The Eureka Man

I first encountered Mr. Edgar Allan Poe in the Parents Wonder World Encyclopedia my mother had purchased for me on the installment plan way back in 1961, It was the poem Annabel Lee and I was mesmerized. The following short story was the Purloined Letter. Needless to say, it was not on the summer reading list of St. Joseph Monastery School and I’m sure they would have been shocked that my mother encouraged me to read the whole book on English Literature. She had said, “read that volume and you’ll always know a little bit about all the great literature. I wrote Raven Dove when my darling husband drove me all over Loudon Park Cemetery and I found all the tomb stones I used for true life tomb poems. One of my best friends Lynn Barns who lived up the street from me did many Poe paintings and her house looked like the set from some of the scarier Poe Films with Gargoyles and Fantasy everywhere. She allowed me to use her artwork for my documentary on Poe titled the Eureka Man. The screenplay the Bell for the Rune was based on a great screenplay by my client Mary Elizabeth Hauer who also wrote Esmeralda the Witch and the Ebony Soldier. She was a great writer and I’m honored to have known her. Again, sadly she passed away. I am so proud that my daughter, Christine, who is a great artist, also included Edgar Allan Poe in her repertoire. Above Lou and Loretto to the left Poe on his deathbed by Lynne Barnes. Lynn was the main character in the film as a ghostly witch. We had great fun filming it. Sadly, Lynn passed away during the pandemic. We shot some scenes in Chrissy’s house and our Edgar Allan Poe was Chris Dickerson. He played his ghost. He also impersonated him at Admiral Fells Inn for The Top of the Morning Show. Below is Chissy, Christine Chavis with her Poe Impersonator David Keltz who is the main impersonator for Baltimore Maryland. We all love Poe and the Poe House is open for tours. They have many events and they are always looking for new work inspired by Poe. They have a contest every year and we hope to enter this book as a collaborative work between my daughter Christine Chavis and myself. You can reach Christine @