Westminster Hall and Poe's Grave
Westminster Hall
and Poe's Grave
Westminster
Hall
and
Poe's
Grave
Baltimore,
Maryland
The Old Western Burial Ground is one of the oldest cemeteries in the United States. But its
status as hallowed ground didn't prevent it from near destruction.
In order to protect the graves from Baltimore's early expansion, the Westminster Presbyterian
Church was built above the graveyard in 1852.
In the catacombs below, disembodied voices and chills are felt. An eerie fascination even
drew many people to the site between 1890 and 1920... To commit suicide.
Edgar Allen Poe rests here. He died in Baltimore while traveling to New York. His quivering
body was found in a gutter. The cause of his death is to this day unknown.
Every January 19, Poe's birthday, since 1949, a man in black visits the grave leaving a
bottle of cognac and three roses. His identity remains a mystery.
Today the building is a part of the University of Maryland-Baltimore's campus. But beneath
the campus gatherings, the legends still remain.
old western burial ground
westminster church
the catacombs
a horror master rests
the yearly visitation
now westminster hall
