An intriguing story from the Associated Press last Friday, January 19 stated:

"For the 58th straight year, a mysterious visitor left birthday cognac and roses at Edgar Allan Poe's grave Friday."

According to the article ("Mystery visitor appears at Poe's grave," by Kasey Jones, available at Boston.com or through the library's Newsbank database), an anonymous fan honors Edgar Allen Poe this way each year on January 19, the writer's birthday. The tradition stretches back to 1949, the 100th anniversary of Poe's death, and has reportedly been passed along to a second generation.

Known for his creepy poems and horror stories, Poe lived only to the age of 40. He is sometimes credited with creating the detective story with his publication of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and other tales, such as "The Gold Bug," that followed.

Get inspired and read some Poe! We have a wide selection here at the library:

• In the Children's Department, you can find "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Gold Bug," and others in Six tales : including The fall of the House of Usher, The murders in the Rue Morgue [and] The pit and the pendulum.
• For the classic poem "The Raven", check out The works of Edgar Allan Poe.
• If you'd like to try some of his lesser-known works or revisit old favorites, take a look at The Unabridged Edgar Allen Poe.