About this Event
Poe Fest Int'l in Baltimore, MD, commemorating the 176th Anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death in Baltimore and the 180th anniversary of The Raven! Join us festival weekend for three days of programs, exhibits, and of course the street festival just outside Poe's chamber door at the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore!
Poe Fest International is a free, family-friendly weekend of events featuring Edgar Allan Poe-themed performances, art, vendors and food, celebrating Poe’s life, works and his influence in the arts.
The street festival takes place Sat & Sun at , in the newly-built “Poe Park” at Center/West. Additional exhibits, tours, and programs at several locations in Baltimore City, October 3-5.The festival includes Poe-themed performances, vendors, booksellers and music, plus family-friendly activities, poetry and art. Attendees will also get to learn about Poe’s life and works from some of the United States’ preeminent “Poe Places”, with representatives from The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum (Baltimore), The Poe Museum (Richmond, Virginia), The Poe Cottage (Bronx Historical Society, NYC), and The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. General Admission to Poe Fest International is FREE. The winners of the 2025 Saturday 'Visiter' Awards will also be announced festival weekend!
Tours inside the Edgar Allan Poe House and additional exhibits at Westminster Hall & Carroll Mansion are not included as part of the general festival program and require paid tickets. To be sure you get in to see these precious landmarks,
**The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum**
Crowds will gather at the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Poe House will only be open to visitors for timed-ticket tours. Your ticket entitles you to entry and includes a tour of the historic Edgar Allan Poe House. Additional souvenir brochure with Mobile App and Cell Phone guide to "Poe's Baltimore" available.
**Death Weekend 'Poe Places' Bus Tour**
Explore the enduring mystery surrounding Poe’s tragic death on a special Death Weekend Live Virtual Tour of Poe’s Baltimore. The 2-hour tour ticket includes stops at four important Poe Places around Baltimore, including the sites where Poe was found and passed away, Poe’s graves at Westminster Hall & Burial Ground, and scenes from a special re-enactment of Edgar Allan Poe's first funeral. This ticket also includes access to our NEW "Poe in Comics" and "Poe Death Exhibits" inside Westminster Hall! NOTE: Death and funeral imagery (including body in an open casket), may not be suitable for young children. Viewer discretion advised.
**The Red Masque Festival Pass**
Prince Prospero himself can't keep you out of these exclusive experiences festival weekend--SAVE $60 when you book online! The Red Masque Festival Pass includes special entry to 4VIP tents on festival grounds, plus entry to Westminster Hall & Carroll Mansion:
The M**der Mystery Company Presents: Best Laid Plans, an Old Hollywood Whodunnit! You're invited to a "killer" Old Hollywood party at the estate of Sir Warren Peace, a night of mystery, intrigue, and M**der you will never forget. Bribe suspects for clues and gather information to uncover the unhinged guest who is whacking all the invitees. 4 games festival weekend.
Stephen Smith is "One Man Poe"Direct from London and a 2022 Saturday 'Visiter' Award winner, actor Stephen Smith will stage a special and intimate performance of some of Edgar Allan Poe's most hanting tales during his "One Man Poe" shows, Saturday & Sunday at Poe Fest International.
The Poe Toaster Cocktail/Mocktail Tasting Tent For decades, the mysterious Poe Toaster honored Edgar Allan Poe with a secret midnight toast. Join the tradition! Sample dark, Poe-inspired cocktails and mocktails featuring Baltimore-based spirits. Tastings every half-hour, Saturday/Sunday—raise a glass and become part of the mystery!
Bloody Mary Brunch With Poe Ward away that Red Death hangover at a special bloody brunch with Poe at the festival Sunday, 11AM to 1PM. Your wristband gets you one virgin version; Marys and Marias available for purchase, 21+ only. Includes a bloody toast to the man himself, Edgar Allan Poe!
The "WRITTEN IN STONE: 150th Anniversary of the Poe Monument" & Poe Death Exhibits at Westminster Hall and Carroll Mansion.
S ee the description above for details. Pay at the door, or purchase a Red Masque Festival Pass to enter all!
This year's festival includes additional events and performances festival weekend:
**The Black Cat Ball: Mesmeric Masquerade at Westminster Hall**
is the Official Party of the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards. This year’s Black Cat Ball is a Mesmeric Masquerade, a triple invocation of Edgar Allan Poe’s immortal legend: 180 years since the haunting cry of The Raven, 180 years since the chilling tale of Valdemar first mesmerized readers, and
Dress in Victorian mourning, spirit-world couture, or your most mesmeric finery and enjoy an evening of hypnotic spectacle inspired by Poe’s fascination with the uncanny and the afterlife, perhaps even catch a glimpse of a certain poetic specter. Dance on the edge of dream and death, in a ballroom alive with gothic glamor. All tickets include:
- RavenBeer/Wine Bar Reception & hors d'oeuvres
- Private Viewing of the Poe Monument 150th Anniversary Exhibit
- 2025 Saturday 'Visiter' Awards Ceremony
- Mesmeric Dance Party with DJ Marty and special guests
- Tours of the famed Westminster Catacombs
- A grave-side toast to Edgar Allan Poe
**Raven Reception MOVIE NITE & Twilight Tour of Green Mount Cemetery***
Start festival weekend with a pint, a movie, and a party for The Raven! Join us for a thrilling movie night and social to celebrate the 180th anniversary of Poe’s most famous poem—complete with themed drinks, spooky vibes, and a room full of fellow Poe fans. Party and film screening TBA!
Want to make a night of it? Add on our VIP twilight tour of Green Mount Cemetery— Here lie some of Maryland’s most storied figures, including the infamous John Wilkes Booth and Elijah Bond, inventor of the Ouija Board (whose headstone bears the board’s mysterious “Goodbye"), Enoch Pratt, John H.B. Latrobe, and hundreds of others. A few Poe family members also rest here, their graves set among elaborate 19th-century stonework that is as eerie as it is exquisite. The tour includes shuttle to and from the film party.
General Admission includes drink ticket and light food fare, panels, The Raven tribute, and film screening, plus festival poster. VIP ticket includes Movie Nite package plus shuttle to Green Mount Cemetery for tour, travel to Movie Nite venue, and return to Lord Baltimore Hotel.
Poe Fest International’s Raven Reception MOVIE NITE & Twilight Tour of Green Mount Cemetery to kick off festival weekend is sponsored by Wells Fargo. Proceeds benefit The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore.
**Poe Cemetery Tour and “Written In Stone: 150 Years of The Poe Monument” Anniversary Exhibit at Westminster Hall**
POE CEMETERY TOUR Living history performers via mobile app will guide you on a tour of the famed Burying Ground at Westminster Hall, the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe. Visit the grave and monument where Poe was buried no fewer than three times. Pay tribute to David and Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, and other members of the Poe family, who repose alongside other great Revolutionary War and War of 1812 heroes. See the graves of General Samuel Smith, Brigadier General John Smith, Rev. Patrick Allison, and other great figures in the rich tapestry of Baltimore's past. Engage with new interpretive signage and virtual resources, deepening your understanding of the Poe family's Revolutionary War patriotism and legacy. Join us as we prepare for America 250 celebrations and journey through the past, present, and future of Baltimore's revolutionary spirit.
"WRITTEN IN STONE: 150 Years of the Poe Monument" EXHIBIT
Edgar Allan Poe died under mysterious circumstances and was buried in 1849 in a hasty, unmarked grave in the back corner of Westminster Burying Ground in Baltimore—an ignominious ending for a storyteller whose life and writing shocked the world. In true Poe fashion, the story doesn’t end with the body in the ground. Nearly 30 years later, his grave forgotten and untended, a Baltimore schoolteacher and her students took it upon themselves to rewrite Poe’s story. With pennies, persistence, and the power of public sentiment, they raised the funds to build a proper monument—though not without controversy, complications, and no shortage of gothic drama. Even famed poets Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Walt Whitman weighed in, drawn into the literary storm surrounding Poe’s legacy. Over time, the once-overlooked grave became a pilgrimage site for fans, scholars, and the mysterious figure known only as the Poe Toaster, who for decades left cryptic tributes in the dead of night.
**The Poe Death Exhibit and Ghastly Galentine Festival Pop-Up Shop at Carroll Mansion**
An interactive art installation at the historic Carroll Mansion, where Poe's body and casket will lie in state in a re-enactment of the dark and somber day Poe was laid to rest. Tour the various conspiracies that plague Poe's legacy and learn how the very clothes he wore offer clues to his mysterious death. Pay your respects at a special candle-light vigil for the master of horror and mystery. Additional vendors and the Poe Festival pop-up shop also on site!
NOTE: Death and funeral imagery (including body in an open casket), may not be suitable for young children. Viewer discretion advised. This exhibit takes place at location away from Festival Grounds; limited street parking and garage parking is available. This is a ticketed event; timed entry guarantees admission.
The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards is made possible by sponsorship, programs and volunteers by Poe Baltimore, Wells Fargo, La Cite LLC & Center/West, The Lord Baltimore Hotel, Westminster Hall & Burying Ground, The Poe Museum (Richmond), The Enoch Pratt Free Library, The Bronx County Historical Society/ Poe Cottage at Fordham, The Society of Sons of the Revolution in the State of Maryland, RavenBeer and many others. All proceeds benefit The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore!
** 180th Anniversary Concert, "Echos of Old" with David W. Cook & Rivers of Harmony**
“Echos of Old”, a one-of-a-kind concert and album release reception celebrating the timeless beauty of old English and Irish Celtic folk songs. This extraordinary afternoon will feature the American premiere of Alexina Louie’s acclaimed musical setting of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, performed by renowned tenor, David W. Cook, with his award-winning ensemble, The Rivers of Harmony. Celebrating the 180th anniversary of the first printing of Poe's most haunting poem.
Agenda
?: 06:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Fri, October 3, Raven Reception, Movie Nite & Twilight Tour of Green Mount
Host: Chad The Bird
Info: The Lord Baltimore Hotel
?: 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Sat, Oct 4, Poe Fest Day 1
Info: The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, 203 N. Amity Street. Check out the festival website for ticket options, and pick up The Red Masque Festival Pass for entry. https://poefestinternational.com/ticketed-events
?: 06:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Sat Oct 4, The Black Cat Ball, Mesmeric Masquerade at Westminster Hall
Info: Westminster Hall & Burying Ground, 519 W. Fayette Street. Visit https://poefestinternational.com/the-black-cat-ball for tickets options.
?: 01:00 PM
Sun, Oct 5, "The Raven" 180th Anniversary Concert, Echos of Old
Host: David W. Cook & Rivers of Harmony
Info: Westminster Hall & Burying Ground, 519 W. Fayette Street
?: 11:00 AM - 04:00 PM
Sun, Oct 5, Poe Fest Day 2
Info: The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, 203 N. Amity Street. Check out the festival website for ticket options, and pick up The Red Masque Festival Pass for entry. https://poefestinternational.com/ticketed-events
?: 11:00 AM - 04:00 PM
Oct 2- 5, Westminster Cemetery & 150 Years of the Poe Monument Exhibit
Info: Westminster Hall & Burying Ground, 519 W. Fayette Street
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, 203 North Amity Street, Baltimore, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 71.19
