s phantom may still remain.
Is the Edgar Allan Poe Residence Haunted?
Who haunts the Edgar Allan Poe House? Well, it should come as no surprise, many witnesses claim that Poe himself does. The dark, lanky figure of Edgar Allan Poe is sometimes seen meandering through the home’s rooms.
No one knows if Poe’s haunting on Amity Street is intelligent or residual, though. His figure isn’t known to ever interact with witnesses or acknowledge anyone’s presence. Those who have seen him simply say he looks like he’s going about his busy, writing-filled days.
Poe’s Baltimore Home has Another Ghost
There’s another figure at the Edgar Allan Poe House who is reportedly seen far more often than Poe himself. The spirit of a middle-aged woman, dressed in gray, sometimes manifests around the house.
Much like Poe, she simply appears to be going about her day-to-day life. But while more people see this woman, no one knows who she is. Some witnesses claim that she is Poe’s wife and cousin, who died in 1847 and lived in the Baltimore house alongside him. But this is purely speculation.
Poltergeist Activity in Poe House Museum
While the apparitions of the Edgar Allan Poe House don’t take much interest in the living, there may be other entities inside that do. One well-known claim is that an unseen ghost in the house will tap people on the shoulder to get their attention. No one knows what spirit is doing this, or why.
Some wonder if it’s Poe’s phantom, or that of the gray-clad woman, just playing small jokes on visitors to pass the time. But, as the activity never comes with any nearby apparition or figure, no one can truly be sure.
Wandering Cold Spots in Poe’s Baltimore Home
Along with the strange shoulder taps, tourists may also have run-ins with mysterious cold spots around the Edgar Allan Poe House. The cold spots are not associated with any one entity. Some wonder if they’re the result of the wandering gray lady.
But could they be the work of Poe, penning something exceptionally chilling? Other visitors sometimes report disembodied voices or whispers wafting through the home’s air. But, the voices are so soft and distant, no one can ever seem to hear what the spiritual voices are saying.
Haunted Exhibits in Edgar Allan Poe Museum
It’s a rare report, but the museum sometimes hosts poltergeist-like activity as well. Small items around the house’s exhibits will occasionally move by themselves. And at night, when the house is empty, passersby sometimes notice lights moving around inside. Witnesses say it’s like someone is carrying a candle to traverse the darkness.
The most startling instances of moving objects in the Edgar Allan Poe House all focus on the windows. Windows around the home purportedly get tossed open and slammed shut by the home’s unseen specters. In at least one report, the activity was so intense that a window fell out of its frame and shattered.
Visit Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Baltimore, MD
For almost eighty years, the Edgar Allan Poe House has been a cornerstone of history, for both Baltimore and American literature. Still today, the home greets countless tourists, giving them the chance to see one of the horror writer’s homes up close and personal. And, if the local lore is anything to go off of, it gives them the chance to see Poe himself, up close and phantasmal.
The Edgar Allan Poe House doesn’t host regular ghost tours these days. But a few ghost hunting teams have explored the home in the past, though Poe’s specter proved elusive on those investigations.
Like a raven among crows, Poe’s phantom remains rare. Many places his spirit goes, and he can’t haunt everywhere. Perhaps he can be summoned back to Baltimore, if only someone would rap on his chamber door.
