# I am infatuated with old, abandoned houses and old cemeteries



## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

These people were real.  They lived and died before us.  

They had stories and secrets.  They had pets.

I love history.


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## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

Oh, whew. I read the title of this thread and thought, is this lady some kind of robber? Carry on...

(though, old cemeteries are pretty fascinating--I love reading the inscriptions)


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Me, too. I've logged 215 visits to old and almost forgotten cemeteries in the last 18 months. There's a lot of history there, as well as some unusual headstones. Some of these places are several miles down a very bad dirt/gravel road that severely tests the ground clearance of my Honda Civic. Many of the older cemeteries are completely overgrown and take some effort to find, what with the weeds being higher than any markers. Some obscure ones are in such bad shape that nothing can be read on the headstones, which I find very sad.

This is a pretty typical location:










The gravesites are off to the left, but the weeds were only about 1-2 feet high.

This is the second smallest site I've found, with only 8 or 9 burials. It was way down a country road:










I was amused by this headstone at a small cemetery just off a paved county road:










For the uninitiated, the two symbols on the marker are marijuana leaves.  

Mike


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## *DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon) (Jan 19, 2011)

I personally feel more fascinated by the future than past. But always imagine living in the past...


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Contrary to the title in the link, these pictures are usually safe for work. http://www.reddit.com/r/abandonedporn


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

This is on my TBR list, I will read it before a trip to Italy this Fall. I hope it lives up to the hype in the Amazon reviews.

I have some photos from a very old cemetery in Hartford that I should find and post. In England, they often have awesome cemeteries of course.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> This is on my TBR list, I will read it before a trip to Italy this Fall. I hope it lives up to the hype in the Amazon reviews.


That looks interesting. Let us know how you liked it.

I visited many ruins with my family when I lived in Europe for three years, but I think I was a bit young to really appreciate them.

Mike


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I find older buildings with fantastic architecture fascinating.  

This infatuation, however, is one of the key plot points of one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who - Blink.  First appearance of the Weeping Angels.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I had a great time visiting the cemetery in Salem, MA and my own regret was not enough time to visit some of the Boston cemeteries. I have a book somewhere on the art and symbolism of gravestones.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

balaspa said:


> This infatuation, however, is one of the key plot points of one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who - Blink. First appearance of the Weeping Angels.


That is the scariest Dr Who ep EVER.

I love old buildings and cemeteries too. I live not too far from the Victorian (Australia) goldfields, and some of those old towns are virtually ghost towns. Their cemeteries are fascinating places.


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## cork_dork_mom (Mar 24, 2011)

My BFF and I are frequent visitors to Jefferson, Texas. It's an historic old town that is haunted. There are deserted old churches and a beautiful gothic cemetery







.

Diamond Bessie is buried there (a prostitute murdered in Jefferson in 1877). She had no one to bury her so the town gave her a burial with a small headstone. The local historical society maintains the grave to this day. Since Diamond Bessie died alone my friend and I always plan a picnic at her grave.

Don't know if it's creepy or not, but we love checking out the old cemeteries.


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

Me, too. So many stories.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

jmiked said:


> Me, too. I've logged 215 visits to old and almost forgotten cemeteries in the last 18 months. There's a lot of history there, as well as some unusual headstones. Some of these places are several miles down a very bad dirt/gravel road that severely tests the ground clearance of my Honda Civic. Many of the older cemeteries are completely overgrown and take some effort to find, what with the weeds being higher than any markers. Some obscure ones are in such bad shape that nothing can be read on the headstones, which I find very sad.
> 
> This is a pretty typical location:
> 
> ...


Dude.

Awesome post. ........ Thank you

I never had a Honda, lol


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

I moved to the midwest from South Florida, OK? lol
Anything old and cool has been razed there. Unless you count this:

http://coralcastle.com/

There's so many old, cool houses here. This one just rips my heart out.
They have barns and everything. It's so sad that they are just rotting.

And these are not your recent foreclosures that I'm talking about. I'm talking about back in the country. These houses just stand like ghosts of what they once were. It is so sad. It makes me wonder why?

Who gave that up and why?


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

In Ruins: A Journey Through History, Art, and Literature (Vintage)



jmiked said:


> That looks interesting. Let us know how you liked it.


I finished it, and in short I recommend it to anyone intrigued by this thread. Detailed comments here:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,137939.msg2161420.html#msg2161420


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## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)

I LOVE old cemeteries! I strolled around some of the old graveyards in Boston and these were some of my favorite tombs:









"While she sleeps beneath the sod, We hope she's gone to rest with God"









"From death's arrest no age is free, My friends prepare to follow me."


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## donSatalic (Jan 25, 2013)

For the last few years, I have photographed abandoned plants and factories in and around Chicago. In fact the opening page of my website is an image from the last vestige of Chicago's steel-making industry (http://www.donsatalic.com/)--the ACME Steel Coke Plant.

When you are in such places, you can almost feel the presence of those who once labored there.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

Me too! When I lived in the south, I was close to the amazing Oakland Cemetary, which had graves dating back to the civil war... I thing Margaret Mitchell was buried there but I did not see her grave. I walked through it many times...










I also lived near a very spooky old house, I had once thought abandoned... I always thought it would make a great set for a horror movie...I did a photo series on it for my blog and as I walked around it, I peaked inside and realized it was occupied.. or at least staged to appear so. I went back one day to use it as a location when I was photographing a local musician and there was a lady inside and she came out and asked us to leave...oops! 

http://www.piewacketblog.com/journal/2010/12/20/this-old-house.html


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

A friend of mine live to the side of a cemetery and prior to knowing her, it would have never occurred to me to visit a cemetery for any other reason than for condolences, however, she expressed how she and her sister would go out into the cemetery at various times and just walk around.  Since then, I have walked through a few cemeteries for no particular reason, and it can be quite interesting.

I don't like abandoned houses, because they tend to be an eye-sore for whatever neighborhood they are in, but I do love . . . love . . . love old red barns.  When you travel across the country and you see them against the green grass, here and there, I just love them.  Even the faded grey ones are fascinating to me, as well.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

Lee44 said:


> A friend of mine live to the side of a cemetery and prior to knowing her, it would have never occurred to me to visit a cemetery for any other reason than for condolences, however, she expressed how she and her sister would go out into the cemetery at various times and just walk around. Since then, I have walked through a few cemeteries for no particular reason, and it can be quite interesting.
> 
> I don't like abandoned houses, because they tend to be an eye-sore for whatever neighborhood they are in, but I do love . . . love . . . love old red barns. When you travel across the country and you see them against the green grass, here and there, I just love them. Even the faded grey ones are fascinating to me, as well.


I pass a property twice a day, every workday. It makes me want to cry. The barn is/was bigger than the house once was. It's impossible to tell what color it may have been back in the day.

The wind is destroying it all. It's been l-o-o-o-oooong unoccupied. By beast or human, lol
I want to go check them out and my boyfriend tells me that someone may shoot you if you're not cleared. Seems a little dramatic to me, but he's lived here all his life.

Welcome to Ohio. That's what they tell me, lol.


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## cork_dork_mom (Mar 24, 2011)

One of my favorite books is...


Had the opportunity to go to London and HAD to see Highgate Cemetery which is the setting of the story. It is the COOLEST cemetery EVER!!! Karl Marx and George Eliot are both buried there.

Highly recommend to those who like cemeteries.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Now Mt Olivet Cemetery in Hugo Oklahoma is old but not abandoned.  It has some really cool headstones and graves though.  One of the world's tallest men is buried there with a tombstone that was his height.  There is also a grave that is big enough to hold an elephant.  That is because Jumbo the Elephant is buried there.  Several other neat tombstones there from circus people.  There is an entire section devoted to the Carson and Barnes circus.  
Two bull riders are also buried there close together.

It is a really neat cemetery.  There is also a military cemetery there and if you follow the dirt road, you will come across an abandoned cemetery too.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

jljarvis said:


> On one of my first visits to Scotland, I was fascinated by Greyfriar's Kirkyard. I knew nothing of its history. Seeing Covenanter's Prison sparked my curiosity, enough so to inspire a book. It has some really interesting (and spooky) gravestones and tombs, at least one of which is said to be haunted.


Wow. That's awesome.

Believe it or not, there's castles here, too! Although not to that scale...

www.piattcastles.org


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

CatherineM said:


> I pass a property twice a day, every workday. It makes me want to cry. The barn is/was bigger than the house once was. It's impossible to tell what color it may have been back in the day.
> 
> The wind is destroying it all. It's been l-o-o-o-oooong unoccupied. By beast or human, lol
> I want to go check them out and my boyfriend tells me that someone may shoot you if you're not cleared. Seems a little dramatic to me, but he's lived here all his life.
> ...


I'd be careful. People, sadly, are strange, and you never know. If he's lived there all his life, then he has a reason for telling you to be careful. But I know what you mean about feeling sad about it. The old houses and barns tell such a sad story.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

Lee44 said:


> I'd be careful. People, sadly, are strange, and you never know. If he's lived there all his life, then he has a reason for telling you to be careful. But I know what you mean about feeling sad about it. The old houses and barns tell such a sad story.


They really do.

Right down the street, maybe a quarter of a mile is a spectacular old red brick building (double chimney, possibly Federal style, is what I'm thinking) with bricks under the eaves "1889". I'm not sure if it's a residence or not. It is immaculately kept.

The buildings around here give me goose bumps.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I visited Arizona last week, and among other things, visited some Indian ruins. Photos in this thread:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,150401.msg2181005.html#msg2181005

You will see "Montezuma's Castle" (neither a castle, nor having to do with Montezuma) and a second set of ruins viewed much closer in a later posting.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

Some of the old, dilapidated houses here make you just want to cry.

I hope this link works, but somehow, I doubt it will.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157603665323113/


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

There's something about really old cemeteries that gets me, too. Saw a small graveyard in Ireland once - there's one by almost every small church there - and it was charming and historically significant at the same time. We all go, and there is something powerful about being alive in a cemetery. Makes me want to take the reigns, take chances, and live the way I want while I have the chance.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

CatherineM said:


> Some of the old, dilapidated houses here make you just want to cry.
> 
> I hope this link works, but somehow, I doubt it will.
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157603665323113/


Thanks for sharing that link, enjoyed those photos.


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## Book Master (May 3, 2013)

Remember the movie, "Pet Sematary?"
You could say my place resembles the movie. I have the dangerous two lane state highway with the long spans and curves in the road and drivers speeding through here.
I have the pet semetary to go along with it, as I have buried numerous cats taking up residence here until they meet their demise in that road. I started burying them along side that state road many years ago. Every so often, I'll walk over to visit that little grave yard to see if the graves with rocks placed on top have been bothered by any wild animals.
The old house? Yes, I have that too! My home is about 120 years old.

No, nothing has ever come back from beyond and I seriously hope not either.
I had company over one time and I mentioned to them about the place reminding me of that movie when they were talking to me about the remodeling that had been done on the place. They thought it was funny until I showed them the little pet graveyard.

After seeing the pet graveyard lined with dead pets and the road with the house, the laughing stopped!


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

I was lucky enough to once be taken on a guided tour of the Victorian section of Highgate Cemetery, London, before it got tidied up. Hundreds of mausolea, all kinds of weird and wonderful tombstones (one of a famous bare-knuckled boxer, with a statue of his favorite dog on top, for instance), most of it draped in ivy and interspersed with huge old oaks. It's the place that inspired Bram Stoker to write _Dracula_. You'd have loved it, Catherine.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

AuthorDianaBaron said:


> I looked at those houses on the link and couldn't help but wonder why they were left to decay. I wonder about the stories behind them.


Me, too. That's my point.

It's so intriguing to wonder why someone would walk away from a home like that??

If I had the money, I would sooooo rebuild one of them to their original specs. These magnificent structures are left to rot.

It's our history going by the wayside.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

AuthorDianaBaron said:


> I feel sad when history is left to rot. I just watched an episode of Anthony Bourdian on CNN. He went to the Congo and there was a library with hundreds of rotting books because the people couldn't afford to fix the dehumidifier. Stuff that like hearts my heart, especially when it's rotting books.


Yes, that is very sad. I didn't see the show, but my thought is: Why not move the books? Even if they had to be divvied up, surely it's better than letting them die a slow death. Those people should get them into a controlled environment sooner rather than later. They can even be restored by someone who has the knowledge and talent to do it.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

http://www.weather.com/travel/incredible-abandoned-places-20130313

The above article has a strip of photo thumbnails with it that are interior shots of some interesting abandoned places. Click on the thumbnails to get bigger photos.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

Do you US folks get the British TV series "Restoration Home"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restoration_Home_(TV_series)

It follows the owners of dilapidated historic houses as they bring them back to life. If I had the money (and the know-how and lived in England), I'd love to do something like that.


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## CatherineM (Jan 9, 2013)

My favorite old house collapsed a few days ago...

It broke my heart.  The barn still stands.


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## Gone To Croatan (Jun 24, 2011)

cork_dork_mom said:


> Had the opportunity to go to London and HAD to see Highgate Cemetery which is the setting of the story. It is the COOLEST cemetery EVER!!! Karl Marx and George Eliot are both buried there.


I was going to suggest Highgate. Make sure to take the tour to the side that's not normally open to the public, there are older graves over there with a lot of history behind them.

Though some people did think it a bit strange when I told them I had a weekend free in London on a business trip and spent most of it in a graveyard... then again, unlike one guy I met, I didn't hitch-hike from Germany just to pay homage at Douglas Adams' grave.


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