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Ok, we know someone dead is down there. You don't need to clarify any more.
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the creepiest graves you have ever seen
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This may not be fair, since I've traveled a bit in my life, but I've visited English churchyards, Irish Graveyards and an ossuary in Denmark, where the bones of the faithful were all faithfully gathered and turned into the decor of the church nave.
Here in America, the top three are fairly legendary on the scary scale.
The first is the coastline north of Boston, Mass. Salem, Marblehead and Glouster all have Puritanical tombstones. These are the classic flat slate, usually inscribed with "Here Lyes y Body of..." Heavily scrolled or floral sides rise up to the arched top, which often sports a winged skull, or a skull and thighbones. The third most popular image on the top was a winged hourglass, because 'time flies'.
The second was Sleepy Hollow, NY. Like the New England boneyards, this burial ground had a few Puritan-style stones, but these showed the changing tastes of the time. The winged skull with its empty, staring sockets is often replaced with a more natural face topped with hair, a representation of the soul ascending... but these graves clustered around the Old Dutch Church are not the main attraction, even though you may be standing near the unmarked grave of a nameless Hessian.
The real treat is the crypts set into the hill on the far side of the churchyard, where Sleepy Hollow Cemetery proper begins. These charnel houses are old, and each has a distinct character - green-tarnished doors, marble pillars, frowning facades and even turrets and embattlements on the top, giving the impression of a castle entrance. One of these crypts served as the original Crypt for Barnabas Collins from the original "Dark Shadows" series.
The third is the cemeteries of New Orleans. The infamous city has a rep for interring its dead above soil due to the high water table, so crypts, sepulchers and mausoleums are popular. The St. Louis #1 is the most famous, with Marie Laveau constantly entertaining guests. There are two others named for St. Louis - #2 is in a bad part of town and in terrible shape (which admittedly draws lots of photographers) and #3 is the newest and best kept, with marble still shining in the swamp-hazed sun. St. Rochs#1 can be decidedly unnerving, much more than #2, and Lafayette #1 has a wide range styles because it's non-denominational, and popular to boot, as it's in a nicer part of town and was made famous by Anne Rice.
But the creepiest, most skin-shivering grave? It was the grave of L. Coombs in the churchyard of Littleton, Cambridgeshire, England. That was the town I lived in while stationed in England, a small burg just up the road from Ely and Cambridge. Coombs had been buried before the Declaration of Independence was written, and the gravestone leaned out over the wall of the churchyard and cast a long shadow on the sidewalk beyond.
One evening, while walking past it, I noticed something in the grass of the grave in the light of the nearby streetlamp. I stepped up and looked closer, then carefully lifted the object from the earth. I brushed the soil from it and, guessing what it was, walked it up to the church, where the sexton met me and thanked me for bringing my find to him.
Like many churchyards in Europe and the British isles, space was at a premium before the rise of secular cemeteries. This led to many families being buried in the same grave, one on top of the other. Usually, the previous occupant was long gone when the graves were opened for a new resident, but nevertheless some graves still swelled to capacity, so the recently departed may not have been assured a full depth of six feet. He figured that was what had happened at the Coombs grave, because the object I had brought him was the iron ring handle of a coffin, covered in a thick coat of rust.
Here in America, the top three are fairly legendary on the scary scale.
The first is the coastline north of Boston, Mass. Salem, Marblehead and Glouster all have Puritanical tombstones. These are the classic flat slate, usually inscribed with "Here Lyes y Body of..." Heavily scrolled or floral sides rise up to the arched top, which often sports a winged skull, or a skull and thighbones. The third most popular image on the top was a winged hourglass, because 'time flies'.
The second was Sleepy Hollow, NY. Like the New England boneyards, this burial ground had a few Puritan-style stones, but these showed the changing tastes of the time. The winged skull with its empty, staring sockets is often replaced with a more natural face topped with hair, a representation of the soul ascending... but these graves clustered around the Old Dutch Church are not the main attraction, even though you may be standing near the unmarked grave of a nameless Hessian.
The real treat is the crypts set into the hill on the far side of the churchyard, where Sleepy Hollow Cemetery proper begins. These charnel houses are old, and each has a distinct character - green-tarnished doors, marble pillars, frowning facades and even turrets and embattlements on the top, giving the impression of a castle entrance. One of these crypts served as the original Crypt for Barnabas Collins from the original "Dark Shadows" series.
The third is the cemeteries of New Orleans. The infamous city has a rep for interring its dead above soil due to the high water table, so crypts, sepulchers and mausoleums are popular. The St. Louis #1 is the most famous, with Marie Laveau constantly entertaining guests. There are two others named for St. Louis - #2 is in a bad part of town and in terrible shape (which admittedly draws lots of photographers) and #3 is the newest and best kept, with marble still shining in the swamp-hazed sun. St. Rochs#1 can be decidedly unnerving, much more than #2, and Lafayette #1 has a wide range styles because it's non-denominational, and popular to boot, as it's in a nicer part of town and was made famous by Anne Rice.
But the creepiest, most skin-shivering grave? It was the grave of L. Coombs in the churchyard of Littleton, Cambridgeshire, England. That was the town I lived in while stationed in England, a small burg just up the road from Ely and Cambridge. Coombs had been buried before the Declaration of Independence was written, and the gravestone leaned out over the wall of the churchyard and cast a long shadow on the sidewalk beyond.
One evening, while walking past it, I noticed something in the grass of the grave in the light of the nearby streetlamp. I stepped up and looked closer, then carefully lifted the object from the earth. I brushed the soil from it and, guessing what it was, walked it up to the church, where the sexton met me and thanked me for bringing my find to him.
Like many churchyards in Europe and the British isles, space was at a premium before the rise of secular cemeteries. This led to many families being buried in the same grave, one on top of the other. Usually, the previous occupant was long gone when the graves were opened for a new resident, but nevertheless some graves still swelled to capacity, so the recently departed may not have been assured a full depth of six feet. He figured that was what had happened at the Coombs grave, because the object I had brought him was the iron ring handle of a coffin, covered in a thick coat of rust.
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grave picture?
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I agree the New Orleans cemeteries are very eerie. Also some of the Confederate cemeteries in South Carolina. Some in Beaufort are very creepy.
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I find cemeteries fascinating places to visit. It's not that I'm obsessed with death, but I find it interesting to see how the living commemorate those they loved. I don't have a single most eerie, but there are lots of notable ones. There are some gorgeous marble-statued markers and some creepy caved-in ones in San Juan. I don't know where my pictures are though. Ossuary in Rome-- quite, quite creepy.
The Jewish cemetery in Prague is multi-layered, like the one Spats described in Littleton. Graves on top of graves on top of graves.
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Hólavallagarður in Reykjavik has cool eerie trees. The green light in the picture is really how it looks.
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These ivy covered stones in Sighișoara (Vlad/Dracula's Transylvanian birthplace) look like creatures when it gets toward dark. (DD and I got stuck in the graveyard when they locked the gates about 15 min ahead of schedule, so we got to see it after dark-- howling dogs, circling bats, and all.)
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The Jewish cemetery in Prague is multi-layered, like the one Spats described in Littleton. Graves on top of graves on top of graves.
Hólavallagarður in Reykjavik has cool eerie trees. The green light in the picture is really how it looks.
These ivy covered stones in Sighișoara (Vlad/Dracula's Transylvanian birthplace) look like creatures when it gets toward dark. (DD and I got stuck in the graveyard when they locked the gates about 15 min ahead of schedule, so we got to see it after dark-- howling dogs, circling bats, and all.)
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OMG, ooojen, what a wonderful creepy story of getting locked in the cemetery. I would have freaked.
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This is Eternal Silence here in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery. It was built in 1909. Look up Graceland Cemetery for some of the famous people buried there. Pretty interesting stuff.
![Chicago,_Illinois_Eternal_Silence1.jpg]()
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Mackinaw Island in Michigan, you can only reach them by horse, bike, or on foot.
![mackinaw cemetery2.jpg]()
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What some beautiful and creepy photos everyone, love them.
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I personally have never seen it but the pictures are pretty creepy, Black Aggie in Pikesville, MD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Aggie
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http://www.prairieghosts.com/druidridge.html
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/agnes.asp
Aggie was removed the year I was born but the ORIGINAL statue created by Saint Gaudens is still there & apparently it's not haunted een though the statue is over a grave of a a woman that swallowed cyanide to commit suicide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Aggie
http://www.prairieghosts.com/druidridge.html
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/agnes.asp
Aggie was removed the year I was born but the ORIGINAL statue created by Saint Gaudens is still there & apparently it's not haunted een though the statue is over a grave of a a woman that swallowed cyanide to commit suicide.
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Black Aggie gets around...Baltimore and Washington, Pikesville, and even in Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier, Vermont!
http://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2013/02/black-agnes-statue-that-kills.html
Pretty frisky for a statue... I wonder if she's a "mourning" person?
http://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2013/02/black-agnes-statue-that-kills.html
Pretty frisky for a statue... I wonder if she's a "mourning" person?
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A few years ago I was visiting a friend in South Carolina. One of the places he took me was an old classic Southern Cemetery, All Saints Church Cemetery, complete with Spanish Moss, crumbling crypts and a haunted legend. There is a grave stone embellished simply with the name "ALICE". Below is a link that tells the whole story, and the ritual that has grown up around it.
![Cemetery_1.jpg]()
![Alice_1.jpg]()
http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/mytrip/alice.html
The most atmospheric cemetery I ever visited was an abandoned cemetery near the Susquehanna River in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. It was hidden in the woods behind machine shops and a car salvage yard. Completely overgrown, with many trecherous pits where graves had collapsed. Old slate and marble tombstones at odd angles, toppling over or held up by the trunks of trees that had grown around them. I've often wondered what happened to it... did anyone ever take it under wing and try to restore it, imbueing it with a deserved dignaty, or has it just been swallowed up and reverted back to nature?
http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/mytrip/alice.html
The most atmospheric cemetery I ever visited was an abandoned cemetery near the Susquehanna River in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. It was hidden in the woods behind machine shops and a car salvage yard. Completely overgrown, with many trecherous pits where graves had collapsed. Old slate and marble tombstones at odd angles, toppling over or held up by the trunks of trees that had grown around them. I've often wondered what happened to it... did anyone ever take it under wing and try to restore it, imbueing it with a deserved dignaty, or has it just been swallowed up and reverted back to nature?
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Good call, ChrisW! The stone is on the grave of Vlasta Burian, who was, indeed a comedian/comedic actor. There's some potential dark to it, too. He was blacklisted for alleged Nazi collaboration, and wasn't exonerated until after his death.
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My "Creepiest graveyard" is the one I know the best. (Maybe that is why it's creepy to me?)
It is right out my West window on the next hill. It looks down upon the little downtown we have here.
The Creek that runs behind my house runs toward the graveyard, turns south, then West,then North making a liquid separation between itself and most of the town. I guess at one time the belief was that a spirit could not cross a body of water to approach the living?
Maybe the graveyard is located there because it is a terrible piece of farmland, all clay and small rocks? (Poor grave digger!)
Most of my relatives are buried there.
The tallest stone there belongs to my Great-Grandfather Warfield. it might be 16 feet tall ("That's where he spent ALL of his $!") ha-ha!
Another much smaller stone has James Warfield on it,it says i died in 1953. I do remember that day. It was Winter, James left the house to carry out the garbage can and never returned. He collapsed on top of the garbage can (Heart attack) He and his family just lived two blocks away ,up the hill.
We were not closely related,he had been my Grandfather's Cousin?
Last year I was told some more odd stories about nocturnal happenings in this Graveyard.
It seems a local man and his Wife had gotten into the habit of enjoying nightly walks through the graveyard... until they began to see shadow people and unexplainable , odd lights there.
6,500 bodys buried up on that hill,only 1,700 population of this town.
Even the Parents of Anita Snook are buried there ,Anita is credited with teaching Amelia Airhart to fly. A one-time Commisoner of major league baseball is also buried there.
The river,the sewer plant, a small corn field,some sheer cliffs all help to keep people out,but what about those who need to come out.." death" gets boring,you know...
It is right out my West window on the next hill. It looks down upon the little downtown we have here.
The Creek that runs behind my house runs toward the graveyard, turns south, then West,then North making a liquid separation between itself and most of the town. I guess at one time the belief was that a spirit could not cross a body of water to approach the living?
Maybe the graveyard is located there because it is a terrible piece of farmland, all clay and small rocks? (Poor grave digger!)
Most of my relatives are buried there.
The tallest stone there belongs to my Great-Grandfather Warfield. it might be 16 feet tall ("That's where he spent ALL of his $!") ha-ha!
Another much smaller stone has James Warfield on it,it says i died in 1953. I do remember that day. It was Winter, James left the house to carry out the garbage can and never returned. He collapsed on top of the garbage can (Heart attack) He and his family just lived two blocks away ,up the hill.
We were not closely related,he had been my Grandfather's Cousin?
Last year I was told some more odd stories about nocturnal happenings in this Graveyard.
It seems a local man and his Wife had gotten into the habit of enjoying nightly walks through the graveyard... until they began to see shadow people and unexplainable , odd lights there.
6,500 bodys buried up on that hill,only 1,700 population of this town.
Even the Parents of Anita Snook are buried there ,Anita is credited with teaching Amelia Airhart to fly. A one-time Commisoner of major league baseball is also buried there.
The river,the sewer plant, a small corn field,some sheer cliffs all help to keep people out,but what about those who need to come out.." death" gets boring,you know...
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The ones in New Orleans give me the creeps. So many are decayed and look like something out of a horror show. We drove around one of the cememteries a few years ago when we cruised out of NOLA and I have some photos somewhere. I will see if I can find some to share
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