71 replies to this topic

[seakla]

My friend and I are amateur ghost hunters.  We visited a cemetary last weekend and the whole time I was thinking "why?"  I don't really believe that cemetaries would be haunted.  I think we think they are because they are eerie, and there are bodies buried six feet under.  But here are my reasons why cemetaries could not possible be haunted.

1)  Ghosts supposedly do not know that they ae dead.  So why would they haunt a place of the dead?  If they do not realize they are dead then they won't know to seek out thier grave and haunt it.

2)  Ghosts generally haunt a place they are familiar with or the place where they died.  Unless they died or worked at the cemetary, why would they haunt it?  I could understand a caretaker haunting because it was his job in life.  And have heard a story about a dog that slept by his master's grave and when the dog died, his ghost was supposed to still be there.  

3)  A cemetary is consecrated.  The bodies interred there have been blessed and absolved of all thier sins by a religious leader.  People have said goodbye.  There is no reason for a soul to feel unrested.  If the grave is a potter's grave with no name, or the person was murdered and buried there then I could understand it.

4)  By the time the body is buried it does not resemble anything it once was.  It has been embalmed, make-up applied, lips glued shut, mouth filled with cotton, etc.  Would a ghost even realize that is its body or could the soul still be trapped in a body that has had this much done, only to find release once buried?

However...haunted cemetary stories are common, so are they true or are they just told frequently for the scare factor?

[MoonChild]

Welome to GV seakla, and enjoy the stay!

[seakla]

That was a quick welcome!  Thank You!  I hope to share much and gain much from the boards.

[Yosei]

I think it's only *some* ghosts who don't know they're dead, though...of course, the whole subject is somewhat speculative, but that's my thinking.  

[mellilotflower]

welcome Seakla!

Many stories, particularly those about vampires, involve the corpses of the dead rising and protecting their grave sites.  Vampire stories and ghost stories got mixed up over time.
Also we have the idea of Church/kirk grims- and along with that the idea that the first person interred into any burial ground was destined to watch over that place for ever.
And who knows how long the spirit hangs around it's body- in many nde's you hear that the spirit hangs above the body... I've only come across a few where the spirit goes to somewhere they know.

[seakla]

Good points mellilotflower!  A soul hanging about the body would indeed account for it haunting it later.  Although, I have heard the superstition that it is the LAST person buried that guards.  The book I read by David Pickering calls it a Churchyard Watcher and people who happened to arrive at the cemetary at the same time would fight over who got thier relative buried first.

About the idea that only some ghosts don't know they are dead:  I believe that ghosts don't know they are dead, and spirits are the ones that cross-over and come back.  Your aunt might come around and check up you, or your dad comes around and leads you to his hidden will.  They come around to tell us something or check up on us.  Whereas a ghost is a soul that does not know its dead.  But, as was saidm it is all speculative and that is just my speculation.  When it comes to supernaturla no one is really right or wrong.

[mellilotflower]

The first burried thing ties in with the idea that quite often a dog or lamb would be burried first, so that no human soul is tied to the graveyard.  If it's the last soul- does that mean the last soul ever to be buried, or the last soul until the next one comes along? because if it means the last soul ever you may be waiting a while for it to come along...

[seakla]

It's the last soul until the next one.  So a particular soul will haunt it until the next person is buried, and then they "take over" and haunt it.  I read this particular notion in a book called "Dictionary of Superstitions" by David Pickering.

I like the first-buried idea as well.  But, those poor doggies or lambs...doomed to haunt the graveyard for eternity!  ;D

[Camille]

Seakla,

You have raised some very valid points about the ghosts and cemeteries.  It really defies logic that they would haunt cemeteries.  Mind you, I like cemeteries and could spend most of my free time there.  But, are they haunted?  Um, probably not.  

Of course, there are a few that have quite a ghostly reputation, like Bachelor's Grove.  But, then again, many have speculated that Bachelor's was a site of violent crime activity.  This, of course, can explain the hauntings.  

[MoonChild]

well, could the hauntings in cemeteries be attributed to the demons and the lesser Gods that makes cemetery their abode than the spirits that have departed?

[seakla]

Camille and Moonchild....those are good points.  If that area was a scene of violent activity before it was a cemetary then it would explain hauntings.  Or other entities may make them thier "home.

By the way...just want to say that until this weekend I never doubted that cemetaries could be haunted, it was just a thought that popped into my head while we were out there.  There are so many stories about haunted cemetaries that there must be some reason or some validity.  

[Camille]

Yes, it defies our own common sense.  But I guess that's the point.   I remember reading a theory somewhere that older cemeteries might be haunted because some people might have been mistakingly buried alive.  Interesting.

[seakla]

I had forgotten about that.  People were buried alive before embalming and better medical practices were around.  I have read numerous cases of caskets that were opened and scratch marks found on the inside of the coffin, heard of one case where a woman was buried alive, but that night grave robbers went to steal her jewelry and couldn't get a ring off and so they tried cutting her finger.  The pain brought her out of her coma-like state. Imagine the surprise of the graverobbers when the dead woman wakes up and screams! LOL

Hmmmm.....I am getting a good idea for a story here!

[Camille]

Joinks!  :o

What a horrific, unpleasant scenario, and just perfect for a good story, eh?

Ahh, but sometimes truth is so much stranger than fiction...in Sandusky, OH, there is a Cholera Cemetery.  Over 400 cholera victims are buried in a mass grave.  Apparently, the town was hit pretty hard, and fled in a panic, not wanting to catch the disease.  They hurriedly dumped the sick, many of whom were probably NOT dead before they were buried in trenches, without coffins.  Ugh.

[Caesar]

ewwwwwww thanx camille