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October 30, 2013 | in Travel

Scouting for Zombies

magnolia cemetery charleston sc

If you’re at all surprised that Halloween Week’s post is a celebration of my favorite cemeteries across the U.S., we’re about to have that awkward talk that starts with:

“I feel like you just don’t listen to me anymore.”

I have a thing for cemeteries.

magnolia cemetery charleston sc
Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, in all its moss-dripping glory.

Every time I return from a trip, there’s a random picture of a cemetery thrown into the mix.

fall foliage old first church bennington vt
Exhibit A: Bennington, Vermont.

Instead of admitting that I have a problem, I’m curating a cemetery-themed post.

Which is totally normal this time of year.

san juan cemetery puerto rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico has a particularly lovely seaside cemetery. This is not a view I’d mind for all eternity.

I think my inclination for cemetery safaris started during college when I would spend each Fall Break visiting Mr. M at his school in Connecticut.

lafayette cemetery new orleans
Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans.

[A Side Note to the Adults In Charge of Things: why does college Fall Break not extrapolate out to the real world?  People everywhere would return to work with skyrocketing productivity, the likes of which can *only* issue from two days spent jumping into leaf piles and eating pumpkin pancakes.

On a related note… perhaps I should be in charge of things.]

old first church bennington vt robert frost
Robert Frost, at home in the Old First Church Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont, would back me up on my Adult Fall Break idea, I just know it.

Due to its location directly across the street from Bruegger’s Bagels, New Haven’s Grove Street Cemetery started as a conveniently scenic place to chat and stroll and eat our cinnamon sugar bagels.

But wandering the cemetery soon became our one non-negotiable tradition.

magnolia cemetery charleston sc
This is made for strollin’.

The Bagel Walks uncovered quite a few departed celebrities: Grove Street is apparently home to Noah Webster (of dictionary fame… I can’t remember what he had on his tombstone, but I feel like he’d have chosen one epic last word), Eli Whitney (inventor of the cotton mill), and Walter Camp (the so-called Father of American Football).

elvis presley gravesite graceland memphis tn
Another famous gravesite from a trip to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven was actually the very first chartered burial grounds in the US; it seems rather fitting as the place to kickstart my love of cemeteries.

lafayette cemetery new orleans
You have to admit: cemeteries are really beautiful places to explore.

A peaceful cemetery is a wonderful place to contemplate the lives that have touched ours and the lives that we ourselves touch during this furiously brief flash of time on earth.

st pauls churchyard manhattan nyc
Who were these people?  What did they love, and fear, and hope for?  St Paul’s Churchyard in downtown Manhattan was always a peaceful respite when navigating NYC’s hustle & bustle.

Maybe I can blame my Mexican heritage for this comfort with the macabre.  The Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead is a celebration of departed ancestors & friends; San Francisco’s Mission District hosts a festive annual procession with artists and dancers and altars dedicated to loves lost.

San Francisco National Cemetery presidio
Sister S & I loved to hike to the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio. You can even see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background!

Or perhaps my love of the creepy is rooted in geography- LA’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery hosts regular and rightly popular concerts and film screenings amongst the mausoleums and gravesites of Jayne Mansfield and Rudolph Valentino.

The Hollywood Forever Cemetery recently hosted a Breaking Bad screening... such fun!
The Hollywood Forever Cemetery even hosted the Breaking Bad finale party. A supposedly somber cemetery repurposed into a true community space does my heart good.

Or maybe I’m just scouting for zombies.

With all this cemetery-trolling, I’ll be the first to know when the zombies claw their way out of the earth to attack.  (Or dance. I’ve seen the Thriller video, I know how  things work.)

So you’re welcome.

boston granary burying ground
A flag at the Granary Burying Ground along the Freedom Trail in Boston.

Not so crazy anymore, huh?

Happy Halloween!

Want More?

Hiking Cinque Terre in Italy
Holy Vatican City!
An Autumn Weekend in Vermont
The Birds & The Bees in The Galapagos
A Mayan Tangent to Tikal, Guatemala
An Odyssey of Japanese Oddities
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Comments

  1. justjenng October 31, 2013 Reply

    I went to a very old cemetary one time with my husband to see his dads newly placed headstone....I took some time to wonder while he and his mom had their moment ... I found so many graves of entire families and young children that all died within months of each other over a three year period... I was so curious I looked the area up...turns out it was a desease that swept through....it was a beautiful cemetery off of a grid road in the middle of nowhere full of history... Happy Halloween to you too :)

    • Miranda October 31, 2013 Reply

      Oh wow... that's fascinating. It really is interesting how the little glimpses we read on gravesites can reveal so much about history. And I wonder how many other people even knew of that epidemic if the cemetery was in the middle of nowhere!

  2. Eagle-Eyed Editor October 31, 2013 Reply

    You would like Arlington National Cemetery near DC. It's quite a beautiful place. And I agree -- it's a good place to stroll and contemplate life. Happy Halloween!

    • Miranda October 31, 2013 Reply

      Ooh, I would love to explore Arlington! It's been on my "DC" list for awhile, and the last time I was there, I pooped out from too much Smithsonian-sightseeing before I could get out there. Next time, for sure! Happy Chocolate Day! (That's really the purpose of the holiday, right?) ;)

      • Eagle-Eyed Editor November 1, 2013 Reply

        Yes!

  3. Word Ninja November 3, 2013 Reply

    Not sure what this says about me, but I've appreciated the beauty of cemeteries since I was a kid. Nice shots!

    • Miranda November 4, 2013 Reply

      I think it just says you were a very perceptive kid! :) So many cemeteries are just gorgeous.

  4. gallivance.net November 3, 2013 Reply

    Miranda, I started my cemetery love when we moved to New Orleans straight out of university. Nobody does cemeteries like the Big Easy. :) ~Terri

    • Miranda November 4, 2013 Reply

      Agreed, Terri! New Orleans' cemeteries are one of a kind... definitely a must see for any visitor hoping to get a sense of the city!

  5. Outside The Den November 6, 2013 Reply

    We always visit cemeteries when we travel - one of our favorite things to do! Two of my favorites: Oakland in Atlanta - http://outsidetheden.com/oakland-cemetery-atlanta-georgia/ Bonaventure in Savannah - http://outsidetheden.com/bonaventure-cemetery-savannah-georgia/

    • Miranda November 6, 2013 Reply

      I love the suggestions, Heather & Alex! Thank you! Bonaventure looks particularly scenic (although I'm an admitted sucker for Spanish moss). So little time, so many cemeteries to visit...

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