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Live strange, die strange, and leave a strange gravestone. We have explanations for some of these weird stones, but for others we do not. Educated guesses and pure speculation as to their origin are welcome.
The Clothespin Grave, Middlesex, VT
Created for the owner of a local clothespin factory. Hmm, a little on the nose?
The Davis Memorial
After John Milburn’s wife Sarah died in 1930, he was so overcome with grief — and so desperate to be rid of all his money — that he erected an elaborate series of statues of himself and his wife in various epochs of their life together, carved from top-of-the-line Italian marble (in Italy), then shipped to the town of Hiawatha, Kansas. Total cost: $200,000 (in Great Depression dollars). Total tonnage: about 70. Total number of annual visitors to the gravesite: 30,000. (Thanks to Neatorama and John Charlton for the photo.)
The Dollhouse Grave
This creep-fest resides in Medina, Tennessee, and is the grave of a 5-year-old girl named Dorothy Harvey, who died in 1931. Legend has it she loved dolls so much, they built a dollhouse to mark her grave. (No, wait, that’s what actually happened. Legend has it that if you peer into the windows of the dollhouse, you just might catch a glimpse of her ghost.)
Lilly E. Gray, “Victim of the Beast 666″
This mysterious grave marker rests in a Salt Lake City boneyard. Despite repeated attempts to explain the creepy inscription, investigations by the morbidly curious have turned up little about this “Victim of the Beast 666.” A few interesting facts were gleaned by sleuth Richelle Hawks: Lily’s name was mispelled on her stone (an extra “l” was added), she married petty thief Elmer Gray at age 72, but he’s buried far away from his wife in the same cemetery, and Gray died of natural causes in a local hospital. Anyone got an Ouija board handy?
Comments (183)
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In my town there is a graveyard that runs right along a main street, with headstones almost all the way up to the road. One of the closest to the street has the name of “Livezy” and says under it, “His wife Lydia Ann can’t”. It has always struck me as odd to make a joke like that on a grave, about a grieving widow.
posted by caitlen on 9-5-2007 at 9:54 am
Hmm…In Iowa City, all we have is this angel sculpture that turned black and so now everyone says it’s haunted. I forget what it’s made of…probably some material that oxidizes.
posted by Lindsay D on 9-5-2007 at 10:05 am
In my hometown (Natchez, MS)there’s an angel monument that overlooks several gravesites.
This monument is now referred to as ‘The Turning Angel’ because at night when cars drive by on Cemetery Road their headlights shine upon the monument and to some it appears to turn as their car passes by.
There’s also the grave of Florence Ford. Here’s what the city cemetery website says about it
“September 3, 1861 – October 30, 1871
Ten-year-old Florence died of yellow fever.
During her short life she was extremely frightened of storms and whenever one occurred she would rush to her mother to find comfort.
Upon her death her mother was so struck with grief that she had Florence’s casket constructed with a glass window at the child’s head. The grave was dug to provide an area, the same depth of the coffin, at the child’s head, but this area had steps that would allow the mother to descend to her daughter’s level so she could comfort Florence during storms. To shelter the mother during storms, hinged metal trap doors were installed over the area the mother would occupy while at her child’s grave.
In this picture you can see the trap doors behind little Florence’s tombstone, which covers the stairway her mother used. They can still be opened today.
In the mid 1950s a concrete wall was erected at the bottom of the stairway covering the glass window of Florence’s coffin to prevent vandalism.”
posted by Martha on 9-5-2007 at 10:40 am
There is a grave in my hometown of Fisher, Illinois, called “Junior’s Grave”. The legend has it that a little boy is buried there and if you put toys on the grave before the sun goes down, they’ll be gone the next day, taken by Junior in the night.
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 9-5-2007 at 11:33 am
I used to live just a few miles from Medina, TN, but I never heard about the dollhouse gravestone!
posted by Miss Cellania on 9-5-2007 at 11:45 am
They’re sure are a lot of alive people spending way too much time where the dead ones are.
Just an observation…
posted by beckydd on 9-5-2007 at 4:07 pm
Well, she died on 6/6 so maybe that has something to do with the ‘beast’ that took her. Maybe the hour is the other 6? Thought maybe her age too, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
posted by Melissa on 9-5-2007 at 11:01 pm
At the risk of sounding…. Spooky?
I had a buddy who died of an epileptic seizure at age 32. He didn’t have many friends or family (much like myself). One day while driving past the cemetery I decided to stop and look at his grave, which is near the road. It’s just a bronze plaque on the ground and was half covered with grass,leaves, and dirt so I cleaned it off. I put the clumps of junk under a nearby bush. The next day as I was driving past the cemetery, I saw his parents and two other people at the gravesite. I thought “They must have noticed the plaque was recently cleaned and wonder who did it.” Now, I (kind-of) wonder, “What propelled me to go in and make the plaque look nicer?”
posted by Tdave on 9-6-2007 at 1:57 am
By far the oddest cemetery I’ve seen is the one at Novodevichy Convent in Moscow. The famous and infamous of Russian history are mainly buried here, with enormously elaborate headstones, each uniquely designed. Khruschev’s is a black/white Soviet blok era monstrosity.
Walking through this particular cemetery is not your typical peaceful experience, but more like walking through an odd, cluttered storeroom of statues.
posted by julie on 9-6-2007 at 2:09 am
In my hometown concord, NH there is a big cemetary. One of the headstones just says “Boner” on it. No first name, date of death, or anything. Just Boner. I want to get a picture of it.
posted by Steve on 9-6-2007 at 8:25 pm
In the small town of Lincoln, Kansas is a gravestone in the shape of a suitcase. The man who died was a traveling salesman and no one knew his name. There used to be a saying when we were kids. As you stand by the grave, ask him his name. He’ll say nothing, nothing at all.
posted by Bubba on 9-6-2007 at 8:32 pm
Near the town where I grew up, Ashmore, IL there is a very old graveyard. It is between Ashmore and Oakland, called St. Omers cemetry. One of the first gravestones as you arrive reads a date of death as Feb. 31. It so happens the stone appears to be a pile of firewood holding a crystal ball. It has always locally know as a witches grave.
posted by carter on 9-6-2007 at 8:54 pm
While living in NJ and New England I loved walking in the grave yard on cold winter evenings. The benches provided comfort for my sore feet and the head stones good material to read. Often humorous with dry wit lop sided and weathered from age. I always thought it the perfect spot to relax. No one ever went there so I was sure to be alone, while in the company of hundreds.
None the less people thought I was weird, a freak some said. I guessed it was because they feared graves. Then someone pointed out that my dress, and natural appearance in a grave yard was actually what scared them most. “Dody you look like death as it is with your black hair and pale skin, do you have to commune with them too?” I can’t help how I was born. But I never laughed so hard in my life.
posted by Dody on 9-6-2007 at 8:58 pm
In my home town (Harrogate, TN.) there is a cemetery with a tombstone that says, “Leonard Bush’s Leg”.
Leonard lost his leg in an accident as a young child and his leg was buried at that time.
posted by danplazbass on 9-6-2007 at 9:09 pm
Where is the Davis Memorial? “Who, What, When, Where, Why…”
posted by Paul on 9-6-2007 at 9:26 pm
No, Lilly Gray was born on 6/6. We don’t know what the other 6 was.
It’s possible that someone felt she’d had bad luck all her life, because of the day she was born?
posted by M.E. on 9-6-2007 at 9:30 pm
I saw a picture 20+ years ago of a grave where the gentleman had two parking meters placed on either side of the headstone. The poles had been shortened to be about the same height of the headstone. Of course they said, “TIME EXPIRED”. I believe this was somewhere in the midwest. I’ve looked for years on the internets and haven’t been able to find info and/or a pic about this.
posted by kc on 9-6-2007 at 10:17 pm
You may be amused by all this, but as one who knows, I can tell you…(I fade away, to the sound of spooky laughter)
posted by datgnat on 9-6-2007 at 10:18 pm
I like to walk thru graveyards; they are so peaceful. On one grave I saw, the last name was “Sinner.” I wonder where he ended up? :)
posted by chaosgone on 9-6-2007 at 10:46 pm
Wow, that is some expensive stuff, I don’t think I would go for anything like that…
posted by Dish Chick on 9-6-2007 at 10:56 pm
In a graveyard in Bozeman, MT theres a gravestone: the guy died on 4/20 and his last name was Hash.
Guess what we used to do at his grave…
posted by Elias on 9-6-2007 at 11:49 pm
Back home in Benton Harbor, Michigan there is the grave of Ben Purnell. Ben was the leader of the religious commune The House of David, which during the early 20th century was the wealthiest and most visited amusement park in the world. After he died in 1927 he was wrapped in hot towels for 8 days by his followers, since they hoped he would rise from the dead. But when the city forced them to bury him, he was laid to rest in a glass air tight coffin on a pedestal in what is called The Diamond House (one of the many mansions on the old amusement park grounds). His body is still there, dry, but not decomposed, in the abandoned house.
posted by theuber1337 on 9-7-2007 at 1:43 am
#15: In the ground, aparantly… ;)
posted by fish on 9-7-2007 at 4:59 am
As far the “beast 666″ it was probably a reference to the devil. 666 is a representation of the devil or hell. Perhaps she was a sinner and that brought about her demise…
posted by MsFalse on 9-7-2007 at 6:05 am
I like to fart.
posted by Matt Farmer on 9-7-2007 at 8:13 am
Me too, Matt.
Staying on topic is way more fun though.
posted by Mark J on 9-7-2007 at 9:10 am
MsFalse, you’ve solved the case! Wow, we were completely unaware of what the symbolism behind that was. Thank you so much for your detective work. Dan Brown would be proud.
posted by uhmhuh on 9-7-2007 at 10:03 am
Near my birthplace of Tucson Arizona there is a town called Tombstone – everybody’s heard of it; the Dalton/Clanton-Earp Range wars, etc.
In Boot Hill there are a number of interesting tombstones & grave markers. The one that always gave me the giggles was, “Here lies Lester Moore, shot five time with a .44, no less, no more.”
posted by doc on 9-7-2007 at 10:32 am
I have seen a graveyard. Have you?
(BTW…I like to fart too #25)
posted by Nick F. on 9-7-2007 at 12:55 pm
There is a particulary beautiful cemetary by me, called Rosehill, in Chicago. There is only one spot in this humongous place that I continually am drawn to, as it is the most peaceful and beautiful in my opinion. I will go and sit there on nice summer days and it got to the point where I had memorized about 20 of the names on the headstones around me. I jokingly would come and say hi (hey, hows it going Mr. Smith, Nice day, isnt it Mrs. Jones).
One day I was in a rather foul mood as I wanted to quit my job. I went there to calm down. I closed my eyes for a second and must have fell asleep as I had a dream that mr. Smith & Mrs. Jones and others were standing in front of me, saying “the next time you come back we will have something for you”. I woke up thinking what a silly dream. But 2 weeks later, when I was able to go again, there was a tangle of sharp wires laying on the ground where I park, somewhat covered in leaves. I got out to move the wires, and under them and the leaves was a scrap of paper from a brochure on a paid internship program offered by the city.
I now have a different job and some people (dead 70+ years) to thank.
posted by C on 9-7-2007 at 2:34 pm
in ventura california there is a park called cemetary park, it used to be a cemetary but it was made into a park. because they couldn’t find all the deceased relatives they left a lot of tomb stones scattered around the park. most date from 1920 on back to the mid 1800’s. people picnic, play frisbee, etc mingling in with the markers.
posted by DANNYBOY on 9-7-2007 at 3:11 pm
Crazy pics, thanks for sharing xD!!!
posted by James on 9-8-2007 at 11:11 pm
I live in Mt. Vernon, Illinois and there is a large cemetary next to the main road going through town. A tombstone up front has a lighted blue cross in it that comes on at dark every night. According to a newspaper article about the stone several years ago, the deceased left a trust fund to insure the power bill for the stone would be paid for eternity.
posted by Deb on 9-9-2007 at 10:35 am
#15: “…then shipped to the town of Hiawatha, Kansas.”
I’d look there first.
posted by maggie on 9-9-2007 at 12:01 pm
Just a thought about Lilly E. Gray. If you add the numbers of the year of her death, then divide by three (mo/dy/yr) you get another 6 for “666″.
For the math challenged, that would be 1+8+8+1=18. Divided by 3 (mo/dy/yr) equals 6. Muaahhahhhaahhh!
posted by Mark C. on 9-9-2007 at 1:35 pm
wah. I don’t enjoy people who like to fart. [to number 25 and 29]
posted by 420chick on 9-9-2007 at 10:57 pm
#35; I somehow doubt that was it….
Maybe she just would always tell people that the 666 Beast would one day do her in.
posted by Anahoj on 9-9-2007 at 11:42 pm
Maybe Lilly E. Gray weighed 666 lbs. when she died.
I saw a “lighted cross for graves” in a mail order catalogue. It was solar powered, like the solar powered yardlights. There was one in the cemetery near me, but it was only there for a couple of weeks.
posted by Tdave on 9-10-2007 at 1:01 am
Holbrook Ma. Stone says Royal Paine.
Nuff said.
posted by awg on 9-10-2007 at 2:39 pm
In Washington, NH, there is a pint size gravestone where “Captain Samuel Jones’ leg” is buried; It’s owner was buried adjacent some years later. Always thought that one was kinda funny.
posted by Andrew on 9-10-2007 at 4:08 pm
How can you not include the Weiss family plot in NYC? The owner’s stage name might give you more of a clue: Harry Houdini. It gets a lot press for the head of his bust being stolen at Halloween but the rest is something to see, like the weeping woman sitting on the ground leaning on the bench. Its a must see on every trip to the Bronx.
posted by Mike C. on 9-10-2007 at 4:16 pm
There’s a Cemetary in Denver, Colorado, where a gentleman’s grave is marked with an elaborate, scaled-down replica of his hunting cabin. It’s very detailed with boots and a rifle on the back porch, as well as a pile of deer droppings off to the side.
posted by Suzie Q on 9-10-2007 at 10:56 pm
Davis Memorial
In Mt. Hope Cemetery, Hiawatha, KS, the grave memorial of John M. Davis includes ten life-size, Italian marble statues that depict Davis and his wife at various stages of their lives. The eleventh statue is made of granite, because Davis had exhausted his life savings on the monument.
“The Vacant Chair” is where his wife would have been seated, had she not died seventeen years before Davis’s death (at age 92 in 1947). The elaborate memorial has attracted visitors for over half a century. In fact, Davis enjoyed spending his last lonely years hanging around the work in progress and explaining it to visitors.
The last statue of Mrs. Davis, as an angel kneeling on Mr. Davis’s tomb, has been mysteriously decapitated. Victim of the local Halloween Frolic? Teens at the Hiawatha Pizza Hut had some leads.
“That head was throwed in a pond is what we heard.”
Directions: Near Jct. of Hwys 73 and 36, Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Hiawatha, KS
posted by linda on 9-10-2007 at 11:44 pm
Re: The 666 gravestone. The 666 remark was added later as the original etching was centered from top to bottom. The added line was put in the bottom space in a different font. Somebody was having a little fun.
posted by Dan on 9-11-2007 at 1:07 pm
The creepiest old grave I’ve seen was somewhere in D/FW Texas (near the airport). It said “Cold is the ground and wet is the sod that holds our Darling Baby.” Makes me feel warm and snuggly all over.
posted by Stephanie on 9-11-2007 at 7:51 pm
I want to be buried in a spooky looking cemetery, with a headstone that reads: “God grant that he lie still”
posted by Tdave on 9-12-2007 at 1:15 am
Growing up near Baltimore, they have a strange story about Edgar Allan Poe, who is buried at a church in the city. Every year, someone dresses up in costume and leaves a bottle of cognac, and 3 roses at his grave on the anniversary of his death. This has been going on for years, and awhile ago some older gentleman came forward to say he was the one leaving the items. No one believes him, so they think several people are dressing up. This has become a big tourist attraction for the little church and brings in big money now, so lots of people would be upset if this tradition stopped. Apparantly, the curator of the church is just as stumped as to the identity as everyone else.
posted by Mom2boys on 9-12-2007 at 6:27 am
Strangest gravestone I’ve ever seen is the Yonkers, NY Costco store. It is buried on top of the remains of 135 children. They were part of a Jewish cemetary that was supposed to be relocated as part of the development deal – adults remains were reburied in Israel, but due to some oversight, the children were not moved.
posted by Barbara on 9-12-2007 at 6:52 am
At Rose Hill Cemetery in Linden NJ there is a huge granite LIFE SIZE Mercedes car as a headstone. CRAZY
In a small cemetery on the Colonia/Rahway NJ border is a headstone where the guy made a Bas Refleif of his face and hands so they stick out of the tombstone ala Han Solo in carbonite.
Freaky people.
posted by QT 314159265 on 9-12-2007 at 6:59 am
Near Moultrie, Georgia, there is a monument shaped like an elephant. A circus performer died while passing through the area some years ago.
In the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, there is a statue of a man dressed in full dress clothes, holding a top hat, but with no tie. He didn’t like wearing a tie in life, but his sculptor put one on his monument (before the man died). The man was so incensed that he insisted that the tie be chiseled away, saying something to the effect: “I didn’t like wearing one when I was alive, and I sure ain’t going to wear one when I’m dead!”
posted by Ray on 9-12-2007 at 7:43 am
I remember reading a very interesting article in National Geographic about Nigerian coffins.
It seems that burial rituals here require that the coffin reflects who you are, and so they are made up to lokk like automobiles, hotdogs, planes, guitars or whatever else seems appropriate.
posted by Steffen Mandrup-Christensen on 9-12-2007 at 8:00 am
re: Edgar Allan Poe’s gravesite
Laura Lippman used this as a central part of one of her novels.
posted by Doug on 9-12-2007 at 8:12 am
I think it is Edison, NJ. There is a gravestone of a woman in the parking lot of the movie theater. It is said that her husband went out to sea and never came back. She spent the rest of her days watching the water and when she died they buried her there. The movie theater came later, and they built the parking lot around her.
posted by penny on 9-12-2007 at 9:06 am
The strangest/creepiest gravestone I ever saw was at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. It was the grave of a husband & wife and it looked like their arms were reaching out of the tomb and holding hands. It was detailed down to their wedding rings.
This is the same cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried. They have guards standing at his grave because of how many times it has been vandalized. People have broken the slab over the tomb and taken pieces and people try to stay in the cemetery overnight to sleep by his grave. There were also several “offerings” left on the grave marker… roses, cigarettes, marijuana joints.
There’s also a grave with a statue of a woman with her face in her hands, like a mom crying over the grave of her child forever.
posted by Aubrey's Mom on 9-12-2007 at 9:14 am
In Savannah Georgia, they like graveyards and frequently a Sunday picnic will be held in one. One fellow has his tombstone cut in the shape of a bench, so that his friends would have a place to sit when they came to visit him.
posted by BMohen on 9-12-2007 at 9:34 am
In Illinois a couple years ago, a naturist [nudist] died, of course wanting to be buried as he lived- naked. His family, having lived with him gardening, and performing other various chores in the yard nude, were always embarrassed of him, decided to get even. They buried him in his clothes. [Don't know if they did open casket funeral to double their revenge]
posted by Douglaslee on 9-12-2007 at 10:39 am
The Clothespin Grave belongs to my great uncle. My dad’s cousin and her husband still own and run the National Clothes Pin Company.
posted by Jenny Crowell on 9-12-2007 at 12:09 pm
I once wrote an article about wacky gravestone inscriptions. I remember one from England where a 20-year-old guy lost his wife and wrote on the headstone, “My Light has Gone Out.” Five years later, he met another woman and went back to the gravestone and had the following carved: “I Have Struck Another Match.”
In the boot hill cemetary in Tombstone, Arizona, “the town too tough to die,” a robbery gone wrong resulted in the following: “Here Lies Lester Moore. Four Shots from a .44. No, Lester, No Moore.” Pretty cool for 1888, huh?
posted by Charles Downey on 9-12-2007 at 4:17 pm
(#48)Barbara’s story of the children’s graves isn’t as unusual as you might think. Here in my town, there is now a Shell station where Riverside Cemetary used to be. They stopped burying people there in about 1900 and the church which used to stand next to it had moved across town. They moved the graves which had tombstones, and built the gas station on top of the ones that didn’t. Guess they figured that no one cared about paupers’ graves.
posted by Bibliophile on 9-12-2007 at 5:20 pm
Rick Steves, the travel guru was in Austria, a small town hanging off the side of a mountain. You only get to be inthe graveyard for 12 years then your bones get piled up in a cavern, Family members paint the the skulls before the get interned.
In Paris you rent your grave, or rather your relations do, get behind in the rent and you’re out.
A poker player at my old card game had been the caterer and leather clothing tailor for Morrison. They didn’t always get along and he promised to piss on Morrison’s grave. He has a picture of him pouring out a bottle of urine on Jimmie’s.
Many cultur’s require that family maintain graves, it becomes part of a family ritual, cleaning, celebrating, picnicing.
posted by Richard on 9-12-2007 at 5:54 pm
In Napoli, NY there is a stone in the town cemetary that reads:
“As you are now, I once was.
posted by Mike Johnson on 9-12-2007 at 6:45 pm
Sorry about the last post it should read as follows:
In Napoli New York ther is a stone in the town cemetary that reads:
“As you are now I once was,
As I am now you will be,
For time waits for no man,
But, ONE”
No name no date no other marks
posted by Mike on 9-12-2007 at 6:48 pm
I’ve been trying to think how to describe it, but the only interesting grave marker near me is a full size sculpture of a couple, standing on a circular platform, in a loving embrace, within columns that support a stone ring the same diameter as the platform, over their heads. There’s a message on the ring, somethng about how they are “together forever and ever.”
posted by Tdave on 9-13-2007 at 2:42 am
In St. Louis, there are side-by-side cemeteries, Calvary, a Catholic cemetery, and Bellefontaine, the Protestant cemetery. There are famous folks buried in both (Gen. Wm. Sherman, William Clark of Lewis-and-Clark,Dred Scott, Tennessee Williams, etc). But Bellefontaine is famous for its City of the Very Rich Dead — a street lined with huge, elaborate mausoleums. Probably the most famous is the Adolphus Busch family mausoleum, which not only looks like a small church, but has a small stained-glass rose window and carved statues surrounding it.
posted by Kayte on 9-13-2007 at 2:13 pm
I once saw a photo of a grave for a gentleman named “Fredrick Unfred” and his wife, “Bologna Unfred.” Fred Unfred and Bologna? What were their parents thinking!
posted by Dix on 9-13-2007 at 3:00 pm
My father’s headstone says “Who knows where the time goes”. My stepmother was an idiot.
posted by Bluecuervo on 9-14-2007 at 2:04 pm
i saw a post on usenet a while back, jsut silly headstones. ‘/connection reset by peer’ and ‘/quit’ and ‘/halt life’ are the 3 i remember
yes, they are geeky
posted by tick on 9-14-2007 at 5:02 pm
In our township, there’s two graves that always make me cry, both are for little girls…theres one right along side the bike path about 3 miles away from my house, under a massive old oak tree that shelters it from everything, and you can’t read the epitaph, but there’s always a single white lily on the grave…
The other one is on the top of an overlook at a county park…of a little girl not yet three years old…its marked, just off the path, and I have no clue why its in the park. The only thing I conclude is that a family from Chicago used to own the land, and sold it so it could become part of the park, and they buried their little girl there and requested that it stayed…it sits on a beautiful view of Lake Michigan too…
I spend alot of time in graveyards…I do my best writing in them…
posted by Eva on 9-14-2007 at 7:58 pm
I have always appreciated the importance of gravestones and been fascinated by them. When my youngest son died I wanted his stone to truly represtent him and say something about him. I asked our family and his friends and co-workers to submit phrases and/or statements relating their feelings and/or experiences with him. These would be engraved on his headstone. It is the most memorable piece I could ever have asked for.!!
Some are serious, some playful, like he was. But overall, you have an impression of who he was. And the best thing to come from this small traditional commutity is at least, I have lost count, 9 other families have risked to be different and celebrate thier loved ones in same way I chose. Do not be afraid to do something different! dianna lynn
posted by dianna lynn smaltz on 9-15-2007 at 1:48 pm
“A sculpture gallery” of gravestones may be found in Hope Cemetery, just north of Barre, Vermont on route 14. All of “Vermont gray granite.” Barre is home to “Rock of Ages”; this cemetery of some 60 acres has the monuments the artisans have made for their own family members for more than a century; allow at least an hour; for a peek see http://www.seacoastnh.com/dct/barrecemetery.html
posted by Chuck on 9-15-2007 at 7:33 pm
there’s a gravestone in toronto (canada) that reads: “i’m busy”
posted by iheartsf on 9-16-2007 at 2:06 pm
I think that the 666 probaly means that the town people thought she was possessed and tried to exorcise her, obviousy it didn’t work.
Not only that but I’m from Iowa City (we have an awesome graveyard) and the Black Angel as it’s called is a thing I see and read about a lot, supposedly every halloween night, at midnight, it turns 1 shade darker, plus if you touch it’s face on halloween you will be cursed, there’s a famous and true story about a boy who did this about 100 years ago, the arm he touched the angel with turned pitch black with gangrene,he died.
posted by Willdb on 9-16-2007 at 6:18 pm
At my grandfather’s funeral, all of a sudden, the car full of my siblings started howling with laughter.
You see, we’d just driven past a huge family marker labeled “Kielbasa”.
posted by Laura on 9-17-2007 at 11:58 am
My grandmother was first married to a California oil field developer who had died a young man in a car accident along the old Grapevine to Bakersfield in 1926. She always said he was her greatest love, the best man who ever lived etc. much to the chagrin of her second husband. I found his gravesite in the Inglewood Cemetary and was stunned to read the tombstone, at the top: “My Husband,” then his information, and finally at the bottom: “God Knows Why.” What was she trying to say? Why did she marry him or why did he die? She is long gone so I can’t ask her to solve this enigma. Makes me wonder if visitors have perused the gravestone and pondered on her meaning as well.
posted by jackie on 9-19-2007 at 12:46 am
I decided that when I die, my grave stone will be very large, with tiny, tiny writing in the middle, making the reader have to stand partially on the grave to lean in and read.
When they get close enough and can make out the words, it’ll say “You’re standing on my balls.”
posted by NerdFury on 9-19-2007 at 10:40 pm
In Medora, ND, there’s a cemetery with several humorous/bizarre markers including “The Man The Bank Fell On” and “Baby From Hotel.”
posted by medora on 9-20-2007 at 6:11 pm
In Marion, OH, there is a famous gravesite for a local family (forget the name) that’s been world-famous for years. The individual family markers are small granite spheres arranged in a circle around a very large (5-ft-or=so diameter) granite sphere. The large sphere appears to rotate over time. The only spot on the large sphere not polished is where it originally sat on the base. The ball is too heavy for even people working together to rotate, yet the unpolished spot moves around constantly over time — like a big eyeball. It’s located just across the road from the President Warren G. Harding Memorial, but back in the cemetery a bit. You can’t miss it!
posted by Tony on 9-20-2007 at 6:26 pm
Everyone’s forgetting the gravestones at the entrance to Disney World’s The Haunted Mansion! While not real, they are funny! Here’s some examples:
RIP GOOD FRIEND GORDON now you’ve crossed the river jordan
REST IN PEACE COUSIN HUET we all know you didn’t do it
HERE RESTS WATHEL R. BENDER he rode to glory on a fender
HERE LIES GOOD OLD FRED a great big rock fell on his head
AT PEACEFUL REST LIES BROTHER CLAUDE planted here beneath this sod
DEAR DEPARTED BROTHER DAVE he chased a bear into a cave
HERE LIES A MAN NAMED MARTIN the lights went out on this old spartan
MASTER GRACEY LAID TO REST no mourning please at his request
That’s all I can remember… really makes me think I’ve been to Disney World too many times… :P
posted by Jacqui on 9-21-2007 at 11:41 am
Lilly died when she was 77, pergaps she fell ill when she was 66?
posted by f_p on 9-22-2007 at 7:53 pm
From the Blackadder series, “Here lies Edumund Blackadder, and he’s bloody annoyed!”
Emo Philips said, “My ex-wife, who shall remain nameless….if I’m ever left alone at her gravesite with a sandblaster….” Love it!!
posted by LBeria on 9-25-2007 at 2:08 pm
Let’s give a great big Hee Haw Salute to my hometown of Paris, Texas, population 25,898, and home of “Jesus With Cowboy Boots!!” SAAAHH LOOT!!! Yes, my friends, you will see at the top of this rather large gravestone a gentleman (everyone SAYS it’s Jesus) draped over a cross, and under his robes, you can see a very distinctive boot heel. I suppose it’s a cowboy boot heel, being in Paris Texas, and it’s what everyone says it is. In Paris TX there is also a replica Eiffel Tower with a big cowboy hat on the top, so draw your own conclusions.
posted by leahbabes on 9-25-2007 at 10:48 pm
I work at West Point and we have a LOT of unusual gravemakers. The one I find most interest is the pyramid. Evidently the man who is buried in that grave had an absolute horror of being buried alive, so he rigged his mausoleum up with a buzzer system so that if he was “accidently” buried alive, he could push the button and it would ring at the local fire station so that they could come and get him out.
Now THAT’S planning!!!!
posted by Myra on 9-26-2007 at 1:44 pm
According to Weird Wisconsin by Linda S. Godfrey and Richard D. Hendricks copywright 2005 by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. and Elaine A. Roberts who submitted the essay for the book, the “Dollhouse Grave” is in a “wilderness area” in the Wisconsin Northwoods. There is no specific area given though, so no way to verify the information.
posted by Lori on 9-26-2007 at 2:18 pm
In the graveyard by Charing Cross Hospital in London, there’s a grave shaped like a bed with plump pillows and another one shaped like a huge armchairs. In the summer people go there to picnic, sunbathe, etc… but in the winter, I always wonder what the patients in the rooms overlooking the graveyard are thinking, when it’s all bleak, sodden and grey…
posted by Angloys on 9-27-2007 at 11:59 am
I’ve seen the 666 grave in real life, I live in SLC. Its not that remarkable; its a flat, plain colored headstone surrounded by other plain headstones. There is a grave in another cemetery close by that is really sad though. It is three sisters, aged like 5, 9, and 13 who all died one year after another. They share the same headstone, with each of their dates on certain sides of the headstone. The saddest part is the engraving on the headstone that says, “How many hopes lie buried here.”
posted by Jenn on 9-30-2007 at 3:10 pm
Typically on older cemetary gravestones you see the hand pointed up meaning their going up. Well in the littleton/whitefield NH area there’s a grave with the finger pointed down..creepy
posted by Jamie on 10-5-2007 at 5:56 pm
Having read a bit on Lilly E. Gray, this would be my best guess. If you notice where she was buried, as opposed to her husband,(He was buried on the other side of the cemetary in the “Park” section), and note that the graves around her are all of people who were Latter Day Saints, add in the fats that she came from Quebec and Anti-Cathlocism being pretty strong in some areas around that time, The reference seems pretty obvious to me.
Her Obit. shows no children, only nieces and nephews, no names and her husband died several years later.
posted by Drunkerthensh on 10-5-2007 at 7:04 pm
The coolest grave is that of Victor Noir (Sp?) at the large cemetary in Paris – where Jim Morrison, Balzac and Oscar Wilde are also buried incidentally. Vixtor was a lothario who was shot 3 times by a jealous husband. His horizontal bronze relief sets upon his grave and it shows not only the 3 bullet holes, but his rather large, ahem, member under his trousers. Apparently, or so i was told by a local, it is some sort of fertility good luck charm, so while most of the statue is oxidated, his nose, chin, the 3 bullet holes and his member are vivid, bright bronze from being rubbed…..it’s really quite worth it to see.
posted by jack on 10-11-2007 at 6:17 pm
There are a few cool grave stones by me in NJ. The life sized Mercedes (with complete details including wipers et al) was already mentioned. Another cool one is in Hillside, NJ Stephen Crane and some others are buried there and there is a large grave marked “king of the gypsies”. In Elizabeth is a colonial graveyard and most all of the graves have amusing, rhyming inscriptions
posted by Jenna on 10-11-2007 at 11:30 pm
In a little cemetary near Konawa Oklahoma there is a stone I’ve seen with the i nscription “Killed By a Human Wolf.”
posted by Shawn on 10-11-2007 at 11:49 pm
A favorite epitaph from early American gravestones:
Stranger, as you are passing by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you shall be.
Prepare for death and follow me.
There are numerous variations.
posted by John on 10-12-2007 at 12:25 am
This is a headstone story not creepy, yet instead one that brings great laughter to my family and I.
See my grandfather passed away in 1990 and my grandmother bought a double plot and had the tombstone left blank on one side for her name,DOB, and DOD.It was after my “pa’s” passing that my grandma got engaged to his bestfriend.(no there was no wrong doing or soap opera antics on her part, just love) anyhoo, Her fiance passed away 4 years later. Since all parties involved are/will be cremated there was extra room. Well, this memorial day my parents and I went to the cemetary to bid our respect and lay flowers.
As we were doing so my father laughed and pointed out that engraved on the headstone, once thought to be beautiful now turned into humour as on the tombstone it reads “…And the greatest gift of all is love” the funny thing is all you can read is My pa’s name and info on the left side and his bestfriend’s on the right..and my nan’s name beneath covered by flowers.In my li’ll biblebelt midwestern town in Indiana there is a grave that looks like a gay male couple are buried together. Funny it took us 13 years to notice!
posted by Jenni on 10-12-2007 at 6:26 am
At the Fort Tejon Historical Park along the 5 freeway in Southern California, there is a tree that had been inscribed as a tombstone. The bark with the inscription is in the small museum there.
Apparently this fellow named Lebec was “killed by A X Bear”. No one has been able to say if he was killed by a Mr. Bear, or by a cross bear. A nearby town is named Lebec after this mysterious grave inhabitor.
posted by Reeder on 10-12-2007 at 12:05 pm
Highgate Cemetery in London.
I’ve never been, but will go some day.
Below are some of the residents flossie ones to boot.
Anyway in the late 1800s there was a bit of a contest to see who could have the most lavish memorial. Pyramids, Gothic tombs. Lots of Angels.
Bust of Karl Marx….
“Famous People
There are known to be at least 850 notable people buried at Highgate, about two thirds of whom appear in the Dictionary of National Biography and most of the others in either Modern English Biography, Who Was Who, in the obituary notices in the Press, or in Graves “Dictionary of Exhibitors at the Royal Academy 1796-1906″. Amongst these are 18 Royal Academicians, 6 Lord Mayors of London, 48 Fellows of the Royal Society, the founders of London businesses including Maples, Foyles, Negretti-Zambra, John Lobb, P&O, and Quaritch, and familiar names such as Faraday, Karl Marx, George Eliot, Radclyffe Hall, Carl Rosa and Sir Ralph Richardson.”
highgate-cemetery . org.
posted by mungley on 10-15-2007 at 12:45 am
In Algood TN the cemetary is next to the rock quarry. The man who started the quarry many years ago when picks and wheelbarrows were used died in the 80’s and was buried up the hill in the cemetary above the quarry. His tombstone, as he requested, is half of a large boulder that was pulled from the quarry. It is cut on an angle and totally covers his grave and then some. The other half of the boulder is still in front of the shop there at the quarry. It is a fitting tribute to a man who spent his life busting rocks.
posted by Capt. Mike on 10-17-2007 at 12:33 pm
On tour in charleston sc, I saw a marker from the late 1700s “I told you I was sick” That is a good sense of humor and I have often thought of using it on my own.
posted by Brian on 10-17-2007 at 8:47 pm
As per Lilly. Our group has been researching this for over a year now. It gets stranger the more we find out.
The inscription was original and not added later as one suggested. We spoke with the owner of the place that sold it. We are to receive a copy of the original sales receipt some time soon.
It is now known that her husband, Elmer, had the engraving put on the stone, and the spelling of her name may have been Lilly after all, instead of Lily or Lillie.
It is beginging to look like the ‘Beast 666′ that the stone is refering to is the government as he felt very mistreated and part of a large conspiracy.
More will be posted on our website as we make sense of it.
posted by Russ on 10-20-2007 at 7:14 pm
Cemetaries are a reflection of those buried in them. I’ve visited those which are calm, respectful and uniform. Your typical working family cemetary.
And I have visited those that have become overcrowded like the typical big western city. Disjointed, cluttered, upsetting and tortured. In these cemetaries each grave is attempting to make itself noticed at the expense of the other graves there. Those how planned the graves wanted it that way. Truly weird.
posted by Andy on 10-22-2007 at 7:38 pm
There is a graveston in a cemetary in Cades Cove Tennessee that has a man’s name and the inscription “killed by a bunch of murdering rebels from North Carolina”
posted by Jamie on 10-22-2007 at 10:10 pm
No really interesting headstones, but the one of the oldest cemeteries in Fort Worth, TX (naturally, where I live) offers a walking tour the weekend before Hallowe’en. There are many historical figures from our city’s past buried there and they have people at some of the more prominent grave sites dressed in character who will tell you abou their lives and how they died. It’s a lot of fun. Also, on the other end of town, there’s a cemetery with the grave of Lee Harvey Oswald. It used to have a nice headstone, but vandals destroyed it. Now it’s marked by a simple brass plate that says only “Oswald”.
posted by Lisa on 10-27-2007 at 4:59 pm
As a student at Syracuse University, everyone here knows about the massive, old graveyard bordering the SUNY ESF part of campus. My favorite gravestone there is the gigantic moose near South campus that is anatomically correct, with the exception of his balls being painted orange and blue (SU’s colors)!
posted by Jenelle on 10-28-2007 at 1:32 pm
#91 says
“Stranger as you are passing by
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now so you shall be
Prepare for death and follow me.”
The retort says,
“To follow you I’ll not consent
Until I know which way you went.”
There is a cemetery here in deep Southeast Texas where the man is buried standing up. I’ve always been told that it was done at his request, so that he could “hit Hell a runnin’.”
posted by SE TEXAS on 10-29-2007 at 10:19 pm
please can u tell me where in southeast texas, funny the next poster(me) is from southeast texas and would really like to see this.
posted by gtjean on 10-30-2007 at 4:58 am
Our family cemetery has head stones from 1820 up to this year. I was struck by the number of inscriptions that included military units, Mexican war to Vietnam. The majority were not those killed in action, but just the unit in which they served.
posted by Jiim on 10-31-2007 at 12:59 pm
In Beautiful Buffalo NY we have Forest Lawn Cemetary. Our most Famous Persons here are President Fillmore and First Lady. Also Native American Red Jacket. Many tourists come to see the monuments as it is on the State and National Register Of Historic Places. Truly one of the treasures of Western NY state.
posted by Lynn on 11-1-2007 at 10:46 am
in Gloucester MA one reads,
as you are now,so once was I,
as I am now you too shall be,
prepare for death,
and follow me.
When the sun rises in the nicest time of year there, it rises on the side that says “good morning”.
posted by bill on 11-1-2007 at 10:54 am
At the Spiritwood, ND cemetery, there is a headstone that says “Stuff”. Huh???
posted by Dave D on 11-1-2007 at 11:19 am
A few years ago my mother was killed in a car crash.
A few weeks after the funeral I went to the grave side on my bicycle.
I sat on the grass beside the grave, I can’t say that I felt anything I was still too numb from the recent events.
I got up to leave, I remember wishing that my mother would find some way to contact me.
I got on my bike ready to leave, still looking at the grave, when my bicycle bell sounded one single ring. It is one of those bells that are commonly found on bikes, the dring dring kind.
I never use that bell it has been on my bike for many years and has never rang on its’ own before or since.
When it rang I couldn’t help but smile and I felt warm and comforted, like she was hugging me.
I know it sounds corny and made up, but I assure you that it is true. It is something that I will never forget.
posted by David on 11-1-2007 at 12:03 pm
In San Francisco, they had an ordinance back in the late 19th-early 20th Century, that there was to be no cemeteries in the City. The only ones are currently known are in the Presidio(Government Land later purchased by movie directors Lucus and Spielberg and preserved)and 1/4th of the Mission Deloris Cemetery. The other areas, the families were notified to move their loved ones to Colma, there was even special tracks and a train to do so! Apparently more then HALF were not re interred and the head stones removed but the bodies still there! Ala Poltergeist! We are a city built on Graves and old ships(Financial District all the way to Pier 39). Head stones make the breaker for the Yacht Club and you can see it, and some of the areas that is the breakers between here and Marin. Alamo Square where the famous painted ladies are is a HUGE unmarked grave from 1906, where all the unknown dead are buried.
Last note, the old Tower Records building was built on part of the cemetery near the fisherman’s wharf area. It was now used as a temporary Halloween Store, they never knew the history and we had allot of interesting things happen in that store this year.
posted by vanhenry71 on 11-1-2007 at 12:16 pm
108, that made me cry.
posted by Bill on 11-1-2007 at 2:42 pm
Oh for crying out loud people 666 is the number of the devil, and the beast is obviously the devil Ergo she was a victim of the devil!!!
posted by Gem on 11-1-2007 at 3:33 pm
There was a lawsuit in New Orleans many years ago concerning the issue of how the money left in an estate should be spent. As I recall, some relatives wanted the funds put to better use than the building of a monument. The court, however, decided on the monument, which is engraved simply with the book and page of the legal reporter where the court’s opinion is published.
posted by Jean on 11-1-2007 at 5:20 pm
I am in Fort Wayne, IN and ever since I was a little girl, I knew about the “Witches Grave” that was in a cemetary just down the road where I grew up. We would often make the walk there to see if it had changed. It gave the name of the woman buried there, but with 3 dates! We could never figure out what the third date was, but they were all in order. Rumor has it, it was her birth date, death date, and the date she was reborn. That is why it was the “Witches Grave.”
I always thought that maybe the one in the middle was the date she got married, but her husband is no where to be found and surely would have died by now given the dates.
posted by Stephanie on 11-2-2007 at 11:11 am
hey my birth date is 06-06-60
posted by merri kay on 11-3-2007 at 9:52 pm
Decades ago, when picking out the family plot with my aunts and uncles, my mother said she wanted to be near the street so she could hear the traffic going by.
She was the first one we buried in the plot.
posted by Hannah on 11-7-2007 at 12:20 pm
There is a large dollhouse grave approximately 20 feet off State Highway 1, the two-lane highway which runs through Connersville, Indiana. I’m sure there are many accounts; but the most common is that the child was mentally challenged and infatuated with her dollhouse. Following her death, the grieving father had the dollhouse placed at her grave as the head stone. No creepy, haunted stories about this one, just a very small farming community that takes immaculate care of the maintenance of the grave and the dollhouse.
posted by Kris on 11-7-2007 at 2:01 pm
I am a grave rubber. I have over 150 rubbings of celebrity graves. The grave that I find the most unusual is located in Forest Lawn Glendale CA..
and the name is simply:
FACTORY REJECT!
Oh..I’ve been in several of the cemeteries mentioned above…
M
posted by Max on 11-20-2007 at 12:24 pm
In Marion oh. it is the Merchant Ball. The ball is 36″ dim. It moves at the rate of about1/4″ per.yr but moved faster when first set [up to 7" in as many mo.] Also in old Mision about 20 mi. north in Upper Sandusky Oh. on Rt. 23 a Feb. 31 date is on a stone as well.
posted by El Sid on 11-20-2007 at 11:06 pm
IT GOES:
Behold and see, as you walk by,
As you are now so once was I
As I am now, so you will be,
Prepare for death and follow me.
This is on an old stone in a small family plot
way out on a township Rd.close to Carey Oh. Maybe 25 stones.
posted by El Sid on 11-20-2007 at 11:26 pm
The most poignant farewell I’ve seen is in the Hennepin County Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.
It simply reads: BYE
But it is not intentially a farewell. It is the surname of the graves around it. But the large stone slab was rather startling when it first came into my view.
posted by Maureen on 11-21-2007 at 1:34 pm
I am a frequenter of graveyards, I use them as parks for picnics and sometimes bring a tape player for some music. I’m sure they’re all glad to have some company, ha ha.
Also, have any of you ever been to the funeral museum in Houston? I’ve lived here most of my life and only recently visited it. Awesome coffins!
posted by Sarah on 11-30-2007 at 4:14 pm
On the story 116, the little girl was Vivian May Allison and the little girl had nothing wrong with her. She was 5 years old and one day she complained of her stomach hurting, the next day she died. They think she died of her appendix bursting. She died in the late 1800’s. Her parents were greif-stricken and didn’t want such a cold stone on what was once such a lively child. Finally, they constucted the dollhouse and placed it on her grave to remind people a child is buried there.
posted by Maggie on 12-1-2007 at 11:15 pm
In my hometown of Peoria, IL we have a very large cemetery called Springdale. It has quite a bit of interesting history and more than a few odd gravemarkers. One of the more famous is one that belonged to a small boy who died very young. His dog stayed with him the whole time he was sick, and his parents comissioned a stone shaped like the dog so that their son would never be alone again.
posted by Sarah on 12-20-2007 at 2:39 pm
Many years ago I went on a photo expedition with my photography class from high school to Riverside cemetery in Dowagiac. This was shortly after the movie ‘Carrie’ came out. A group of us stumbled upon a marker that said, simply, ‘CARRIE’. No hands came out of the ground, but it sure creeped out all of us.
posted by Dave on 1-2-2008 at 10:24 am
re:
Quote – “Bluecuervo:
September 14th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
My father’s headstone says “Who knows where the time goes”. My stepmother was an idiot.”
That is a line from the chorus of a Fairport Convention song, with the title, ‘Who knows where the time goes,’ sung beautifully by Sandy Denny.
Perhaps you are misinformed and your step mum wasn’t such an idiot.
posted by john on 1-2-2008 at 12:07 pm
I am sure I read years ago of a gravestone in England that had an inscription similar to:
Where ever you be,
Let it free
In Church or chapel,
let it rattle
For it was the wind that killeth me!
Was this real or was i dreaming? If real, does anyone now where in England it was?
Thank you
posted by Bob Winstanley on 1-17-2008 at 3:51 pm
1st picture nice? i have fond more on loadingvault.com
posted by rewer on 1-18-2008 at 6:57 am
Lily E. Gray’s headstone is found in Salt Lake City, UT. 666 is a reference to the devil (in the bible). Pay full attention to her birthdate: 6-6-1881. If you saw the movie ‘The Number 23′, it makes sense with her birthdate. 1881 adds up to 18, which is 6+6+6. More lovely “stupid”stitious rhetorric.
posted by Scott on 1-18-2008 at 1:59 pm
In high school one of the guys that played basketball was nicknamed Rip. (I dont rem why) He died a few yrs back from Lou Gerrics (Spell) I walked through the cemetery and guess what is in big letters on his grave!? RIP
posted by Dawn on 3-1-2008 at 7:26 pm
It has quite a bit of interesting history and more than a few odd gravemarkers. One of the more famous is one that belonged to a small boy who died very young. His dog stayed with him the whole time he was sick, and his parents comissioned a stone shaped like the dog so that their son would never be alone again.
posted by Search on 3-30-2008 at 9:42 am
No strange gravestone stories, but we have David Koresh here in Tyler, TX. Any takers?
posted by Carmen on 4-1-2008 at 10:38 pm
The dollhouse grave that is supposed to be in the northwoods wilderness of wisconsin looks very similiar to the one in Medina,Tennesse. Including a headstone next to it KELLY, with some of the other stones removed. If there is one in Wisconsin, where a 5yr old Bertha is buried, I sure would like to know where it is. We’re not thrill seekers, only interested in history and paranormal. PICS-Paranormal Inquiring Couples who are Seniors(62+) Thank You.
posted by Darrell on 4-30-2008 at 10:11 pm
to k.c.-about the headstone with a parking meter-
it won’t let me add a link- but go to findagrave dot com and search for Barbara Sue Manire.
posted by elih on 6-12-2008 at 5:54 pm
There’s an “I told you I was sick” marker in the Key West city cemetery. I’ve seen it myself, and if you Google “key west cemetery” “told you I was sick” you’ll see several pictures. There’s also one there with the man’s name and the dates and the epitaph, “Oh sure” – it was something he said frequently but, if you don’t know that, it does make people wonder.
In Jackson, TN, there’s a cemetery off Hollywood with a beautiful angel marker. She’s very large, down on one knee at the head of the grave, with one hand covering her face in grief. It’s beautiful. I’ve tried to find a photo of it online but haven’t had any luck.
posted by jan on 8-10-2008 at 8:53 pm
maggie how do you know the story of vivian allison? i grew up in connersville and going to look in the dollhouse was a favorite trip for me…we lived down the street from it.
i’ve treid to find info on her death and cannot.
posted by kimmie on 8-14-2008 at 6:17 pm
I grew up in a town called Tugatog from the City of Malabon in the Philippines. In the town’s cemetary there is a grave marked by a statue of Lucifer, the fallen angel, standing on top of a St. Michael the Archangel, who is laying flat on his belly, with Lucifer holding a spear to his head. As a child my school bus would always pass by it on my way to my house. They eventually put a wire cage around it because people occasionally threw rocks at it. The gravestone has been featured on the news and other tv programs in the Philippines. It’s been over a decade since I last saw it. I wonder if it’s still there…
posted by damer on 10-24-2008 at 12:11 pm
As a professional photographer specializing in graveyards, I spend a LOT of time wandering through them. Thanks for some great leads on here.
My grandmother’s stone reads (at her request): Look on me and give a wink
It’s rather fun to be extinct.
For a shiver-worthy tomb, google “Cadaver Tomb” or “Transi” sometime. The greatest example is that of René de Chalon at Saint Etienne.
posted by Jenna on 10-25-2008 at 6:47 am
Damer,
I would bet that is St. Michael with the spear to Lucifer. That painting was in our church (St. Michael’s) when I was little. Lovely to see on a Sunday morning.
posted by MammaG on 10-27-2008 at 4:20 pm
My mother moved to Greenville, NC for a few years and we went food shopping at a large strip mall off of Evens road one day. I noticed that the walled in space in the middle of the parking lot had decorated holes in it too high for a child to look through and too low for an adult to bother looking through. We were parked next to it, so I bend down and looked into the Evens family cemetery. The graves were covered over by the parking lot and the tomb stones raised on concrete slabs but still there. The family made lots of money selling the land, but had promised not to sell the cemetery. All of my mother’s friends and relatives who had lived there in Greenville for years had never know the cemetery was there while they shopped. Hopefully, some day there will be a why to leave flowers or research the graves, as the graves are walled in.
posted by kara on 10-31-2008 at 12:40 am
When i was young my stepmon used to take us to north carolina and behind the family home was an old graveyard with the headstone that read Barnabus Collins. We all thought that was creepy!
posted by lynn on 10-31-2008 at 3:09 am
i live in a small town called orillia near the hydro dawm on the way to the boy scout cabin there is a crement cross surrounded by person shaped circle of smaller stones right in the middle of the forest just a little off the river . It’s long hike to get there and most trucks can’t survive the road to the dame which is the only road for miles .It always made wonder if some cottager who died they can’t get the body out area a long time ago (maybe he wanted to stay?) or is it somebodies idea of a joke. There is nothing writen on it if you know something say so.
posted by monic on 10-31-2008 at 3:29 am
When I was living in Paris, it was quite common to eat lunch at the local cemetery as Paris has a dearth of “green spaces.” I went to school right around the corner from the Montparnasse cemetery, so I ate lunch with Degas (De Gaz) regularly.
The creepiest grave related thing I have ever seen was the catacombs in Paris. C’est ici l’empire de la morte!
posted by Sara on 10-31-2008 at 9:59 am
if you ever go to boston, there’s a really old cememtery right off the commons and the T station. ben franklin, sam adams, and mother goose are buried there, in addition to plenty of others.
a lot of children are buried there and a very common symbol you’ll see on their headstones are skulls with wings. it seems very morbid to us now, but it made sense to them then.
i learned that at the time, people were being buried haphazardly. they had a head stone and a foot stone (to replicate one’s bed, i.e. final resting place). apparently, when the lawn mower was invented, they tossed all the foot stones and lined all the head stones up to make mowing easier. needless to say, the caskets stayed where they were.
FINALLY, as the streets and buildings encroached on the graveyard, rather than physically move the graves, head stones were moved yet again, but caskets stayed where they were–underneath today’s streets and sidewalks
posted by jo on 10-31-2008 at 9:39 pm
There is a white picket fenced-in grave in the woods between Sheppton and Oneida, PA. It is for Louis Bova, and he isn’t buried at that site: his body was actually left down in a coal mine in the early 1960’s. There was a three man coal mining company working far underground when there was a huge collapse.
After about a week underground two of them men were rescued but Lou Bova’s body never was. There was even some speculation that the two who eventually got out had cannibalized their friend as a means to survive. It is a very interesting story, the survivors told strange tales of having been visited by a recently deceased pope whilst underground.
posted by Jess on 10-31-2008 at 11:59 pm
That parking meter grave is in Okemah, Okla.
Okemah, Oklahoma – Expired Parking Meter Tombstone
Parking meter tombstone in Okemah, OK for my mom, Barbara Sue Manire, 1941-2005.
Mom always wanted a parking meter on her grave with the words “time expired.” She died exactly on her 64th birthday, so my brother had special stickers made that read: “64 year time limit.” [Sherri, 06/19/2008]
If you google Okemah parking meter grave you’ll find it.
posted by Dustin on 11-1-2008 at 11:19 am
Maybe it just seemed too coincidental that Ms. Lilly died just over 6 months shy of her 78th birthday…and if she married petty thief Elmer at age 72, she would have been somewhere near her 6th wedding anniversary!!! OOOOOOh! Sounds like her family was very superstitious!
posted by Jennifer on 11-1-2008 at 7:12 pm
This isn’t as spooky as some.
At my grandmother’s funeral, we all had our heads bowed as they prayed and lowered her casket down beside my grandfather’s grave, when my brother nudged me. He pointed at our grandfather’s headstone, then footstone. He did it a couple times before I caught on–the headstone listed the date of death as September 12, but the footstone listed it as September 11. He leaned over and whispered to me, “Did he die from the feet up?”
It was really dang difficult to keep a straight face! Before anyone thinks we were really disrespectful, you’d have had to know our grandparents–they’d have been laughing right along with us.
posted by Amy on 11-2-2008 at 12:01 am
Did you know that the one and only jack the ripper’s buried in Rochester, NY
posted by Anthony RE4PER on 11-2-2008 at 12:56 pm
in a small cemetery in East Haven,CT there is a small grove of stone ‘trees’ they are headstones for children who died in the early 1900’s (i’m guessing from the great flu pandemic…)
the trees are sadly symbolic…trunks shorn of their branches, as their family tree was shorn of their potential…
posted by wolfmara on 11-4-2008 at 6:25 pm
i grew up in peoria ill and was facinated with graves yards at an early age……i moves to myrtle beach SC in 98 and heard about this grave unmarked in pawleys island but with a name alice…..so i went the first time at 16 and supposedly you put a ring on the grave and walk around three times and the ring will dissapear…..this is what is says…Alice
Alice Belin Flagg was the young sister of a wealthy rice planter who owned “The Hermitage”. Alice was sent to school in Charleston, where at the New Year’s Saint Cecelia Ball, her beau presented her with an engagement ring. Her brother did not approve of the fiancee because he did not belong to the wealthy planter class, and Alice was not allowed to wear the ring on her finger when she was at the Hermitage, Instead, she wore it on a ribbon around her neck, hidden in the collar of her blouse.
One morning Alice awoke with a high fever. During her illness her brother discovered the ring and cast it into the inlet creek near the Hermitage. Alice died crying for the ring. Her brother dressed her in a white ball gown, and she was buried in a temporary grave near the Hermitage. Her body was later moved to the cemetery at All Saints Church near Pawleys Island, where it now rests under a simple marble slab bearing only the name “Alice”. It is said that her spirit can be evoked by walking around the grave backward 13 times. Several people who have tried this ritual also testify that they felt a “tug” at their own ring.
posted by richard burtsfield on 11-18-2008 at 8:26 am
To the Boston “jo”…Ben Franklin is buried in Philadelphia. I stumbled on a stone in my hometown cemetary…Fred Kruger. As far as the woman who was the victim of the beast 666…perhaps we will never know..
posted by psychicinpa on 12-6-2008 at 9:33 pm
Where my teacher lives there are these really old gravestones. And one has like a really freaky poem on it. It’s like just saying. I wasalive thinking I’d never die, now I’m dead and so will you be. Creepy or what? Who thinks of that stuff, seriously.
posted by Ally on 12-26-2008 at 9:33 pm
In my small hometown in Tennessee, there are many odd and sad tombstones.
Among them an old tombstone of an atheist man complete with his antiquated portrait (d.1910). He makes a rather strong reference of his disbelief in God directly in his epitaph. Over the years, disgruntled visitors have scratched his face unrecognizable. Hmm.
Also, there are the graves of an entire family (7 souls) who died in a murder/suicide by their father. My dad remembers the funeral back in the 50’s and how citizens of the small farming community were asked to attend the funeral so there would be enough pallbearers for all the caskets.
Another large family plot lies beside HWY 64 opn the edge of town. The entire family died in a plane crash in the 60’s and lie together in eternity.
Possibly the most infamous grave in the area is of a man who had a telephone line ran into his grave. This story was rampant throughout my childhood. Oddly, there was never any explanation as to why the phone was placed in the grave or if the story is even true. Perhaps he wanted to be available forever…
posted by spuchy on 2-2-2009 at 11:49 am
When I was at Sienna Heights University, in Adrian MI, there was a cemetary maybe a half mile or so behind the campus that students would walk to on the weekends to hang out and do things that one would expect a college student to do. There was one grave in particular that people would flock to. The name of the dead man was FREDRICK CRUGER. And the street the entrance to the graveyard was on? ELM ST.
posted by Lemur on 2-2-2009 at 1:48 pm
I’ve read about the Davis memorial before in “Uncle John’s Curiously compelling bathroom reader.” At least I think it’s in that one. I know it’s in an Uncle John’s.
posted by Sara on 2-2-2009 at 1:56 pm
3 thoughts…
1. What is the difference between a graveyard and a cemetary? I’ve heard that a cemetary is still taking new graves, but a graveyard no longer has new burials. Or is it just a regional difference?
2. In the mountains of NC, we have boneyards.
3. DO NOT purchase and install the solar-powered crosses. A graveyard in my homewtown is on a hill in full view of a main road. Almost every grave has one of these monstrosities. The hundreds of glowing purplish crosses make the place look goulish, rather than a place of rest.
posted by Go into the lights on 2-2-2009 at 2:12 pm
That was good reading. Theres this cemetary in Compton, CA (yes the Compton from the rap songs) and its painted and built to look like the Taj Mahal…
This is atrange to me because when I drive by it, its so awkward like Compton? For real!?
O and a couple years ago they were getting in trouble for putting people on top of other people. And there was this big rain and some of te caskets floated up. Thats my story.
posted by Chrystani on 2-2-2009 at 4:08 pm
The Bible says the number 666 represents “man”, so considering her husband was know to be a thief and buried on elsewhere, we might also assume he was also abusive to poor Lilly. No real mystery. Lilly was trying to tell us she married a beast of a man, who may have killed her, directly or indirectly.
posted by Pam on 2-2-2009 at 6:08 pm
In Chico, CA we have a Weeping Angel statue that I love. You can find a picture of it through Flickr.com (search “weeping angel, Chico).
There are also the graves of the city founders, Annie and John Bidwell.
posted by K.Wildman on 2-2-2009 at 6:41 pm
graveyards = attached to churches.
cemeteries = not.
posted by Jeana on 2-2-2009 at 6:47 pm
I used to live by a graveyard where one of the graves had a mailbox. We used to tell the kids it was where the dead letters went
posted by Lorelei on 2-2-2009 at 7:59 pm
When I was a kid I’d always go see “the richest man in the cemetary”. He has a $ on the back of his stone and, more importantly, usually had quarters on the grave.
His last name? Dollar.
posted by Steph on 2-2-2009 at 9:01 pm
While I find cemetaries fascinating, I cannot understand the desire to use land this way. I just cannot relate people I know to their dead bodies.
posted by Karen on 2-3-2009 at 2:32 pm
I’m from Huntsville, Alabama and the oldest graveyard here has some interesting stories. The best one having to do with the playground built inside the cemetery. About an hour away is a graveyard only for coon dogs.
posted by DSue on 2-5-2009 at 1:22 pm
I wanted to put my Dad’s favorite saying on his gravestone, ” THIS IS BULLS*IT!”
Unfortunately, cooler heads prevailed…
posted by Sparky on 2-5-2009 at 2:35 pm
Mel Blanc the voice of bugs bunny, porky pig & countless others…”That’s All Folks!”
posted by Sparky on 2-5-2009 at 2:43 pm
I found the above interesting, and liked the comments. The one about the dollhouse marking a grave in Medina, Tn. is interesting as it is also portrayed in Weird Wisconsin as belonging to a little girl named Bertha who drowned in 1912 at the age of 5yrs. At least both pictures appear to be the same. If they are not the same, I would appreciate someone telling me where the one in Wisconsin is located, I have not been able to find it.
thank you
posted by Darrell on 3-13-2009 at 7:44 pm
The creepiest gravestone I have seen is in Jeffersonville, IN. It’s not really the design that’s creepy. It definitely doesn’t fit in with the rest of the cemetery, which is pretty much your run of the mill cemetery.
It belongs to William Branham, a pentacostal preacher, who many believed to be a prophet. What is creepy is that Branham’s followers gather there to wait for him to wake from the dead. I have seen them there on Easter. I found this information about him on Apologeticsindex:
“Many of Branham’s followers believed that he had truly come in the spirit of Elijah; some believed him to be God, born of a virgin.(37) They fully expected him to rise from the dead and come back to them at the end of three days.
Five days after his passing, William Branham was buried, and his grave was soon marked by the pyramid-shaped tombstone.
To date, William Branham’s body is still in the grave. But his occult approach to healing was picked up by hundreds of pastors and teachers who have traded on it to a greater or lesser degree.”
They are still waiting.
posted by Jessi on 3-21-2009 at 4:30 pm
i was randomly surfing the web and i came across this picture of a grave stone and it said “I am right behind you” well normaly that wouldnt have scared me but my kitten (WHo has absolutely no manners) came and bit me right after i was reading it…it spooked me…
posted by Kelsi on 4-13-2009 at 6:42 pm
“666″ was the number on the bus that hit Lily. :)
posted by Bibliomaniac on 5-2-2009 at 12:36 am
Transylvania University was my undergraduate college. It is one of the oldest universities in the US and was chartered in 1780 by Thomas Jefferson. At Transylvania University in Lexington KY, there is a long history of ghosts and graveyards. Our most famous burial, however, is a professor from the 19th century named Constantine Rafinesque. He was a botany professor that was more interested in hiking and discovering new plant species than actually teaching. When he was fired from his position (either because he always missed class due to his nature excursions or because he was having an affair with the wife of the school president– it is still unclear) he cursed the school. Rafinesque (more affectionately known as “Raf” by the student body) then left for Europe to continue his botany research, and died there several years later. While he was gone, his curse on Transylvania University took effect, and every seven years something “bad” happened there, including buildings burning down, cholera epidemics, and the school president dying of a heart attack. To break the curse, later administrators tracked down Raf’s grave in Europe, disinterred him and transported him back to Transylvania University. For many, many years it was thought that Raf’s body was laid to rest in a tomb under the steps of the oldest building on campus, Old Morrison (which burned down twice after Raf’s curse)along with another body of a deceased former professor to balance out the curse. The tomb was built by the administration in full Gothic style, and is viewable by the public (especially on Halloween). However, it was recently discovered by one of the biology/anatomy professors that the remains thought to be those of Rafinesque were in fact those of a woman, and couldn’t possibly be the famous botanist. So now, Transylvania still has a curse, and an unknown body buried under the steps of its administration building. Students wait every 7 years for the “curse” to take effect — and trust me, it has.
The tomb is opened for almost all potential student tours, as well as Lexington and Transylvania’s “Ghost Tours” the week of Halloween. Transylvania also hosts “Raf Week” the week preceding Halloween, and offer a raffle competition for students in which the grand prize is spending the night in Raf’s tomb on Halloween and joining the prestigious “Rafinesque Society.” Constantine Rafinesque can be found using Google or any other search engine.
posted by Rachel on 7-13-2009 at 1:23 pm
I live in Southern California and every time my cousin visits from up north we visit cemeteries. There is a cemetery that dates all the way back to the 1600’s. We always go after dark and take our camera’s along. While looking at a picture that my cousin had taken of a headstone, I noticed something that she hadn’t. I saw what looked like an angry face. After I pointed it out we made haste to the next set of head stones. It seemed we had disturbed that one with our flash.
P.S. The one with the stairs is indeed creepy. I can understand a mother in grief, but I would not want to see my daughter after years of decay.
posted by Kelli Rae on 7-14-2009 at 4:40 am
I live in Virgina and we went to Harper’s Ferry for a feild trip. At the cemetery there is a couple grave stones that just say BUTT. Nothing else. Just BUTT.
posted by Claire on 7-23-2009 at 5:14 pm
I used to teach at a Catholic high school named St. Michael’s, where they had stained glass windows, statues, and paintings of St. Michael standing on top of Lucifer, spearing him. So if you saw it the other way, with Lucifer on top, either you were mistaken or the sculptor was trying to make a point, perhaps saying that the Devil is winning over good?
posted by macjunkie91 on 8-5-2009 at 3:33 am
In Lincoln, NE, Wyuka Cemetery overlooks a long stretch of “O” Street, the main thoroughfare and division between north & south. Mt. Calvary Cemetery overlooks a shorter section of “O” Street, across the street from Wyuka. So for about six blocks on “O” Street, you are driving between two cemeteries, both of which are on hills. You see gravestones, markers, statuary, and tombs looming above you as you drive, and it looks even creepier at night, when some of the larger statues are lit with floodlights.
I believe Charles Starkweather is buried there, as are many of his victims.
posted by macjunkie91 on 8-5-2009 at 3:38 am
I’ve driven on ‘O’ street in Lincoln many times. Used to take the long way around just so that I wouldn’t have to drive that stretch at night. Always gave me the creeps.
posted by raande on 8-19-2009 at 1:08 am
To Anthony Re4per…
That is impossible due to the fact that “Jack the Ripper” has never been identified. There were over 100 suspects, none of which were ever put on trial for the crimes.
Check out the Wikipedia page on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper
posted by KayTee on 8-21-2009 at 4:19 pm
I have a fetish for paranormal stuff so I take ghost tours and such. Well this one time I was in Galveston, at this hotel…. Can’t remember the name. It may not have scared you butt I completely freak out. I saw a window wide open and it was pitch black, then the window slammed shut. I didn’t see anyone close it. Sorry it’s off topic but yeah
posted by KateBoggs on 8-22-2009 at 4:04 am
I live in Georgia. My cousin and her family wanted to get a headstart because we always have a great halloween party at her house and we do a spook house and a haunted walk through. So anyway, they were visting some nearby cemeteries for some ideas and there was one grave and it belonged to a little girl. It had her name and beside it it just said \idiot\. I cannot remember the little girl’s name but I thought that was kind of sad.
posted by Bree on 9-20-2009 at 9:22 pm
The cemetary where my husband’s family has their family plot was started by the burial of a small girl in 1883, Baby Paige was buried there by her parents after she died of an illness while they were traveling through. On some nights, it’s said a small girl, about three to five years of age, can be seen playing and skipping among the gravestones. Never seen her myself.
posted by Andrea Slaughter on 9-21-2009 at 7:18 pm
I grew up in and reside in San Diego, Ca. My mother used to take me a park in mission hills that had two rows of gravestones crammed together very tightly. It always spooked me out, and I have returned there many times to pay respects. I just found a website dedicated to it online, it is called the Calvary Cemetary. http://ssdcgraveyardrabbit.blogspot.com/
posted by Justine on 10-29-2009 at 10:11 pm
ps- There are an estimated 4,000 people buried there, and now it has a park and a elementary school built on top of it.
posted by Justine on 10-29-2009 at 10:35 pm
I’m so glad to know there are fellow graveyard-lovers out there! I’ve loved them since I was little and always have been told I was a freak… Thanks for sharing everyone! I’ve LOVED your stories! And now for one of my own:
I believe it may have been pre-mentioned, but as I do not remember it I will post it myself:
In Savannah, Georgia there is a cemetery which was devastated by Sherman (headstones broken and strewn about, a heart-renching sight i’m sure!) and several of the headstones were bolted to the stone wall. Awesome place for pictures!
posted by Melina on 11-20-2009 at 8:33 pm