For some reason, I don't think cemeteries are the least bit scary. They are always interesting to me...something about the names and dates. There is a tiny old cemetery behind our church and school and I took a walk through it last week. Lots of the headstones are completely worn and unreadable and pretty moss grows on the north sides. My favorite is the one that says Jane Josephine. It is four-sided and has Lucy, Eliza, and Amanda on the other three sides...such pretty names. It's very peaceful...
...but will be the sight of a haunted hayride tonight as part of the 8th grade Fright Night. I have to laugh a little at the slightly macabre side of our church...no politically correct "harvest festival" but rather a scare-the-crap-out-of-each-other night of fun including a Haunted Movie Theatre. My son is staring in "The Exorcist" room and my husband who is usually a wide-eyed observer of such activities will be supervising their room...he'll probably have to sleep with the light on tonight.
Brave soul, your hubby is, I would have to sleep with the lights on too!!
Posted by: Lee Ann | October 25, 2008 at 08:04 AM
Lovely pictures! I enjoy spending time in cemeteries as well - I've always found them to be peaceful, beautiful places. I remember taking walks in cemeteries with my mom when I was a kid, and I'm currently writing a dissertation on Roman cemeteries. I find it fascinating to look at the way people choose to represent themselves and their families on their monuments.
Have fun at the fright night!
Posted by: Alli | October 25, 2008 at 08:26 AM
I'm with you, Julie - I don't find them the least bit scary, either - rather I find them fascinating, especially all of the ones in the areas nearby and where I live with Gold Rush era "inhabitants". So much history.
Posted by: HeidiAnn | October 25, 2008 at 12:51 PM
I inherited a fascination for cemetaries from my mom! My husband and I are going on a Cemetary tour tonight that highlights past residents of our city and their role in its history! It is sponsored by our historical society! I am really looking forward to it!
Oh, and I love your church. I, too ,am sad that most churches shun the fun and scarey side of Halloween. I mean, where is the fun in dressing up like a saint! Halloween is all about fantasy!
Blessings,
Lorilee
Posted by: Lorilee | October 25, 2008 at 01:43 PM
I totally agree with you...I can spend hours strolling through cemeteries and reading all the inscriptions...fascinating!! xx
Posted by: marian edwards | October 27, 2008 at 05:21 AM
In the 21 years my husband and I have been married we have lived NEXT TO four cemetaries... I find them to be very peaceful places... I like to look at really old headstones too...
Hope Fright Night was HAUNTINGLY FUN!
Lala :o)
Posted by: Lala | October 28, 2008 at 03:28 PM
Sounds like a church I could really get into. Around here it's all *harvest festival* or *salvation houses*. What's a good Catholic Unitarian to do??
Maddie
Posted by: maddie | October 28, 2008 at 07:39 PM
I love cemeteries too. I think they old stones and the names are always so beautiful. When I lived in DC, I actually had a "membership" to a cemetary that sold memberships to dog owners. So dogs could run the hills and the $ helped with the upkeeps of the historic cemetary. My non DC friends think it's so funny that many of my stories reference being in a cemetary at least once each weekend.
Posted by: KK | October 29, 2008 at 03:25 PM