Thread: Tombstones on a hill??

Tweet

My front yard is basically a fairly steep hill with stairs cutting up the middle to the front door, I've been wanting to have a cemetery with the tombstones extending down the hill. But have never done so because I hadn't figured out how to place the tombstones in the ground with such a high degree incline and still have them looking decent. The hill is anywhere between a 15 to 35 degree incline, with a retaining wall about 15' feet from the street which is basically a slight sloping out to the road. I thought about making some triangular bases that the tombstones could sit on which would allow them to "blend" into the ground, and making it look somewhat convincing. If that's too confusing to imagine, take a look at my illustration below for a better idea. The last 2 years, I've only decorated the front porch which is screened in and nobody can see unless they're trick 'r treaters. Which keeps the curious neighborhood kids that freely roam any yard that isn't fenced in, from trying to take any cool looking prop I might put out on display; regardless I still want to venture out into the yard and utilize this unmanageable mound and make it a house on a haunted hill. So I am interested in hearing any idea's or what others have done in this situation (I can't be the only one, right?) Anyhow, I'll update this post should I try and do anything towards making my "cemetery on a hillside with a creepy house at the top" display.
Any thoughts & idea's are appreciated! Happy haunting!

I'm from a mountainous region and your illustration basically shows how they're done back home. Another option would be to let your grass get kind of high and then just put the tombstones in without bases. The grass should cover the bottom so no one will notice that they aren't level.

I'm thinking your triangular bases are the best solution. I too have a hill. Unfortunately, I was silly enough to build the tombstones normal so I'm thinking I'm going to have to lift up the sloping side with bricks shoved underneath. I was concerned with it looking bad but Rikki, you just gave me a fantastic idea - let the grass grow! Thanks Rikki.

My pleasure, Terra! Glad to be of service!

The thought about using grass and leaves was the only other concealment alternative that I could think of and had wondered about too, but I was concerned that my great dandy lion & crab grass garden would be to thin to do the trick. Though I had considered attaching something like a hairpiece for lawns around the bases of the tombstones so that they'd already be obscured before even putting them in the ground. That way I wouldn't have to worry about there being enough grass or weeds on the hill so I could do a comb-over to try and cover them up. I'm sure that a some fake grass & leaves could prolly be found at most craft stores.

Rikki, before I had posted this thread I had been digging around on the internet trying to find pics of a cemetery that had something like those bases on the tombstones but never really found anything at all. Since I generally rely on having a visual of something before deciding to build anything, do you have any suggestions where I might look to find some images of them; can you recall any of the cemetery's names that might provide better search terms than "steep", "hill", "tombstone" & "cemetery"?? I certainly appreciate the insight & thanx for commenting!
-ssf-

BTW: Terra I see you're located in Kansas City??? Wow! Me too! How cool!

I don't have any specific resources but here are a few pictures I scrounged up. All of the headstones seem to face to the side of the hill instead of looking down it. You could have them face your steps, maybe place them at a 45 degree angle so they can still be somewhat seen from the road. Hope this helps!

i live in a VERY hilly area and if you do the tombstones right it can look very cool

My house sits on a hill and the front yard slopes down toward the road. I used a combination of things to help with this. The bases of the tombstones on the front tier are covered by a fence. Those on the second tier have props including a corpse coming out of the dirt; I also used funkins placed in front of the tombstones on the second and third tiers. The third tier is largely hidden by the first two. You can always use mounded dirt to hide things. Also, this area of the tombstone can be painted to blend in better. I have a tall, menacing scarecrow and tall ghost in the back which help draw the eye upward.

Hmmm... not really the best image but the cemetery set from Sleepy Hollow (one of my favourites) was constructed on a hill. May give you some inspiration!?!?

You could also use a rug or old blanket over some stuffed paper. Paint it, throw some leaves and dirt over it. With a little creativity you can make 'em look like freshly dug graves that will cover the base of the tombstone.