((I first posted this on October 31, 2007.))
One of the many islands of Boston Harbor is Castle Island, though
for many years it’s been “attached” to the South Boston mainland
and is reachable by foot. In fact it was a favorite meeting place
used by the reputed mob boss Whitey Bulger.
The first fortifications on the island were begun in 1634 and
eventually they became Fort Independence, which has a long and
fascinating history.
But for this Halloween I’m writing about a certain young soldier
who, according to Edward Rowe Snow in his book “The Islands of
Boston Harbor”, enlisted in the First Artillery on 26th May,
1827 and was sent to Fort Independence where he served for five
months under the name Edgar A. Perry.
His real name was Edgar Allan Poe.
While there, Snow speculates, Poe would have heard about a fatal
duel that took place on Christmas Eve seven years before in 1817
between two officers which resulted in the death of a Lt. Robert
Massie. Snow doesn’t give the name of the other officer involved
but he tells about the burial of the dead man on the island and
quotes the inscriptions on it. Lt. Massie’s remains and the
headstone, by the way, were moved three times and as of the
time that Mr.Snow was writing had ended up at the cemetery at
Ft. Devens in 1939. ((pp.68-69))
Snow and others over the years have pointed to the story of Lt.
Massie’s death as the inspiration for “A Cask of Amontillado” but
there are few facts available. For one thing the identity of the
second man varies from story to story. The basic story goes that
Massie’s opponent was a bully and that the dead lieutenant’s
friends took revenge by walling his killer up alive in one of the
casement walls. But again, there is no record showing an officer
mysteriously disappeared without a trace in the time after
Massie’s death.
Snow later in the chapter later says that an elderly man told him
that in 1905 a skeleton dressed in an old military uniform was
found when a sealed casement was opened during repairs to the
fort. They weren’t able to find out who it was and so it was
eventually buried. (p 76)
So far I haven’t found anything online about the discovery and
most critics dismiss the story about the skeleton as folklore. But
whether or not there was someone actually buried alive, it’s quite
possible Poe used some for the elements of the event in his story.
And even the dispute over the folktale is very Poe-like.
There may be another Boston area story that inspired Poe. I
recall reading once about somebody, the wife of the Governor of
the Colony, I think, hosting a party or ball during an epidemic and
that Poe might have been inspired to write “The Masque of The
Red Death” after hearing about it.
The information for this post came from:
Snow, Edward Rowe, “The Islands of Boston Harbor”
Commonwealth Editions, Beverly, Ma.
(2002)
copyright© 1935,1971 by Edward Rowe Snow
copyright© 2002 by Dorothy Snow Bicknell
Showing posts with label Edward Rowe Snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edward Rowe Snow. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
POE IN BOSTON
((I first posted this on October 31, 2007.))
One of the many islands of Boston Harbor is Castle Island, though
for many years it’s been “attached” to the South Boston mainland
and is reachable by foot. In fact it was a favorite meeting place
used by the reputed mob boss Whitey Bulger.
The first fortifications on the island were begun in 1634 and
eventually they became Fort Independence, which has a long and
fascinating history.
But for this Halloween I’m writing about a certain young soldier
who, according to Edward Rowe Snow in his book “The Islands of
Boston Harbor”, enlisted in the First Artillery on 26th May,
1827 and was sent to Fort Independence where he served for five
months under the name Edgar A. Perry.
His real name was Edgar Allan Poe.
While there, Snow speculates, Poe would have heard about a fatal
duel that took place on Christmas Eve seven years before in 1817
between two officers which resulted in the death of a Lt. Robert
Massie. Snow doesn’t give the name of the other officer involved
but he tells about the burial of the dead man on the island and
quotes the inscriptions on it. Lt. Massie’s remains and the
headstone, by the way, were moved three times and as of the
time that Mr.Snow was writing had ended up at the cemetery at
Ft. Devens in 1939. ((pp.68-69))
Snow and others over the years have pointed to the story of Lt.
Massie’s death as the inspiration for “A Cask of Amontillado” but
there are few facts available. For one thing the identity of the
second man varies from story to story. The basic story goes that
Massie’s opponent was a bully and that the dead lieutenant’s
friends took revenge by walling his killer up alive in one of the
casement walls. But again, there is no record showing an officer
mysteriously disappeared without a trace in the time after
Massie’s death.
Snow later in the chapter later says that an elderly man told him
that in 1905 a skeleton dressed in an old military uniform was
found when a sealed casement was opened during repairs to the
fort. They weren’t able to find out who it was and so it was
eventually buried. (p 76)
So far I haven’t found anything online about the discovery and
most critics dismiss the story about the skeleton as folklore. But
whether or not there was someone actually buried alive, it’s quite
possible Poe used some for the elements of the event in his story.
And even the dispute over the folktale is very Poe-like.
There may be another Boston area story that inspired Poe. I
recall reading once about somebody, the wife of the Governor of
the Colony, I think, hosting a party or ball during an epidemic and
that Poe might have been inspired to write “The Masque of The
Red Death” after hearing about it.
The information for this post came from:
Snow, Edward Rowe, “The Islands of Boston Harbor”
Commonwealth Editions, Beverly, Ma.
(2002)
copyright© 1935,1971 by Edward Rowe Snow
copyright© 2002 by Dorothy Snow Bicknell
One of the many islands of Boston Harbor is Castle Island, though
for many years it’s been “attached” to the South Boston mainland
and is reachable by foot. In fact it was a favorite meeting place
used by the reputed mob boss Whitey Bulger.
The first fortifications on the island were begun in 1634 and
eventually they became Fort Independence, which has a long and
fascinating history.
But for this Halloween I’m writing about a certain young soldier
who, according to Edward Rowe Snow in his book “The Islands of
Boston Harbor”, enlisted in the First Artillery on 26th May,
1827 and was sent to Fort Independence where he served for five
months under the name Edgar A. Perry.
His real name was Edgar Allan Poe.
While there, Snow speculates, Poe would have heard about a fatal
duel that took place on Christmas Eve seven years before in 1817
between two officers which resulted in the death of a Lt. Robert
Massie. Snow doesn’t give the name of the other officer involved
but he tells about the burial of the dead man on the island and
quotes the inscriptions on it. Lt. Massie’s remains and the
headstone, by the way, were moved three times and as of the
time that Mr.Snow was writing had ended up at the cemetery at
Ft. Devens in 1939. ((pp.68-69))
Snow and others over the years have pointed to the story of Lt.
Massie’s death as the inspiration for “A Cask of Amontillado” but
there are few facts available. For one thing the identity of the
second man varies from story to story. The basic story goes that
Massie’s opponent was a bully and that the dead lieutenant’s
friends took revenge by walling his killer up alive in one of the
casement walls. But again, there is no record showing an officer
mysteriously disappeared without a trace in the time after
Massie’s death.
Snow later in the chapter later says that an elderly man told him
that in 1905 a skeleton dressed in an old military uniform was
found when a sealed casement was opened during repairs to the
fort. They weren’t able to find out who it was and so it was
eventually buried. (p 76)
So far I haven’t found anything online about the discovery and
most critics dismiss the story about the skeleton as folklore. But
whether or not there was someone actually buried alive, it’s quite
possible Poe used some for the elements of the event in his story.
And even the dispute over the folktale is very Poe-like.
There may be another Boston area story that inspired Poe. I
recall reading once about somebody, the wife of the Governor of
the Colony, I think, hosting a party or ball during an epidemic and
that Poe might have been inspired to write “The Masque of The
Red Death” after hearing about it.
The information for this post came from:
Snow, Edward Rowe, “The Islands of Boston Harbor”
Commonwealth Editions, Beverly, Ma.
(2002)
copyright© 1935,1971 by Edward Rowe Snow
copyright© 2002 by Dorothy Snow Bicknell
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
POE IN BOSTON
One of the many islands of Boston Harbor is Castle Island, though
for many years it’s been “attached” to the South Boston mainland
and is reachable by foot. In fact it was a favorite meeting place
used by the reputed mob boss Whitey Bulger.
The first fortifications on the island were begun in 1634 and
eventually they became Fort Independence, which has a long and
fascinating history.
But for this Halloween I’m writing about a certain young soldier
who, according to Edward Rowe Snow in his book “The Islands of
Boston Harbor”, enlisted in the First Artillery on 26th May,
1827 and was sent to Fort Independence where he served for five
months under the name Edgar A. Perry.
His real name was Edgar Allan Poe.
While there, Snow speculates, Poe would have heard about a fatal
duel that took place on Christmas Eve seven years before in 1817
between two officers which resulted in the death of a Lt. Robert
Massie. Snow doesn’t give the name of the other officer involved
but he tells about the burial of the dead man on the island and
quotes the inscriptions on it. Lt. Massie’s remains and the
headstone, by the way, were moved three times and as of the
time that Mr.Snow was writing had ended up at the cemetery at
Ft. Devens in 1939. ((pp.68-69))
Snow and others over the years have pointed to the story of Lt.
Massie’s death as the inspiration for “A Cask of Amontillado” but
there are few facts available. For one thing the identity of the
second man varies from story to story. The basic story goes that
Massie’s opponent was a bully and that the dead lieutenant’s
friends took revenge by walling his killer up alive in one of the
casement walls. But again, there is no record showing an officer
mysteriously disappeared without a trace in the time after
Massie’s death.
Snow later in the chapter later says that an elderly man told him
that in 1905 a skeleton dressed in an old military uniform was
found when a sealed casement was opened during repairs to the
fort. They weren’t able to find out who it was and so it was
eventually buried. (p 76)
So far I haven’t found anything online about the discovery and
most critics dismiss the story about the skeleton as folklore. But
whether or not there was someone actually buried alive, it’s quite
possible Poe used some for the elements of the event in his story.
And even the dispute over the folktale is very Poe-like.
There may be another Boston area story that inspired Poe. I
recall reading once about somebody, the wife of the Governor of
the Colony, I think, hosting a party or ball during an epidemic and
that Poe might have been inspired to write “The Masque of The
Red Death” after hearing about it.
That concludes my Halloween postings. What better way than
to end with something about Edgar Allan Poe?
The information for this post came from:
Snow, Edward Rowe, “The Islands of Boston Harbor”
Commonwealth Editions, Beverly, Ma.
(2002)
copyright© 1935,1971 by Edward Rowe Snow
copyright© 2002 by Dorothy Snow Bicknell
for many years it’s been “attached” to the South Boston mainland
and is reachable by foot. In fact it was a favorite meeting place
used by the reputed mob boss Whitey Bulger.
The first fortifications on the island were begun in 1634 and
eventually they became Fort Independence, which has a long and
fascinating history.
But for this Halloween I’m writing about a certain young soldier
who, according to Edward Rowe Snow in his book “The Islands of
Boston Harbor”, enlisted in the First Artillery on 26th May,
1827 and was sent to Fort Independence where he served for five
months under the name Edgar A. Perry.
His real name was Edgar Allan Poe.
While there, Snow speculates, Poe would have heard about a fatal
duel that took place on Christmas Eve seven years before in 1817
between two officers which resulted in the death of a Lt. Robert
Massie. Snow doesn’t give the name of the other officer involved
but he tells about the burial of the dead man on the island and
quotes the inscriptions on it. Lt. Massie’s remains and the
headstone, by the way, were moved three times and as of the
time that Mr.Snow was writing had ended up at the cemetery at
Ft. Devens in 1939. ((pp.68-69))
Snow and others over the years have pointed to the story of Lt.
Massie’s death as the inspiration for “A Cask of Amontillado” but
there are few facts available. For one thing the identity of the
second man varies from story to story. The basic story goes that
Massie’s opponent was a bully and that the dead lieutenant’s
friends took revenge by walling his killer up alive in one of the
casement walls. But again, there is no record showing an officer
mysteriously disappeared without a trace in the time after
Massie’s death.
Snow later in the chapter later says that an elderly man told him
that in 1905 a skeleton dressed in an old military uniform was
found when a sealed casement was opened during repairs to the
fort. They weren’t able to find out who it was and so it was
eventually buried. (p 76)
So far I haven’t found anything online about the discovery and
most critics dismiss the story about the skeleton as folklore. But
whether or not there was someone actually buried alive, it’s quite
possible Poe used some for the elements of the event in his story.
And even the dispute over the folktale is very Poe-like.
There may be another Boston area story that inspired Poe. I
recall reading once about somebody, the wife of the Governor of
the Colony, I think, hosting a party or ball during an epidemic and
that Poe might have been inspired to write “The Masque of The
Red Death” after hearing about it.
That concludes my Halloween postings. What better way than
to end with something about Edgar Allan Poe?
The information for this post came from:
Snow, Edward Rowe, “The Islands of Boston Harbor”
Commonwealth Editions, Beverly, Ma.
(2002)
copyright© 1935,1971 by Edward Rowe Snow
copyright© 2002 by Dorothy Snow Bicknell
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
THE HAUNTED BOOKS STORE 4
For many years the premier writer of books that deal with the
folklore and history of New England was Edward Rowe Snow.
When I was growing up in Boston and had three library branches
within walking distance I took out every one of his books they
had on their shelves several times and read them sitting on the
front steps or lying on my bed in my room. Ghosts, pirates,
shipwrecks, devastating storms: Mr. Snow made them come to
life in my imagination.
Besides writing books and delivering Christmas presents to
lighthouse keepers and their families as “The Flying Santa”, he
also wrote a column for the Quincy Patriot Ledger that recounted
legends of Boston and New England. As part of a program to
support local high school newspapers the Ledger and Mr. Snow
hosted a cruise around Boston Harbor for the school journalists.
I was lucky enough to go on one and get the chance to see his
collection of pirate memorabilia such as the two bladed dagger
and the silver plated human skull used as a drinking cup by some
pirate captain. As the ship passed one of the Harbor Islands he'd
tell us about some story or legend abou t it. I had a great time!
You can see a photo of Edward Rowe Snow working in his study
here.
When I began working as a bookseller some eighteen years ago I
was amazed to find out his books were nearly all out of print and
within a few years they all were. Customers who’d grown up
reading his books and column were disappointed as well so when
Commonwealth Editions brought out new editions of some of his
books they became some of the best selling local interest books
in our store.
Commonwealth published six titles:
A Pilgrim Returns to Cape Cod
Pirates and Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast
The Islands of Boston Harbor
Women of the Sea
Mysteries and Adventures Along the Atlantic Coast.
Storms and Shipwrecks of New England
The Lighthouses of New England
They all first appeared as hardcovers with brown jackets and the
Storms and Lighthouses books are also available in paperback
editions. Each book has updates to the stories written by Jeffrey
D’Entremont and also include many photographs.
Needless to say I’ve bought my copies but I’m afraid it looks like
these editions will be going out of print soon . I highly recommend
you hunt one down at your local bookstore if you can before they
are gone and enjoy a great storyteller.
There’s a story in one of Snow’s book that involves Edgar Allen
Poe and I’ll discuss that next. But this concludes my survey of
books you might enjoy reading for Halloween.
Go and haunt a book store!
folklore and history of New England was Edward Rowe Snow.
When I was growing up in Boston and had three library branches
within walking distance I took out every one of his books they
had on their shelves several times and read them sitting on the
front steps or lying on my bed in my room. Ghosts, pirates,
shipwrecks, devastating storms: Mr. Snow made them come to
life in my imagination.
Besides writing books and delivering Christmas presents to
lighthouse keepers and their families as “The Flying Santa”, he
also wrote a column for the Quincy Patriot Ledger that recounted
legends of Boston and New England. As part of a program to
support local high school newspapers the Ledger and Mr. Snow
hosted a cruise around Boston Harbor for the school journalists.
I was lucky enough to go on one and get the chance to see his
collection of pirate memorabilia such as the two bladed dagger
and the silver plated human skull used as a drinking cup by some
pirate captain. As the ship passed one of the Harbor Islands he'd
tell us about some story or legend abou t it. I had a great time!
You can see a photo of Edward Rowe Snow working in his study
here.
When I began working as a bookseller some eighteen years ago I
was amazed to find out his books were nearly all out of print and
within a few years they all were. Customers who’d grown up
reading his books and column were disappointed as well so when
Commonwealth Editions brought out new editions of some of his
books they became some of the best selling local interest books
in our store.
Commonwealth published six titles:
A Pilgrim Returns to Cape Cod
Pirates and Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast
The Islands of Boston Harbor
Women of the Sea
Mysteries and Adventures Along the Atlantic Coast.
Storms and Shipwrecks of New England
The Lighthouses of New England
They all first appeared as hardcovers with brown jackets and the
Storms and Lighthouses books are also available in paperback
editions. Each book has updates to the stories written by Jeffrey
D’Entremont and also include many photographs.
Needless to say I’ve bought my copies but I’m afraid it looks like
these editions will be going out of print soon . I highly recommend
you hunt one down at your local bookstore if you can before they
are gone and enjoy a great storyteller.
There’s a story in one of Snow’s book that involves Edgar Allen
Poe and I’ll discuss that next. But this concludes my survey of
books you might enjoy reading for Halloween.
Go and haunt a book store!
Monday, October 29, 2007
THE HAUNTED BOOKS STORE3
As I’ve mentioned before, whenever a book comes into the store
that covers the colonial and 19th century American historical
periods, I look through it to see if a relative might be mentioned
in it.
One such book is Stephen Hawley Martin’s “A Witch in the
Family: an award-winning author investigates his ancestor‘s
trial and execution.”
I have two Salem witches among my ancestory, Mary Townes
Estey (or Eastey) and Rebecca Blake, so I was naturally
interested in the book. Mr. Martin’s Salem ancestress was
Susannah North Martin who was hung on June 29th, 1692.
Apparently her story was well known in his family so his
book is not a genealogical investigation so much as one of the
whole Salem witch trial phenomenon, and while I don’t find
myself agreeing with some of his views, they are interesting .
The Appendix contains documents from Susannah North
Martin’s case, such as the arrest warrant and testimony at her
trial and also the text of Cotton Mather’s tract on witchcraft,
“Memorable Providences”.
One jarring note: the blurb on the outside rear book cover refers
to the Salem Witch Trials as the “ultimate reality show.”
Another book on witches is Edward Lodi’s “Witches of Plymouth
County”. Although the events in Salem and Connecticut are more
notorious there were people believed to be witches in the
Plymouth area as well, and some of their stories are here. Mr.
Lodi has written quite a few books on occult events, such as “The
Haunted Pram” and “Ghosts From King Philip’s War”, and along
with tales of actual people there is sometimes a eerie short story
or two set in the locale.
Finally, there are the books of author Joseph Citro, such as
“Passing Strange” and “Cursed in New England: Stories of
Damned Yankees”. He also writes horror fiction but his occult
books have been fairly popular in our store, and the best selling
one is “Weird New England” , part of a series of books written by
different authors that are guidebooks to the more offbeat travel
destinations nationwide. ( “Weird New York”, “Weird Michigan”,
etc.). It’s the only hardcover out of all the books I’ve mentioned
so far and it’s sold the most copies.
As I’ve said, most of these books are paperback with prices under
$20 and there are others out there like them written about other
parts of the country. Go haunt a bookstore for them!
The “Haunted Bookstore” will conclude with a post on one of my
favorite local authors, Edward Rowe Snow.
that covers the colonial and 19th century American historical
periods, I look through it to see if a relative might be mentioned
in it.
One such book is Stephen Hawley Martin’s “A Witch in the
Family: an award-winning author investigates his ancestor‘s
trial and execution.”
I have two Salem witches among my ancestory, Mary Townes
Estey (or Eastey) and Rebecca Blake, so I was naturally
interested in the book. Mr. Martin’s Salem ancestress was
Susannah North Martin who was hung on June 29th, 1692.
Apparently her story was well known in his family so his
book is not a genealogical investigation so much as one of the
whole Salem witch trial phenomenon, and while I don’t find
myself agreeing with some of his views, they are interesting .
The Appendix contains documents from Susannah North
Martin’s case, such as the arrest warrant and testimony at her
trial and also the text of Cotton Mather’s tract on witchcraft,
“Memorable Providences”.
One jarring note: the blurb on the outside rear book cover refers
to the Salem Witch Trials as the “ultimate reality show.”
Another book on witches is Edward Lodi’s “Witches of Plymouth
County”. Although the events in Salem and Connecticut are more
notorious there were people believed to be witches in the
Plymouth area as well, and some of their stories are here. Mr.
Lodi has written quite a few books on occult events, such as “The
Haunted Pram” and “Ghosts From King Philip’s War”, and along
with tales of actual people there is sometimes a eerie short story
or two set in the locale.
Finally, there are the books of author Joseph Citro, such as
“Passing Strange” and “Cursed in New England: Stories of
Damned Yankees”. He also writes horror fiction but his occult
books have been fairly popular in our store, and the best selling
one is “Weird New England” , part of a series of books written by
different authors that are guidebooks to the more offbeat travel
destinations nationwide. ( “Weird New York”, “Weird Michigan”,
etc.). It’s the only hardcover out of all the books I’ve mentioned
so far and it’s sold the most copies.
As I’ve said, most of these books are paperback with prices under
$20 and there are others out there like them written about other
parts of the country. Go haunt a bookstore for them!
The “Haunted Bookstore” will conclude with a post on one of my
favorite local authors, Edward Rowe Snow.
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