Celebrate Halloween with Tour of a U.S. Cemetery

Let the Ghostly Holiday Cast its Spell by Visiting Crypts and Tombs

Oct 14, 2009

Sounds ghoulish, but cemeteries can be interesting for their beautiful landscaping and history of the people buried there. You don't even need a Halloween costume.

Goblins, ghosts and ghouls occupy thoughts, store shelves and lawn decorations around the end of October, but a tour of a historic cemetery can be a fascinating outing at any time of the year.

Ghosts of Atlanta RIP in Historic Cemetery

In Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Ga., oaks and magnolias shade the resting place of Atlanta’s settlers and notable citizens. Among them is Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind, whose tombstone bears her married name, Marsh.

Visitors often leave golf balls, gloves or their PGA cards on the grave of legendary golfer Bobby Jones. Twenty-six mayors are buried here, including Atlanta’s first black mayor, Maynard Jackson. Pharmacy owner Joseph Jacobs is notable because the first Coca-Cola ever formulated was served in his drug store.

From a hill in the cemetery, located a mile from downtown Atlanta, Gen. John B. Hood watched the Battle of Atlanta. Five Confederate generals have their final resting place at Oakland. The Lion of Atlanta memorial is a copy of a statue in Lucerne, Switzerland, and honors 3,000 Confederate soldiers buried here.

Cemetery of Architects and Grave of Al Capone

Designed by 19th-century landscape architects, Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Ill., is known as the “Cemetery of the Architects.”

Louis Sullivan, who designed three tombs in this cemetery, is buried beneath a simple rough-hewn monument. John Root’s tomb in a Celtic cross with design based on his drawings. The final resting place of Daniel Burnham, who was responsible for the 1983 Columbian Exposition and the preservation of the city’s magnificent lakefront, is on an island in the cemetery’s lake. A sleek black granite marker denotes the grave of “less is more” architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Other notables buried here include Marshall Field, founder of Chicago’s iconic retail store and Chicago’s richest man in his day. His memorial features Mercury, the god of commerce, in a design by architect Henry Bacon and sculptor Daniel Chester French who created the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Potter Palmer, Chicago entrepreneur and owner of the Palmer House Hotel, and his wife Bertha, were known for their lavish lifestyle. Their tomb is a Greek temple with two sarcophagi.

Other notables buried at Graceland include Cyrus McCormick, George Pullman and Phillip Armour. Visitors can take a self-guided tour or join one of the tours of the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

If you want to visit the grave of Chicago’s notorious gangster, though, you’ll have to travel west to suburban Hillside, Ill. Capone is buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery beneath a simple headstone where coins and flowers often are left by visitors.

Mausoleums of Beer Barons and Tomb of Harley Founder

The wooded, rolling hills of Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wis., cover 200 acres containing a waterfall, lake and the tombs of 85,000 people. The cemetery, which dates back to 1850, is on the National Register of Historic Places and contains a museum and visitor center where maps are available for self-guided tours.

A popular stop is Beer Baron Corner where some of the city’s famous brewers – Pabst, Blatz, Schlitz and Uihlein – are buried. The largest monument is the Blatz Mausoleum with more than 500 tons of granite.

Bikers are drawn to the grave of William A. Davidson, who with his two brothers and William Harley, worked on motorcycles at the family home and ended up founding Harley-Davidson Co.

Other notables buried here include theatrical stars Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine. The Milwaukee native and his British wife were royalty on the stage in New York.

U.S. aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell, a World War I hero, is buried here and the city airport is named for him. His court-martial for criticizing his military superiors led to much controversy, but his contribution to the founding of the U.S. Air Force eventually led to a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Spirits Surround Tomb of Voodoo Queen

In New Orleans, La., the oldest cemetery is St. Louis No. 1 just off the French Quarter. Here lies voodoo queen Marie Laveau, a 19th-century resident known for her powers of perception. Visitors often mark Xs or crosses on the tomb or leave candles at the base. Some have reported seeing her spirit in the form of a black crow or black dog.

Laveau shares her final resting place in the Glapion family tomb with 41 other people. Because the city is below sea level, bodies are placed in above-ground tombs where they decay naturally in about a year. Prior to the next burial, the remains are pushed to the back of the tomb where they fall into a pit leaving space for the next interment.

The cemetery is one of several “Cities of the Dead” in New Orleans where elaborate mausoleums, sculptures and inscriptions are the subject of Gray Line Tours. Scenes from the film, Easy Rider were shot here.

Spooky Times at Other Historic Cemeteries

Historic cemeteries are found across the U.S. To find the graves of famous people, consult the Find a Grave Web site.Some cemeteries to consider:

The copyright of the article Celebrate Halloween with Tour of a U.S. Cemetery in Historical Travel is owned by Katherine Rodeghier. Permission to republish Celebrate Halloween with Tour of a U.S. Cemetery in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.