THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The Edgar Allan Poe Museum is dedicated to the life and works of the famous author and is associated with reports of unexplained paranormal activity. Visitors have described shadow figures, mysterious footsteps, disembodied voices, and unusual sensations throughout the historic buildings. Some believe Poe's spirit still visits the museum devoted to his legacy.
Built around 1754 as a private home, the “little stone house” located a few blocks from Poe’s boyhood home has housed a collection of Poe artifacts since the early 1900s. At about this time began the rumors of its hauntings. At least three ghosts are believed to reside or at least visit here, including two blonde children, thought to belong to the house’s original owners, and a shadowy figure thought to be Poe himself. The children tend to show up in visitors’ photos, and the man seems to be attached to some of the museum’s items such as Poe’s walking stick and his wife Virginia’s hand mirror. He also has been seen in the hallways and in the garden, or captured in photographs behind a tour group as if listening to the guide. One interesting story involves a shipment of Poe bobblehead figures that came for the gift shop. Employees arrived to find that they had been unpacked and lined up on the shelves without the burglar alarm ever having been tripped.