A Grave Matter...
Death is inevitable for all of us and in a graveyard we are
reminded of the frailty of human existence like nowhere else. The fascination
for me, when I visit graveyards, is to look at the oldest graves and
inscriptions and wonder what happened to the person… Sometimes great ideas for
stories spring forward from this as I try to imagine what life might have been
like for the said dead person.
But apart from that there is the great unknowing… What does
happen when we finally confront our very existence? Scary stuff, indeed, for
most of us… Unless you have great faith in your own brand of religion/belief…
Most of us do not want to be reminded that we are going to pass into the great
unknown someday. Perhaps that is really the scary part about graveyards and
cemeteries.
But spirits, ghosts and things that go thump in the night
are also great things to think about in graveyards…
So let your imagination fly!! If you dare…
Do graveyards/cemetaries scare you or are they just places
of great sadness?
I love them! Like you I can stand at a grave and imagine the persons life. I almost wish you could push a button on the headstone and get a biography...
ReplyDeleteThere is a book called, The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, which is all about undead characters that 'live' in the graveyard, I cam highly recommend it, as a fun read.
I love cemeteries. I was in one just now taking photos for my blog. I could spend hours in there - so peaceful and only sad if the living are there. But not in the dark - oh no no. x
ReplyDeleteI love walking through graveyards. I've even come up with a story based on a visit to a very old graveyard. It's interesting to look at some of the pictures on the gravestones and think of how they lived their life.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the graveyard where my family is buried makes me sad. It's the only graveyard that affects me that way.
Cemeteries don't frighten me at all. I especially like seeing the places where my late great ancestors are buried.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
My current short story is partially set in a graveyard. I've had inspiration from walking around my local churchyard.
ReplyDeleteI find them either nice reflective quiet places, or places of mystery with some of the intriguing epitaphs left by family members. There's lots of abandoned or isolated graveyards where I live that belonged to towns that have since disappeared.
ReplyDeleteI have always been fascinated and repelled by graveyards. Fascinated because they somehow seemed a portal to another place; repelled because... well, ew, rotting bodies and decay. Organic and philosophic in one go!
ReplyDeleteFor me, graveyards do scare me as well as a place for sadness. This is where your loved-ones go to when they die. I'm supposed to be finishing my paper writing service but I find myself interested with reading your posts. Thanks.
ReplyDelete