You know you’re a lit nerd when “Berenice” made you look at teeth in a whole new light.

Cult Literary Traditions for Truly Die-Hard Fans.

Taken from http://flavorwire.com/251506/10-cult-literary-traditions-for-truly-die-hard-fans, written by Emily Temple.

10 Cult Literary Traditions for Truly Die-Hard Fans.

The Poe Toaster.

For 60 years, every January 19th, on the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday, a mysterious figure would visit Poe’s grave in Baltimore, pour himself a glass of cognac, raise a toast to the author, and leave three red roses and the rest of the bottle of cognac at his gravestone before vanishing into the darkness. A tradition grew for local Poe fans to gather to watch the shadowy figure (or figures — common wisdom is that the tradition was passed from father to son), and read the cryptic notes he sometimes left behind. Sadly, this January 19th has come and gone for the third time without the appearance of the “Poe Toaster,” so by all accounts this tradition has come to an end. Unless, that is, we can entreat any enterprising Poe fan to take up the mysterious mantle next year.

I would have used Amontillado, but still, I love this.

You know you’re a lit nerd when Edgar Allan Poe has given you an irrational fear of black cats, premature burial, amontillado sherry, pendulums and your partner’s teeth.

You’d never tell I was reading Edgar Allan Poe last night.

You know you’re a lit nerd when you wonder if murderers can hear the heatbeats of their victims when they pass the place they buried them.

You know you’re a lit nerd when someone offers you Amontillado, and you refuse on the grounds that you don’t want to tempt fate into bricking you up into a wall.

You know you’re a lit nerd when you see a raven and say “Quoth the Raven nevermore.”