cemetery

KN, p. 266 “Haunted Cemeteries for 2023”

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Are you spooked by cemeteries? Or, do you walk through them to check out your own ancestral history?

Cemetery excursions often evoke fond memories of a favorite friend or relative. Some cemeteries are destination outings for those who wish to visit famous people buried within the hallowed grounds.

But sometimes, the visits are not about honoring the departed. Most European cathedrals have graveyards outside, but also house the remains of royalty beneath the slate and tile in the sanctuaries. Walking across the stones in certain corners of Canterbury Cathedral can stir a feeling of the presence of evil. The crowds that have worn away the stones over the centuries have not removed the sense of death and sorrow that seems to linger in the darkened alcoves.

We read about souls lost in between this earth and another dimension. We tell tales of being scared beyond rational thinking when stuck in a graveyard at night. Reports abound of an unnerving feeling, as if life-forces come out after dark to dance or moan soulfully of their own unfortunate, untimely demise. What if the dead haven’t yet crossed over to another plane and need to reach someone in this world in order to be able to rest in peace? It’s the stuff of novels and movies galore.

We have ghost hunters searching for restless spirits, cemetery researchers looking for the ancestors of a client, and the curious wondering what all the fuss is about. Whatever your belief system, it is possible to take cemetery walks all over the world, some for free, others at stiff prices for the privilege of being frightened in the name of fun.

 

New Orleans, Louisiana is the place to go for a variety of spooky tours – vampires and voodoo included. Check out the site for Phantom Tours, where you will find French Quarter  tours as well.

In the Fort Worth, Texas area? Fort Worth Ghost Tours takes small groups of ghost/spirit hunters through the area, stopping at famously haunted areas. Tourists/believers can see ghostly lights and (maybe) ghosts everywhere. Let us know what you see if you go. Pictures welcome. Indeed.

Cary, North Carolina is the site of historical Hillcrest Cemetery, one of Cary’s most haunted cemeteries. Click on the name to find details about this fascinating place.

Also in North Carolina, Charlotte (the Queen city), offers a chilling ‘haunted walking tour,‘ guaranteed to show off  ‘restless spirits.’ It promises to be family-friendly.

Remember Ichabod Crane and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”? Sleepy Hollow, New York is the home of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery , the definition of spooky. There are tours scheduled for day as well as night and must be booked ahead. A Lantern tour at night promises to deliver on the scare factor as stories are shared about some of the inhabitants.

Salem, Massachusetts is well known for the Salem witch trials. One of the most famous judges from the trials is interred at The Burying Point cemetery. Spellbound Tours, delivers what they call Salem’s “original and best haunted tour,” and includes the cemetery on the agenda for the evening.

 

Check your town’s website to see what events will be held locally. If illness has caused cancellations in your area, set the DVR for Halloween movies and wear your costumes anyway. Whatever you decide for your Halloween observance, stay safe and have fun.

 

Kelley reads to the neighbors

 

 

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KN, p. 243 “Where Did They Move the Graves?”

 

“May he/she rest in peace.” a statement made by attendees at most funerals in one form or another. We all want our loved ones to rest in eternity, free of any earthly concerns. We assume that for those being interred in a graveyard or other burial site, that the body will remain in that spot, marked in some way (by a headstone or plaque) to allow visitation by the heirs in years to come.

 

To many grieving loved ones, to disturb that resting place would be a desecration, no matter what the cause for doing so. But, however offended we may be at the idea of anyone digging up Grammie or Auntie Millie, States and municipalities have the right of Eminent Domain and that stretches to include moving graves if needed for the public good.

 

One comment made by some less sensitive, but motivated to complete the projects: “the dead are dead, so they won’t care.”

 

A common response made by the people affected: “the souls will haunt the diggers until finally able to rest.”

 

I read recently that sections of a central North Carolina church cemetery stand in the way of the highway department’s wish/need to remove a potential traffic bottleneck. I stood next to the road during ‘rush hour’ one day and there was never bumper to bumper congestion. Four years ago, somebody predicted that traffic would double by 2039, and as a result, this project was conceived. Hmmm. The plan is to widen the road from two to four lanes. Unfortunately, part of the church is about 30 feet from the road and the cemetery is not only smack dab next to the road, but is on both sides of the road. In 1831, when the church was erected on a peaceful country lane, nobody expected a major highway to be constructed a 1/4 mile away, let alone that the country lane would need to be widened to accommodate motor vehicles.

 

By NC State Law, relatives of the deceased in the ground must be notified of any intent to move the bodies. On occasion this happens because of cemetery re-design (unforeseen flooding, earthquakes, mudslides). In the case of natural disasters, relatives would most likely be okay with digging up coffins and having them moved to safer places. In rare instances, a body can be exhumed by court order when there is a suspicious death under investigation. And, permission isn’t needed from the immediate family in most jurisdictions when criminal mischief is the reason for the exhumation.

 

In NC, the plan is to relocate 206 of the 2000+ bodies to an area behind the church. Why some, not all? The State doesn’t need all the land. What if the church officials can’t reach everyone? The next of kin has had two years to reply, but what if the last known address doesn’t work anymore? What if all the heirs have died as well? The church will leave a marker near where the body had been (in some cases for 100 years) letting interested parties know where they can now find the grave and headstone. Yes, the headstones are to be moved as well.

 

I can tell you that people are upset, while some accept the reality. They’ve had almost two years since notification to adjust to the news and react. Stakes are in the ground reminding the congregation and heirs that the State is serious. Lawyers have been involved, negotiations to make adjustments to the plan have been underway, petitions to stop the project altogether have been filed. Blue flags indicate the dividing line between moving and staying put, although if the church followed the line exactly, in one case a family would be split up and the family headstone would be sliced in half. So, sane heads prevail and decisions are made to do the least harm.

Who takes care of the cost of moving the headstone and any damage that may occur? In this case, a contractor is being paid to move the headstones, but only pays for damage or repair if it’s specifically in the contract for hire. The NC church has become a go-between of sorts and has a few guidelines in place to ensure the quality and appropriateness of the stones.

 

Where does the law stand on this?

It varies from State to State, but in general, all living heirs of the dead must be found and notified of the plans to move the graves at the State’s expense (within the State’s definition). If one of them objects, the move cannot happen legally. But trust me, noncompliance can be expensive.

 

True story: decades ago, a proposed major highway spur was due to be completed in New Jersey. It had been on the books for so long that the locals assumed it would never be finished. When the time actually arrived, the homeowners were given a choice to move or stay and be cut off from city services because of the road design. The State finished the project and the locals that stayed lost any possibility of compensation, etc. and did indeed lose access to services, including for a short time having to drive two miles out of the way to exit the housing area. In other words, sometimes permission must be given, but that doesn’t mean the State will make it easy not to comply. If permission isn’t needed for road construction, the contractors will come in and bulldoze anything in the way. Legally.

 

Is this the first time a graveyard or personal or supposedly protected public property has been impacted by the needs of the many? Not by a longshot.

 

Golf courses have been built on top of graves, although sometimes accidentally. Read “Cemetery at the Golf Course,” here: http://bit.ly/1tUQ4rX

 

Eminent Domain covers the destruction and/or reduction of the federal park system.

 

Eminent Domain comes into play when ancient burial grounds stand in the way of energy development.

 

Is it legal to be buried on your own property?

What would keep me from bringing Auntie Millie home to my 5 acre piece of property?

 

There are no laws that prohibit home burial, but you must check local zoning laws before establishing a home cemetery or burying on private land. It is also legally required to use a Funeral Director, even if you are burying on private land. Embalming is only required if a person died of a contagious disease.

 

Whether in the name of greed or progress, the Eminent Domain stories just write themselves. And plenty have been, both in books and in the movies.

 

*Notes: There is nothing fictional about this post.
              Photos taken by me, Patti Phillips.

 

 

 

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KN, p. 116 “Cemetery at the Golf Course”

 

 

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that most of you have never played golf above a cemetery. Maybe you’ve walked past a golf course and seen how peaceful the landscape is, with its beautiful trees and manicured expanse of grass and/or been lucky enough to play a round on it. Maybe you’ve visited old cemeteries and been struck by the size of the property.  But, combining the two uses of grassy knolls is unusual.

 

Occasionally I play a round at a local public course that sits right next to a very crowded small cemetery. The 7th hole runs along the edge of an older section of grave sites and while separated by a row of tall shrubbery, errant golf balls do fly through the gaps in foliage.

 

 

Do lost golf balls plopping on the graves bother the forever-resting occupants? Do golfers leave the wayward balls to the dearly departed, so that no footsteps ever fall on the burial ground?  I know a few guys who see the little white sphere traveling above the headstones and take out another golf ball right away. No attempt to retrieve said lost ball. They take a mulligan for the shot and play on. If a little kid sat behind the bushes and tossed the ball back from the cemetery (while staying hidden) I think the guys might run off the course and never return.  😉

 

Recently, in Chastain Park (Atlanta, Georgia) it was discovered that a section of the golf course actually sits right above an old potter’s field graveyard.

 

Watch the video here:

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dozens-graves-discovered-under-chastain-park-golf-/138124636/ 


There is a possibility that wildflowers will be planted on the turf above the graves, allowing the permanent residents some peace and a bit of respect they might not have had in a forgotten potter’s field. There is no plan to disturb the graves.

 

 

Just in case you think it’s weird to combine a golf course with a cemetery, however accidental, here’s a bit of insider golfer information:

 

Many, and I mean MANY, avid golfers would love to have their ashes spread on their favorite golf course, and have even picked out the hole upon which they’d like to spend eternity. Maybe it’s the hole with a great view of the countryside; maybe it’s the place where they first hit a hole-in-one or won a bet. I’ve yet to sink a hole-in-one, so my choice would be somewhere around the green with a great view.

 

There are so many of these dedicated players all over the world that some large golf courses have regulations specifically dealing with the issue:

 

–      what day of the week the scattering is permitted

–      fees that may be required in order to gain access

–      who is allowed to do the scattering (a company that specializes in this event or the actual grieving person)

–      where on the course the ashes can ‘rest’

 

Why do the powers-that-be care? Cremated remains are not all like small grains of sand. In the mix are pieces of bone, irregular in shape, unless they’ve been ground after cremation. Soooo…while the golf course managers may permit the scattering, they might have a concern about people dumping an urn full of ashes into a sand trap or on a tee box or (gasp) anywhere on a green.

 

Do you have a relative that wants to overlook the 8th green in perpetuity? Tell him/her to look into the policies at the chosen resting place. And tell him/her to figure out who is supposed to do the scattering. And what to do if there’s snow on the ground. Uncle Joe or Aunt Mae may have to wait a bit on somebody’s mantle until the spot at the golf course is ready for occupancy.

 

For a bit more information about the graves under Chastain Park, click on the link.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dozens-graves-found-beneath-atlanta-golf-article-1.1806260

 

 

*Photos by Patti Phillips

 

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