by KYW's Lauren Lipton
One of the most popular places to go on Halloween is right here in Philadelphia: the home of Edgar Allan Poe, at 7th and Spring Garden Streets.
"During his time in Philadelphia, he published 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' 'The Tell-Tale Heart,' and 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue,' which is considered the first detective story. And of course, 'The Black Cat.' "
Mary Jenkins, interpretive specialist at Independence National Historical Park and the Edgar Allan Poe historical site, says the place where the body was buried in the story "The Black Cat" is still there -- in the basement.
"The basement is nice and creepy. Cobwebs. When we take people on tours, they go into the basement and they see features that are exactly the same as described in the stories."
This Halloween celebration will kick off the bicentennial of Poe's birth, in mid-January of 2009. The museum will reopen after closing in December to set up new exhibits.
"When you come into the the Poe house in January you'll see a really interesting exhibit. There's a big cutout of Poe's head, with sections talking about different kinds of writing that he did.
"There is one place where kids will pull out a drawer and they'll try to decode something using one of his cryptograms. And then we have another section where we talk about Poe's influence all over the world."
For more information go to http://www.nps.gov/edal.
That's Positively Philadelphia!
E-Mail Story
Print Story
