'...Suddenly There Came a Tapping'

Imagine that you are home alone late one night, feeling lonely and sad, missing a cherished loved one. Suddenly you hear a slight knocking at your door. You believe it is only the wind, because when you ask “Who’s there?” no one answers, and when you finally get up the courage to open the door no one is there. Convinced that it is all your imagination, or the sound of a tree branch against the house, you are amazed when a large black bird enters from the top of the entrance, and sets himself upon a statue on a shelf above your door. It never moves; its only utterance, the words “Never more,” over and over again. This is but a sample of the work of the classic writer and poet, Edgar Allan Poe, in his scary poem, “The Raven”. It is but one of hundreds of stories, essays, and poems for which he is remembered.

In 1846, Edgar Allan Poe, the son of an actress, moved to Poe Cottage, at Grand Concourse and East Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx. Poe left the crowded, unsanitary, and unsavory conditions of New York City to go to a simple, more rural wood frame farmhouse with the hope that its healthier atmosphere would cure his wife, Virginia, who was dying of tuberculosis. Throughout his life, Poe suffered the loss of several loved ones, and his frustration and feelings of bitterness, anger, and depression show in his writings. Halloween is an appropriate time to review his tales of horror and revenge, and his poems of grief and terror.

Edgar Allan Poe Cottage has been maintained by the Bronx County Historical Society. It is a little bit of poignant history, a remnant of a brilliant writer who has provided the world with tales of terror, tragedy and undying love and romance. There he lived peacefully with his wife and mother-in-law for a brief time before illness, poverty, and alcoholism destroyed him. Poe Cottage is located at the top of a hill overlooking Long Island Sound. Originally there were apple orchards where today a small public park is located, not far from the Harlem River and the Harlem River train line. In 1846, all of the business and hubbub of Manhattan occurred just below 14th Street. Poe enjoyed living in the Bronx not far from St. John’s College, (now Fordham University), and talking with the Jesuits about philosophy and literature.

As one walks up the steps to the white clapboard wood and shingle Poe Cottage, there is a fenced-in porch overlooking a lovely flower garden where hollyhocks dominate. Inside there is a small kitchen, with only one window that didn’t bring in much light, and candlelight was dim. A small fireplace was used for cooking, and a small table and chairs for eating meals and sipping tea. Children might enjoy visiting to pretend what it would be like to live there, as Poe and his family did over 150 years ago. Alas, Poe and his wife never had children. This cottage wasn’t built for a well-to-do family. It was a dwelling more suitable, at the time, for a tradesman such as a blacksmith or a cabinetmaker.

For a while, Poe lived happily at the Bronx cottage, with his fragile wife, and her mother who did all the housekeeping, cooking, and marketing. Next to the kitchen is a room for entertaining visitors, with a rocker of upholstered leather, Poe’s original mirror, a writing desk, and a couple of wooden chairs. This is the more spacious and charming room. Next to this was a small bedroom where Virginia was compelled to stay when she could no longer climb upstairs. (When Virginia died at Poe Cottage, she was 24, and had been married to Edgar Allan Poe since she was not quite 14). A small, steep, twisty staircase (how much smaller people must have been in those days, whose feet covered these little steps!) leads up to the attic, where Poe’s study, and the master bedroom was located. Kids will like the stairs, but adults have some trouble, as it is almost like climbing a ladder! The view from the attic window is lovely, but must have been more so in 1846 when it was more countrified, and there was no automobile traffic.