Poe's Basement
Matthew Mercier is a writer and storyteller living in the haunted Hudson Valley. He’s worked as a tour guide at the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium in Connecticut, a puppet wrangler for Jim Henson Studios, a youth hostel manager in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a salmon packer in Naknek, Alaska, and proudly served three years as head docent and caretaker for the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage in The Bronx, an experience that became the basis for his debut novel Poe & I, published by Crystal Lake Publishing on July 19th, 2024.
He’s also been awarded the Leon B. Burstein scholarship from the New York chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, and a residency from the Saltonstall Foundation in Ithaca. He’s performed stories live on stage with The Moth, and he’s been heard on NPR’s The Moth Radio Hour, as well The Story Collider & RISK podcasts. Currently, he is writing and producing radio dramas for Radio Free Rhinecliff in Rhinecliff, NY, and just released the first episode of a six-part series entitled ‘Poe’s Basement,’ which tells a story that he could not fit into his novel. For more information, visit him at matthewmercier.com.
“Poe’s Basement” tells the story of Vincent Pastorelli, the caretaker and head docent for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe in The Bronx. Given that Poe pioneered the detective story, it seems only fitting that after Vincent moves in the mysteries begin to pile up. Does Poe’s ghost still haunt the cottage? Why does everyone in the neighborhood seem to have an agenda? And who is the mysterious person hanging around the cottage at night, the one in the red raincoat?
This six part radio drama will follow Vincent as he uncovers the story behind a decade’s old crime, and the ghosts—both living and dead—that still haunt the northern Bronx.
Audio credits
He’s also been awarded the Leon B. Burstein scholarship from the New York chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, and a residency from the Saltonstall Foundation in Ithaca. He’s performed stories live on stage with The Moth, and he’s been heard on NPR’s The Moth Radio Hour, as well The Story Collider & RISK podcasts. Currently, he is writing and producing radio dramas for Radio Free Rhinecliff in Rhinecliff, NY, and just released the first episode of a six-part series entitled ‘Poe’s Basement,’ which tells a story that he could not fit into his novel. For more information, visit him at matthewmercier.com.
“Poe’s Basement” tells the story of Vincent Pastorelli, the caretaker and head docent for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe in The Bronx. Given that Poe pioneered the detective story, it seems only fitting that after Vincent moves in the mysteries begin to pile up. Does Poe’s ghost still haunt the cottage? Why does everyone in the neighborhood seem to have an agenda? And who is the mysterious person hanging around the cottage at night, the one in the red raincoat?
This six part radio drama will follow Vincent as he uncovers the story behind a decade’s old crime, and the ghosts—both living and dead—that still haunt the northern Bronx.
Audio credits