"Fancy Me Mad" event at St. John's Church

Last night, the River City Cemetarians attended the St. John’s Church Foundation and the Poe Museum’s “Fancy Me Mad,” their fall event “honoring the spirits of the season, All Hallow’s Eve, as well as master storyteller, Edgar Allan Poe.” While Poe isn’t buried at St. John’s church, his mother is.

This is the second year that I have attended the event. Last year was fantastic but this year they added more ambiance, a few more spirit-actors, and two storytelling sessions. Last year we were packed into the church; with the additional storytelling sessions, we had more room to relax. It also made it so that we were not so pressed for time.

Before we headed over to St. John’s Church, the group met at Patrick Henry Pub & Grille, which is one block from the graveyard. Patrick Henry Pub & Grille was built in 1850. According to Style Weekly, the location used to be a brothel and a speak-easy. And, like so many old buildings from that time, it also is allegedly haunted. The only spirits we saw were those placed on the table by our waitress.

After an amazing dinner where I was thankful that my friends let me try their onion rings, fries, and roasted vegetables which were all so delicious, we headed over to historic St. John’s Church, where Patrick Henry gave his famous Give me Liberty or give me Death speech.

We were each given a self-guided tour that included a map and an itinerary. We followed the pathways to various spirits who recounted stories of their lives and times. As we meandered our way through the churchyard there was tons of ambiance and even some fun puns, including the parish hall being named the perish hall for the evening. 

My coffin selfie

The event concluded with us entering the church to listen to the organist play some spooky music. Finally, we heard tales from Mr. Poe himself.