Blog Posts

Celebrating Poe: Teachings and Terrifying Tales for Your Young Readers

At Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), we encourage students to take opportunities to mindfully interact with new genres, cultures, and ideas in every environment. RIF’s mission to give children books and reading resources helps spark a lifelong love of learning and wonder. This blog features RIF’s own Lauren Ullman, Marketing Operations Coordinator, and explores her time at Baltimore’s International Edgar Allan Poe Festival, which celebrates the literary legend who shaped horror, gothic, and scientific fiction genres. Edgar Allan Poe’s work invites readers to consider curiosity, confusion, and a little bit of creepiness, a chillingly fitting way to celebrate the spooky season. 

Once upon a midnight weary, while many pondered the unique and cheery, dozens of devoted fans gathered on Baltimore’s Amity Street to celebrate the late American author, Edgar Allan Poe. With costumes donned and glasses raised in honor, attendees celebrated his life, legacy, and famous works that have influenced storytelling for decades.   

About Edgar Allan Poe   

Poe masterfully contributed to and reinvented the mystery world and is seen as one of the first writers of detective stories. From his work, students can learn about complex characters, mystery solving, suspense, elements of horror, vivid language, and intriguing plots. Reading his short stories, of which he published 69, evokes not just entertainment, but an invitation and challenge to reconsider traditional literature.  

Poe’s talents further seeped into his 48 works of poetry, leading to his most notable release, The Raven, which took place in January of 1845. In a story focusing on a man’s profound loss, and his vexing conversation with a cryptic raven, students can explore themes of repetition, melancholy and madness, the supernatural, and ancient influences. 

In both his poems and short stories, Poe coaxed the macabre to a new level, connecting readers with unrivaled atmospheres of horror. The literary legend known to millions was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in January of 1809, and met a mysterious death in Baltimore, Maryland, in October of 1849.  

 

The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival 

I had the pleasure of attending this year’s International Edgar Allen Poe Festival & Awards. Commencing from October 3 to 5, 2025, outside of the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, the event marked the 176th anniversary of Poe’s passing, and the 180th anniversary of the first publication of “The Raven.” 

Fans from far and wide gathered to exchange unique goods, stories, and performances all within Poe’s spooky realm, demonstrating the tremendous impact that the late author had on the art and literary universe.  

Exclusive passes enhanced the experience, involving a bus tour, film showing, black cat ball, museum exploration, live performances, and more. The street-based festival involved vendors selling handmade jewelry, decorated candles, special edition books, eccentric artifacts, and themed food and drink. Attendees dressed in costumes paraded the square to chilling tunes, and several fans were awarded for their dedication to their craft.  

While this was the first time I was able to attend the festival, I plan to return in following years. Baltimore displayed true appreciation for Edgar Allan Poe, and the sense of community I discovered at the event with like-minded readers and authors was inspiring. Poe’s writing is timeless, and I feel compelled to learn more about him and his revolutionary tales.  

 

Edgar Allan Poe Resources 

Those curious to research his works can access notable pieces through RIF’s free book resource platform, Literacy Central. Here you’ll find free reading resources that deepen engagement and understanding of many of Poe’s works, including Ten Great Mysteries, selected by a famed anthologist of science-fiction and the supernatural, and Eight Tales of Terror, an assemblage of horror stories from the master of the genre. Students may more deeply consider and connect with his words by playing RIF’s Poe-themed crisscross puzzle and three levels of word searches. More of his vivid imagery can be found in Scholastic Classics: The Raven, which includes 26 of Poe’s haunting poems. 

Whether you got to experience Poe’s celebration in person, are planning a trip to his home and resting place in Baltimore or want to explore the magic of his imaginative writing, Poe’s legacy is open to all. Invite your friends, children, students, and family to learn about his work through RIF’s Literacy Central, and nevermore will you be bored!  

Lauren serves as Marketing Operations Coordinator at RIF. She is responsible for print production, asset management, coding invoices, contributing to digital channels including social media, text, and blog writing, and supporting the marketing team with other key initiatives and research.