Headstones a Go-Go

All right. I admit it, I'm a bit spooky. While this may not come as much of a surprise to some, to others I'm the Girl Scout mom with five daughters that gets funny at parties and occasionally writes about "things." Little do they know...

I've been a ghost story writer for most of my career, in fact, my first online publications were via The Shadowlands though I never thought of those tidbits as building a portfolio - otherwise I would have spent a little more time on them, yeesh.  ;) And while zombies occupy my time now, ghosts are never that far from my writing schedule. As such, I love to take my girls to local graveyards for inspiration. Not only for the history they provide and the connection to the community but also for the amazing art found on the stones. My early days as an archaeologist and historian focused on burial customs and the folklore surrounding death plus the symbols left behind to comfort the living so it also takes me back to my roots.

Earlier this week, I took two daughters to Mount Hebron Cemetery for a mini art history lesson. The cemetery fascinates me as it's on the spot of the 3rd Battle of Winchester fought during the Civil War (though you can't throw a headstone without finding a battlefield in northern Virginia). At the eastern end of the cemetery there is a large Confederate section holding the bodies of 3000 soldiers. Generals are buried there but most of the others were planted where they fell in battle, leaving untidy rows. Union soldiers are found separately and only accessible if you leave the cemetery completely, head down the street and enter through another gate into the walled off section. Having dealt with zombies lately, I have no doubt the South would rise again if possible and climb the walls.

My current short story WIP deals with ghosts, pirates and betrayal. After this week, don't be surprised if a soldier pops in as well.  ;)

7 comments:

  1. You & Haggis should hook up. ToT & I toured a cool graveyard with him in MI. It's his thing too :)

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  2. Ooh, more art history on headstone symbols. Cool. I live less than 10 minutes from an old graveyard.

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  3. Now that one doesn't surprise me at all! We should hold an AW national cemetery tour. THAT would be awwwwwwwwesome. =D

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  4. Here's more information on symbols for easy reference: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nhoga/misc_articles/symbolism_in_gravestone_art.htm Once you know what you're looking at, it takes on a deeper meaning. :)

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  5. My mom used to live on the edge of a Civil War battlefield. Both she and my brother heard heavy boots walking up to the front door many times, but the footsteps would end at the door. Can't keep those Southern boys down!

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  6. Just found your site and hope this will post. I too am a lover of old cemeteries and headstones. I do not know what your skulls signify.. but let me tell you about a pair of stones not to far from where I now live. The stones are of two brothers who died about 6 weeks apart in 1884. The stone of the brother who died first depicts the hand with fingers pointing heavenward (no skulls). The hand of the brother who died second depicts a hand holding chains, with finger pointing downward. Needless to say, this has caused a lot of speculation and legends around here.. but some SERIOUS research leads to the conclusion that both brothers died in a typhoid epidemic. No one knows why the stones are the way they are.

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  7. Hi Judy!
    Thanks for posting. =] This headstone is for the brother of the girl next to it with a similar carving (hands pointing the same way, same skulls). I imagine they both died of an epidemic as children.

    Perhaps the second brother on your headstone suffered longer?

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