It may be springtime, but in Baltimore there is always cause to celebrate the bleak and dreary, thanks to our rich tradition and deep-rooted bonds to gothic literary icon Edgar Allan Poe. That’s right, silken, sad, uncertain Poe-lovers, time draws near for the fourth annual Doomsday 2025 — 24 hours of Poe!
From Saturday, May 17 at noon through Sunday, May 18 at noon, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre will host the livestreamed readathon of Poe’s works. The 24-hour marathon reading will be streamed live from Poe’s Magic Theater in the historic Lord Baltimore Hotel.
People from all walks of life will be donating their time and voices to read a story or poem by America’s grandfather of gothic horror. The event raises funds to support the theatre’s mission of spreading literacy with the language of Poe.
This is an international celebration, with concurrent participation happening from Italy’s Grand Guignol de Milan, England’s Threedumb Theatre, Scotland’s Poetic Justice, and Vigor Mortis of Brazil.
Doomsday has even grown since last year, adding participation from Six Degrees of Poe in Tennessee and the Ohio Poe Fans Facebook Group.
Also new this year is a special treat for people who visit the reading in person at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. On Saturday evening only, Poe Theatre’s resident mind-reader and Edgar expert “Alexander the Pretty Good” will present a family-friendly mind reading show about Edgar Allan Poe, called “Magic of Words.”
“It’s tricky having an event on Preakness weekend, but we’ve had repeat readers for the past several years, and it’s growing every time, so we’re sticking with it,” said Alex Zavistovich, founder and artistic director of Poe Theatre. “People ask me why we do it. I think it’s a very Baltimore way to support literacy, and to do something quirky to honor a classic writer whose name and work are so connected to this city.”
The Edgar Allan Poe connection to Baltimore runs deep, even though his residence here only lasted three years. Still, it was in Baltimore he wrote “MS Found in a Bottle,” “Berenice,” and “Shadow – A Parable.” It’s also where he met his wife, and where two generations earlier, his grandfather, David Poe, helped found Baltimore’s historic First and Franklin Church.
Poe’s home has been turned into a museum in downtown Baltimore, the city’s NFL football team is named after his famous poem “The Raven,” their team mascot is named “Poe,” and his gravesite was visited annually for decades on his birthday by “The Poe Toaster” — a mysterious, anonymous figure who would leave three roses and a bottle of cognac at Poe’s tombstone.
In keeping with the grim, ungainly, ghastly mood of the readings, Baltimore Krampus has agreed to make an appearance and might even lend his vocal cords to the proceedings.
Readers appearing in their human forms include House of Delegates Member Luke Clippinger (D, 46th district); Jeannie Howe, ED of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance; Louis Joseph, Arts Council Director for BOPA; Jan Short, theatre arts coordinator for Morgan State University; Jonathan Blakley, WYPR Chief Content Officer; Eben Dennis of Enoch Pratt Free Library and Vince Wilson of Poe’s Magic Theatre.
To tune into the livestream from May 17- May 18, 2025, click this link.
To donate to The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre’s Doomsday Readathon, click this link.
