Category: October

October Stone Stories: The Father of Zombies

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“They’re coming to get you, Barbra”

This is one of my favorite movie quotes, and it comes from the 1968, black-and-white independent horror classic, Night of the Living Dead. I even have a small piece of the Evans City Chapel framed on my wall. The chapel sits in Evans City Cemetery, which is where the opening scene of the film was shot.

This horror classic was written and directed by George Romero, the father of zombie films. This summer, I had the chance to visit the final resting place of this iconic director.

Photo credit: Nicolas Genin, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ via Wikimedia Commons

George A. Romero

George Andrew Romero was born in New York City on February 4, 1940, and grew up in the Bronx. His interest in film began at an early age and he would go on to enroll at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh.1

After graduating in 1960, Romero began shooting short films and TV commercials, including an early short for the popular children’s show Mister Rogers Neighborhood.1

Romero’s break-out film Night of the Living Dead was revolutionary for the horror genre, and today is a staple of any horror film addict’s collection. This film completely reinvented the image of one of today’s most popular movie monsters.

Romero created the rules for a new kind of zombie. Now portrayed as reanimated corpses who hunger for living flesh. They are slow and shambling, with only one purpose. Silent, aside from their eerie moaning as they get closer to their prey. There is only one way to stop them—a violent strike to the head.

The film’s explicit violence and gore garnered negative reviews at its release, but today the film has amassed a cult following. In 1999, the film was deemed culturally and historically significant by the Library of Congress and has been preserved by the National Film Registry.2 In part for its social commentary during the 1960’s.

Romero would go on to write and direct other films, even directing a romantic comedy, but he always gravitated back toward the undead. He would go on to create a whole series of films set in the Dead universe; Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead—his last film.

After falling in love with the city, Romero moved to Toronto, Ontario in 2004. He would shoot a lot of his later films in the city. In 2009, he acquired his Canadian citizenship, becoming a dual Canadian-American citizen.

In 2017, George Romero died in his Toronto home of lung cancer. He was 77.3 Romero is laid to rest in Toronto Necropolis Cemetery and Crematorium.

  • George A. Romero, Toronto Necropolis Cemetery and Crematorium, Toronto ON ©2024

Toronto Necropolis Cemetery

The Toronto Necropolis Cemetery and Crematorium is one of the city’s oldest and most historic cemeteries, dating back to 1850.4 The fully restored cemetery entrance features high Victorian Gothic architecture which also makes it one of the most scenic cemeteries in the area.4

I was enthralled the minute we stepped out of the Uber. The grand cemetery entrance sets the tone for the beautifully forested cemetery within. It was my first time visiting this enchanting cemetery. Being unfamiliar with its layout, I used Google Maps to lead us. Of course, I was easily distracted by the elaborate and historic gravestones we passed along our route.

As we approached a densely forested section, we heard the screeching of a hawk. It sounded close and didn’t seem to like us encroaching on its territory. Luckily the grave we were searching for was a bit farther back in the cemetery. My fiancé stuck to the meandering paths that snaked around the grounds while I ventured into the rows to read the graves.

Although not quite accurate, Google Maps led me to the general area we were searching for. Surrounded by tablet stones and obelisks, sits the mirror-like black granite stone of George A. Romero.

The epitaph reads, “George A. Romero / 1940 – 2017 / He Loved, / And Was Loved.”

On the footstone is inscribed a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “Now cracks a noble heart. / Good-night sweet prince; And / flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Although the cemetery was quiet that day, we could tell that many had come before us to pay their respects. Someone had planted two skeleton hands at the base of the grave, reaching up towards the inscription. Another skeleton hand, giving a thumbs up was also planted near the gravestone. Someone also left a little miniature zombie figure. The gravesite looked decorated for Halloween, even though we visited at the end of July!

George A. Romero, Toronto Necropolis Cemetery and Crematorium, Toronto ON ©2024

Years ago, while collaborating with a community group dedicated to screening cult classics for charity, I envisioned hosting an event that would bring Romero to my small Northern Ontario town for a screening of one of his legendary films. Unfortunately, that dream never came true.

Although I never had the chance to meet him in person, to thank him for all the scares, visiting his grave and paying my respects was a profound and memorable experience for me.

Thanks for reading!

References:

  1. George A. Romero | Find a Grave
  2. Preserving the Silver Screen | Library of Congress
  3. Fans say final goodbye to ‘Godfather of zombies’ George Romero at visitation | CBC
  4. Toronto Necropolis Cemetery and Crematorium | Find a Grave

October Cemetery Stories: A Haunted Tower and a Pioneer Cemetery

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During the summer, I wrote about a surprise road trip I took with my mother in Cambridge. This curated road trip, created by Guess Where Trips took us to exciting and spooky places. I shared a little about our Historic Haunts tour, but I wanted to keep some of the details a surprise at the time, so I could share this ghost story and pioneer cemetery visit with you now, in October.

So today on the blog, I want to share a little bit more about my visit to the haunted Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower and Doon Pioneer Cemetery and explore its rich history.

  • Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower, Kitchener ON ©2024

Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower

While looking for places to go for a walk, the day before our Historic Haunts tour, I found a hidden gem that had everything we were looking for—a walking trail, a historic site, and a cemetery. Little did we know when we visited that it was also haunted!

The Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower stands 18.9 meters tall, and peaks out above the surrounding trees. We could see its Swiss-style copper roof and the cute Conestoga wagon weather vane that sits atop it, as I parked my car in the nearby parking lot.1

The Tower built in 1926, was created to commemorate the arrival of the Pennsylvania-German pioneers who immigrated to the area between 1800 and 1803.1 Fieldstones that line the outside wall of the tower represent the tireless work they did to plow and clear the land for farms and homesteads.

Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower, Kitchener ON ©2024

At one time, it was possible to go inside the tower and climb its spiral staircase to the eight-sided observation deck. The view is amazing, as Bob Oberholtzer noted in a 2015 article for the Waterloo Region Record. Citing it as one of the most “historic views”, it’s possible to overlook the first four Mennonite farms that were settled in the area.2 Oberholtzer also talked about how they used to scare the girls who climbed the tower, not with ghost stories, but with childhood antics like shaking the stairs as the girls climbed up.2

Although the tower has barely needed any repairs to keep it standing over the years, the tower has been closed to the public since 2008.2 BUT, it is possible to tour inside, by special request.2 A sign on site has a phone number that can be called to book a visit to the top of the tower. I wish I would have known this when we visited. We made do by peering through the gated doors to glimpse the cobwebs and spiral staircase inside.

What we also didn’t know at the time of our visit, was the haunted history of the place. The story goes that a woman jumped to her death from the top of the tower. She was distraught and suffering from grief of the loss of her husband, who went off to war—but never returned.3

They say her restless spirit can sometimes be seen at the top of the tower, waiting for her lost love to return.3

Doon Pioneer Cemetery

The 98-year-old Pioneer tower sits within a small grassy field, right beside the Doon Pioneer Cemetery. This is the final resting place of the Schoerg and Betzner families and overlooks the Grand River.

Also known as the Schoerg/Betzner cemetery, this small burial ground is where the first settlers are laid to rest, who arrived in Waterloo Township in the spring of 1800. The small cemetery is filled with old gravestones and field stones, marking their final resting place.

Some of the gravestones are very worn, so I took the opportunity to try out a trick I saw in one of the cemetery groups I am a part of. By using a mirror to reflect sunlight, or by holding a flashlight at an oblique angle you can create enough contrast to make gravestones legible again.

I had a small flashlight on me, one with a small beam so it worked well on the smaller stones. I asked my mom to hold the flashlight for me, as I lined up my shot by looking through the small viewfinder on my DLSR. The deep shadows help some of the long-forgotten words to be legible again. The flashlight trick didn’t work as well on larger stones, because the beam from the flashlight is too narrow to illuminate enough of the stone. I would need a much larger beam for that. This trick of the light is a great way to reveal gravestone inscriptions while doing no harm.

Doon Pion

Doon Pioneer Cemetery also known as Schoerg/Betzner Family Cemetery, Kitchener ON ©2024

My mother and I both enjoyed visiting the memorial tower and the small burial ground beside it. We took our time taking in the beautiful craftsmanship and design of the tower and its history. At the time, we had no thoughts of ghostly apparitions in our minds. We didn’t experience anything supernatural. We just admired the Fieldstone Tower and all the toil and hard work it represented for those early pioneers.

After exploring the cemetery and paying our respects to the early settlers of the area, we made our way to the Walter Bean Grand River Trail. The flat gravel path meanders through the Pioneer Tower Natural Area taking you along the Grand River. The trail is dotted with educational panels, and the path eventually brings you to the Pioneer Tower Bridge.

On the opposite side of the bridge lies the Doon Valley Golf Course. On our walk, we didn’t cross but stopped at the bridge to take in the views. We sat for a time at a little garden roundabout, just before the bridge, admiring the flowers and wildlife. We were lucky to see a wild rabbit scurry across the trail.

The Memorial Tower was always in view during our walk, peeking out above the treeline like a sentinel keeping watch. A strong reminder of those who came before us. The whole area is beautiful, even more so now I imagine with the fall colors starting to emerge.

So if you are looking for a nice place to take in nature and enjoy some dark history, I think the Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower and adjacent Doon Pioneer cemetery would be a great place for a fall outing. Who knows, you might even see a ghost.

Thanks for reading!

References:

  1. Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower | Parks Canada
  2. Descendant of Waterloo pioneers wants memorial tower open again | Waterloo Region Record
  3. Historic Haunts Tour | Guess Where Trips

Cemetery Book Review: Haunted Cemeteries

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Spooky season is right around the corner!

I have a lot of upcoming October content planned, so I thought I would officially kick off the Halloween season on the blog by sharing a spooky cemetery book review. It’s called Haunted Cemeteries: True Tales From Beyond the Grave by Edrick Thay.

Earlier this summer, I wrote a guest post for The Haunted Walk, titled Beyond the Headstones: 5 Surprising Secrets to Discover in Cemeteries. So when I was in Ottawa this summer visiting family, I made it a point to pop into the Haunted Walk office, on Sparks Street, to say hello. While there, I browsed their spooky-cute gift shop and this book jumped out. I thought it was a pretty fitting purchase.

  • Haunted Cemeteries book, purchased from the Haunted Walk shop in Ottawa.

Haunted Cemeteries was first published in 2004 by Ghost House Books, a part of Lone Pine Publishing. Ghost House has published a large series of books all focusing on local legends, ghosts, hauntings, and other unexplained phenomenon.1 Haunted Cemeteries is a collection of stories about the world’s most notoriously haunted cemeteries and graveyards. The majority of the cemetery stories come from the United States, but the book does feature two cemeteries that are located in Ontario; Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls and Burkholder Cemetery in Hamilton.

Here is the book synopsis from Goodreads:

“Cemeteries are places of quiet repose where the dead are left to eternal rest. But some spirits refuse to rest in peace. Join Edrick Thay as he explores some of the world’s most notoriously haunted graveyards, both past and present, and interviews ghost hunters to discover how these eerie sites become charged with paranormal energy.

Plagued by nightmares, a mother has her daughter exhumed from Mount Carmel Cemetery in Chicago, only to make a shocking discovery paranormal researchers encounter spirits of wounded soldiers in Ontario’s Drummond Hill Cemetery, once the site of bloody conflagration when an archaeologist discovers a sealed tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, he awakens a terrifying ancient curse at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, ghosts of celebrities from another era float among the decrepit tombstones Anomalous Luminous Phenomena, or mysterious lights that defy explanation, illuminate Silver Cliff Cemetery in Colorado Ohio ghosthunters descend on Camp Chase Cemetery in Columbus, hoping to come across the captivating Lady in Gray a high school girl, fascinated with the paranormal, encounters a particularly irritable ghost at Bachelor’s Grove in Chicago in Salem, Massachusetts, site of the infamous witch trails, a ghost materializes, still mourning his inhuman death”

  • Haunted Cemeteries: True Tales From Beyond the Grave by Edrick Thay.

Haunted Cemeteries features 19 stories and a handful of black-and-white cemetery photos. The short stories made this an easy book to pick up when I had a few minutes to read. I appreciate those types of books.

The book includes some more well-known cemetery hauntings, like Bachelor’s Grove in Chicago and the Egyptian curse of King Tut’s tomb, but also highlights some lesser-known hauntings and folklore. As an avid reader of cemeteries and the supernatural, discovering these new unfamiliar stories was a lot of fun.

Overall, this was a fun and easy read, and I enjoyed the ghostly tales that can sometimes surround cemeteries. Reading about ghost stories, legends and reputed curses from beyond the grave is always a great way to ease into the Halloween season—especially when it also involves exploring the rich history of cemeteries.

Thanks for reading! 

I am always on the hunt for cemetery-related book recommendations. If you are an author and have a cemetery-related book you would like me to review, please reach out at hello@chantallarochelle.ca. I would love to hear from you.

References:

  1. Ghost House | One Pine Publishing

2023 Cemetery Scavenger Hunt

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What are you up to this Halloweekend? 

That’s right, it’s the last weekend in October before Halloween. Time to get in those last autumn days enjoying some seasonal activities, and getting ready for the ghouls and boils to come knocking on your door for treats.

I have a pretty full weekend planned of pumpkin carving, horror movies, and of course one last visit to a cemetery. 

This Sunday is the fourth annual Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt, organized by Talk Death. If you are not familiar with Talk Death, they are a death-positive collective, whose mission is to encourage positive and constructive conversations around death and dying. 

This annual cemetery scavenger hunt is designed to bring together communities, families, cemetery lovers, and history enthusiasts. It’s a fun way to get outdoors and learn about your local history and art and architecture of different eras.

Want to join the fun?

It’s easy to play along! On Sunday, October 29th, at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT visit your favorite local cemetery and tune in to Talk Deaths Instagram page.

Then follow the clues provided to search for gravestones that match the clues, like symbolism, names, and dates. Take a selfie with the stones and submit your finds using the link in their bio. The first 3 people to fill out the form completely, win!

You can visit the TalkDeath 2023 Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt webpage for the full details! 

  • Talk Death 2023 Cemetery Scavenger hunt. October 29, 2023.
    Image created by Talk Death.

Although this is meant to be a fun event, please be mindful when visiting any cemetery. Be respectful, and do not disturb the gravestones or grave goods.

That being said, I had a great time participating last year, and l look forward to playing again this year. Last year I visited Park Lawn Cemetery with my Mom. We were the only ones in the cemetery that day, but we still had a lot of fun!

This year, my cemetery of choice is Lasalle Cemetery. It’s a fairly large cemetery and has some older stones. Feel free to join me, if you are in the area!

Regardless of what you get up to this weekend, I hope you have a great one and take some time for a little Halloween fun. 

Happy Halloweekend, and thanks for reading! 

Cemetery Tourism

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Have you ever heard the term cemetery tourism before? Visiting cemeteries may not be at the top of your list when on vacation, but it should be!

In recent years cemetery tourism has become more and more popular. But, I would argue that it has always been. In today’s blog post, I wanted to talk a little bit about cemetery tourism and share a few upcoming cemetery tours happening in Ontario.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the only open places around were cemeteries. They afforded people an outdoor space to take walks and get fresh air, revealing their importance alongside parks and other green spaces. This also gave people a chance to appreciate cemeteries as more than just places of sorrow and remembrance, but also places of art, history, and culture. 

Since then, visiting cemeteries and graveyards has become an increasingly popular trend, not only among taphophiles and genealogists but also among general tourists. Wandering around cemeteries in new places is a great way to learn about the history and heritage of an area, and to also see examples of local art and architecture.

But cemetery tourism really isn’t anything new!

For decades people have been traveling the world specifically to visit tombs and mausoleums. The pyramids of Giza see over 14 million visitors each year, making them one of the most popular tombs in the world.1 Granted, the Pyramids are one of the seven wonders of the world, they are also tombs that were built over 4500 years ago by the ancient Egyptians to honor their dead.2 

Another popular example is the Taj Mahal, a white marble mausoleum that was built in memory of an emperor’s wife.3 It sees approximately 7 to 8 million visitors per year.4 Visitors flock to this site, not only to experience the exquisite architecture but to also experience the reverence this tomb represents. 

  • Cemetery Tourism

Closer to home, I find it’s common to see cemetery stops marked along motorcycle and cycling routes. Not only are cemeteries and graveyards perfect places to stop and stretch your legs on a long bike trip, but they also make interesting points of interest where you can learn more about the history of an area. 

Another way cemetery tourism is becoming more prevalent is the creation of cemetery tours. I see more tours offered every year in local or nearby city cemeteries. Not only are they great ways for cemeteries to fundraise, and bring more people into the cemetery. It’s a perfect way to highlight the cemetery’s history, showcase important people, and make history come alive. 

Generally, cemetery tours can be done at any time of year. You can often find them happening in the summer months. But, I find October is the best time of year for a cemetery walk. The atmosphere is perfect, with the crisp air and crunchy leaves. It’s a beautiful backdrop to explore history and learn about the past. October cemetery tours can be a fun activity to do if you are looking for something different to do for Halloween. Often, some of the history shared is on the darker side, creating an eerie atmosphere as you stroll among the graves.

Want to add a cemetery walk to your list of activities this month? Here is a small round-up of cemetery tours that are happening in Ontario. I would suggest booking your tickets fast as October is almost over! 

Upcoming cemetery tours

Fergus: Wellington County Museum & Archives Cemetery Tour 

Friday, October 27 from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person.

This tour takes place outside on the museum grounds, and at the Poor House Cemetery where over 200 inmates were laid to rest.

You can purchase tickets at this link.

Hamilton: War of 1812 Cemetery Tour

Saturday, October 28 at 11 a.m. This is a free event. Roughly 2 hours in duration.

A lively, informative tour of selected grave sites in historic Hamilton Cemetery. Each tour will introduce you to some of Hamilton’s more interesting personalities and its rich history.

Visit their website for more information. 

Mississauga: Haunted Mississauga 2023 Heritage Tour

Friday, October 27. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children.

Tours run at 7 p.m., 7:20 p.m., 7:40 p.m., 8 p.m., 8:20 p.m., 8:40 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tours take approximately 45 minutes.

This event includes a guided heritage tour around a dimly lit historic cemetery with actors retelling stories from the darker side of the past.

You can purchase your tickets at Eventbrite.

Ottawa: Tales from the Mausoleum at Beechwood Cemetery

Monday, October 23 to Monday, October 30. Tours run at 8 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. every night. There is an extra tour time of 8:45 p.m. on Saturday, October 28. Tours are roughly 75 minutes in duration.

A one-of-a-kind evening filled with storytelling and chills.  Experience the darker history of the cemetery’s early days and the ghost stories connected to some who rest there—including strange reports from staff that continue to this day. 

You can purchase tickets at this link.

Toronto: The People of Park Lawn Cemetery Tour

Saturday, October 28 at 1 p.m. and Sunday, October 29 at 1 p.m. Both tours are identical and will be roughly 2 hours in duration. This is a free event.

Park Lawn Cemetery is considered an oasis in the West End of Toronto; complete with lush greenery and winding walking paths. Its grounds also contain the earthly remains of some notable—and less notable—Toronto residents whose stories helped shape the city and the country.

Visit the Facebook event page to mark yourself as going.

Self-guided tours

If the above dates don’t work for you, or you would rather wander the cemetery at your own pace, some cemeteries offer self-guided cemetery tours. These types of tours can be done at any time of year. You can sometimes find handouts for self-guided tours at the cemeteries office, that include maps, directions, and information about the more notable or interesting things found in the cemetery. There are also sometimes resources online at the cemetery’s website that can be downloaded onto your phone for a mobile-guided experience.

Have you been on a cemetery tour before? Will you include one on your bucket list the next time you are on vacation? I would love to hear about your bucket list destinations or any cemetery tours you would recommend.

Thanks for reading!

References:

  1. Opening Hours | Giza Pyramid
  2. History | Giza Pyramid
  3. Taj Mahal | Unesco World Heritage Convention
  4. Views of the Taj Mahal | Taj Mahal

Spooky Grave Goods

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In honor of the Spooky season, I wanted to do a sort of spooky show-and-tell. For today’s blog post, I want to talk about some of the creepier grave goods I have come across while exploring and photographing cemeteries.

Grave goods is a term used for items left behind at a grave. I have always found it fascinating what people leave behind. There are a variety of reasons someone might leave grave goods; to pay their respects, to honor their loved one, this list goes on.

The most common grave goods I see in my cemetery travels are flowers, but I have also found coins, toys, figurines, and pieces of clothing such as hats or gloves. I have even found alcohol and cigarettes left on gravestones.

But there have been a couple of times where I have found some pretty creepy things. I would say maybe even sinister grave goods.

  • Spooky Grave Goods

A Horse Skull

One of the first creepy grave goods I ever came across was a skull hanging from a tree. I believe this is a horse skull, although I don’t know for certain. A horse skull would make sense for the area where it was found, in Verner Public Cemetery. Verner is a rural area, dotted with farmland.

How the skull ended up in the tree is another question entirely. I remember it was hanging on a tree at the edge of the tree line. Was it found in the forested area? Was it brought from an adjoining farm?

The questions will always remain…

  • A horse skull. Verner Public Cemetery, Verner ON ©2010

A Creepy Doll

I never expected to come across a creepy doll, the day I entered Blezard Valley Cemetery. It was in late May, that I discovered this one.

A creepy plastic doll, the kind where the eyes close when you tilt it backward. Except this one has a push pin pushed into its plastic eyeball. It was also painted black. I found it leaning up against the backside of a granite gravestone.

How it ended up there, I can’t even speculate. Was it bored teenagers? Or was it left behind with more sinister intentions? I took many photos but left the doll where I found it.

  • A creepy doll left at a grave. Blezard Valley Cemetery, Blezard Valley ON ©2021

A Ouija Board

I think this is one of my favorite spooky finds! Technically my mom found it. We had gone off on our own, in separate directions, meandering among the gravestones. She called me over when she spotted this unique grave good.

Laying above a small flat stone marker was this hand-made ouija board. It was painted by hand onto a small canvas. I wasn’t able to locate what had been used as a planchette. My guess is they used a glass or cup of some sort, and made sure to return it to where it came from. 

From the looks of it, this hand-made board had been sitting outside for some time. Being an avid Ouija board collector myself, I enjoyed finding this one. But of course, I left it where it was found.

  • A hand-made ouija board. St. Jacques Cemetery, Hanmer ON ©2021

I have written in the past about the cemetery etiquette I follow when visiting cemeteries. I do sometimes clear away debris to get a clearer picture or stand-up fallen grave goods that have been knocked over. But, I would never remove anything from a gravestone, or cemetery for that matter. 

Did you enjoy my round-up of the top three spookiest grave goods I have found in a cemetery? It’s one of my favorite things about cemeteries, you never know what you might find!

Have you ever found anything strange left behind in a cemetery? I would love to read about it in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Stone Stories: The U.F.O. Gravestone

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In early July, my friends and I went on a cemetery road trip, up through Hailybury and New Liskeard to Kirkland Lake. We made quite a few stops along the way, not only at cemeteries. We stopped at a couple of roadside attractions to stretch our legs and take in the sights. 

We did have a few points of interest that we were determined to visit that day. One was the grave of Charles Bélanger, son of famous Canadian sculptor Rose-Aimée Bélanger. You may remember that story, as I wrote about our visit in a blog post called Stone Stories: Art in a Cemetery. 

The other point of interest, high on our list to see was a gravestone with an epitaph about U.F.O.s.

One of my favorite things about visiting cemeteries is finding unique gravestones. I love gravestones that stand out, that showcase a sense of humor, or something specific about their life story. I love stones that give you a glimpse of who the person was. Sometimes these peculiar gravestones also present a mystery! 

Like this gravestone in Kirkland Lake Cemetery that reads “U.F.O. Are Real Spacecraft.”

  • “U.F.O. Are Real Spacecraft.” Photo: Kirkland Lake Cemetery also known as Swastika Cemetery, Kirkland Lake ON ©2023

This is the gravestone of Glenn Bradley, who passed away on December 27, 2007. A day before what would have been his 89th birthday. From far away, his gravestone doesn’t seem to stand out. It’s a classic style headstone, in grey granite. But upon closer inspection, the epitaph jumps out at you.

It reads: “Bradley / Glenn E. Bradley / Dec. 28, 1918 — Dec. 27, 2007 / Loving Father of / Linda Sue and Terri Lynn / Beloved Grandfather of / Michelle, Curtis, Anthony, Pamela / U.F.O. Are Real Spacecraft.”

The epitaph continues on the backside of the stone: “Spinning Objects Vanquish Gravity / Spinning Objects Levitate / Spin to Exceed the Earths / Relative Feet Per Second / Honorable 60th C.B. Service / 1942 U.S. Navy 1945”

What does it mean? 

I am not the only one fascinated with this gravestone. Bill Steer, also known as Back Roads Bill, wrote an interesting article about this peculiar stone. In it, he shares an interesting tidbit found in Bradley’s obituary. It reads: “He will be remembered for his scientific work such as antigravity and his belief in UFOs.”1

Bradley’s gravestone tells us that he was a veteran of World War II with the U.S. Navy, having served from 1942 to 1945. Is that where he worked on antigravity? Had he seen a U.F.O.?

Recently, NASA revealed a report on UFO sightings, confirming that they are actively monitoring and collecting evidence. In the report, they state that unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) are not definitively connected to alien life, but what they are remains uncertain.2 You can read the 33-page report here.

  • Photo: Kirkland Lake Cemetery also known as Swastika Cemetery, Kirkland Lake ON ©2023

It was on a particularly hot day, that we chose to visit the cemetery. It was the final cemetery on our list, having stopped at many cemeteries along the way. This meant that we were fairly tired when we arrived at the Kirkland Lake Cemetery, also known as Swastika Cemetery. 

Kirkland Lake Cemetery is actually located in Swastika, Ontario, a former mining and railroad town. It sits within the Kirkland Lake municipal boundaries.3 Swastika was originally a railway station along the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway in the early 1900s. The town grew into a small mining community in 1907. It became known for its abundance of gold, which led the company, and officially the town itself, to name themselves after the Sanskrit symbol for “good luck” in 1908.4 

I don’t think we were prepared for how large this cemetery is! I was a little disheartened when we arrived, thinking we may not be able to find the fabled UFO stone. Find a Grave lists 7,871 memorials for this cemetery, and it’s marked as only 83% photographed. It’s quite large! 

After a brief distraction of falling into my regular photographer’s routine of stopping at gravestones that caught my eye, I remembered our objective. I regrouped with my companions and checked out Google one more time to point us in the right direction. In the end, we used some online photos to help us triangulate the stone’s location by matching up unique stones and markers in the background of the photos.

BINGO!

The gravestone of Glenn Bradley. Photos: Kirkland Lake Cemetery also known as Swastika Cemetery, Kirkland Lake ON ©2023

As mentioned previously, the stone from a distance is fairly nondescript. At the top of the gravestone, there is a coin embedded into it, with the dates 1937 — 1970. The coin reads: “E.W. Bliss Company / Bliss since 1857 / From Ingot to Finished Product”. According to the Military Wiki page, E.W. Bliss was an American company based in Brooklyn, New York. Among other things, they produced a line of special sheet metal work presses, power stamping machines, car parts, torpedoes, shrapnel, and armor-piercing projectiles.5

We spent time circling Bradley’s gravestone, pondering his curious epitaph. Without more background information, and as a layperson it did make me scratch my head in curiosity.

Maybe one day, answers will come forth as to what Bradley was talking about with his cryptically scientific epitaph. For now, it makes for a curious extraterrestrial mystery!

Have you ever seen a U.F.O. mentioned on a gravestone before? What do you think? Do you want to believe?

Thanks for reading!

References:

  1. A most unusual epitaph | Bay Today
  2. NASA reveals results of highly anticipated report into UFO sightings | CTV News
  3. Kirkland Lake Cemetery | Find a Grave
  4. Swastika, Ontario | Town of Swastika
  5. E. W. Bliss Company | Military Wiki

Celebrating the last weekend of October

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October is coming to an end. This post-pandemic Halloween season has felt a bit more normal because of all the fun spooky activities happening. It’s been a whirlwind of a month for me, between pumpkin patch activities, a haunted holiday, watching way too many horror films, and visiting cemeteries. I even put up my own little front lawn cemetery for the trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. 

This year, I was able to visit some cemeteries a little farther away from me, in Cobalt, Haileybury, Huntsville, and Penetanguishene. I am looking forward to sharing more about those visits in upcoming posts. You can read about my visit to the Beck House and the Presbyterian Cemetery here.

I also had a chance to participate in this year’s Cemetery Scavenger hunt, put on by TalkDeath. I wrote a bit about TalkDeath and their annual event last week. You can read it here, in case you missed it. This cemetery scavenger hunt takes place globally, so you can participate from anywhere. All you have to do is visit a local cemetery. In some areas, you can participate with TalkDeath members in person. This year there were members at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, and General Protestant Cemetery in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

  • Park Lawn Cemetery, Sudbury ON ©2022

My mother and I joined in from Park Lawn Cemetery in Sudbury, Ontario. It was so much fun! Although we were the only ones in the cemetery searching for clues, it was still a nice way to spend some time on a Sunday afternoon. Park Lawn Cemetery is not the oldest cemetery in the city, as it was established in 1924. But it is a large one, which I thought would be an advantage to searching for clues. I may have been half right. We started strong, finding a few clues pretty quickly, but we started getting stumped. We fanned out and as I searched I fell into my normal cemetery photography mode, which is a little bit slower-paced. I did eventually manage to find 12 of the 20 clues, but it was way too late to place in the top 5. I think the fastest time may have been 12 minutes!

I was no where close to that time, but that’s ok! It was a great opportunity to get outside, enjoy one of the last beautiful weekends of October, visit a cemetery and spend some time with my mother. We spent about an hour in the cemetery. After I submitted my photos, we wandered around a little bit, enjoying the weather and looking at the beautiful stones. We also found some interesting epitaphs that I think will require some research, later on, to learn their story.

I think this years Scavenger Hunt was a success! I can’t wait to participate again next year! It was a really fun way to close the cemetery season for me. 

If you are not aware, November usually brings with it some pretty cold weather here in Northern Ontario, and that means lots of snow. I’m not fond of winter, so I tend to stay indoors during the colder months. That means my cemetery visits are pretty much done for this year.

That doesn’t mean that you will stop seeing content from me! 

In the colder months, I focus on editing the monstrous number of photos taken over the summer. I’ll be doing portfolio updates in the coming months, adding to what’s currently on the website. I’ll also be doing more work uploading memorials to Find a Grave, helping clean up their cemetery map information for Ontario, and transcribing photos. I’ll also be sharing more cemetery road trip stories from over the summer, and cemetery book reviews. I’ll also be taking some time to bake and share some more tombstone recipes. I don’t think I have made one since the spring!

That being said, I hope that you have had a wonderful October, were able to enjoy some fun activities throughout the month, and got to visit a cemetery or two! I would love to hear about your October adventures in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt

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Looking for something different to do this Halloween? 

This Sunday, October 30th, is the 2022 edition of the TalkDeath Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt.

TalkDeath is a hub for a changing death-conscious public. They aim to bridge the gap between death professionals and the general public and help people make informed end-of-life decisions. This is the third annual Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt. It seems to be getting bigger and better every year!

This years event starts Sunday afternoon, at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST, and you can join in from anywhere in the world.

To participate, all you have to do is visit your favorite local cemetery, the more historic the better, and follow along on TalkDeaths Instagram account for the clues! It promises to be a fun day of cemetery wandering as you explore the gravestones to match the clues, like symbols, names, and dates.

When you find your matching monuments, DM TalkDeath your findings. The first 3 people to DM their complete findings will win some beautiful prizes, like a 3D-printed skull planter, beautiful artwork, memorial pins, and more. 

Full event details, as well as rules and clues, will be rolled out on TalkDeaths’ social channels as we get closer to the event date. So check back often to stay up-to-date.

I missed out on this fun event last year, so I wanted to help spread the word about it this year. As long as the weather holds out, I will be participating from Park Lawn Cemetery to try and find all the clues. It’s a fairly large cemetery, and I haven’t visited it since 2011, so I thought now would be a good opportunity. I am planning on making an afternoon of it as my mother will be joining me as well. A scavenger hunt is a great opportunity to get some friends together for a fun outing and do something a little different for Halloween.

  • Park Lawn Cemetery, Sudbury ON ©2011

Have you done a cemetery scavenger hunt before? Will you be participating this year? I would love to hear about your experience in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Haunted Cemetery Road Trip: The Beck House

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Last weekend, my fiancé Chris and I spent the night at a haunted Airbnb. Since we’ve been engaged, it’s become an annual tradition to have a haunted holiday in October. Last year, we spent the night in room 105, the most haunted room at the Inn at the Falls in Bracebridge, Ontario. This year, we spent the night at the Beck House in Penetanguishene, Ontario.

The Beck House, built in 1885, is one of the oldest standing buildings in Simcoe County.1 It was built by Charles Beck, a wealthy lumber magnate, for his wife Emelia and their nine children. Charles, who also went by the name Carl, was mayor of the town from 1892 to 1895. In 1903, he was the first person to buy an automobile in the area.2 Sadly, two of his nine children died in the house, at a very young age. Emelia, their mother, also passed away young.3

Today the house has been converted into apartments for permanent residents, but two apartments on the top floor are available to rent through Airbnb. Many visitors to the Beck House have reported flickering lights, hearing footsteps, and unexplained knocking. Some have even heard disembodied voices, and have felt invisible hands tucking them in at night.

  • The Beck House, Penetanguishene ON ©2022

The house itself is just beautiful and is quite imposing as you come up the driveway toward it. The red brick, slate roof, and Queen Anne revival design give off elegant but spooky vibes.2 The house was decorated for Halloween when we arrived, which added to the spooky atmosphere, with pumpkins on the stairs, and ravens perched on the veranda railing. 

As you enter the house, you are greeted with large whiteboards that are covered in writing from visitors’ past. Here, people shared their experiences, thanked the hosts, or just marked that they were there. Some guests recommend what to keep watch for, like the doll in the green dress, or suggested other interesting places to visit in the area, like the Asylum Point Cemetery.

Walking up to our room, was like walking through time. The beautiful winding staircase, with its creaky steps and beautiful hardwood railing, almost seems to go up forever. Among a smattering of Halloween decor, were more historical pieces, like vintage dresses and a spindle wheel. Even more gorgeous antiques waited for us inside apartment 302.

The apartment is beautifully decorated with antique furniture and items. I especially loved the decor in the red room, with its gold cherub lamps, antique rocking horse, and a gorgeous dressing table complete with an antique mirror. There is also a little alcove in the living room area that is filled with vintage hats and hat boxes. All these little touches add so much to the space and the experience of staying there.

The Beck House, Apartment 302, Penetanguishene ON ©2022

We checked into our room at about 6 p.m., and after briefly exploring the space and dropping off our things we headed out for supper. We made mental notes of the position of the doll in the green dress, just in case. We had a lovely supper at Flynn’s Public House, downtown. The downtown core looks lovely, but we didn’t have much time to explore it. After supper, we visited Discovery Harbour to experience Pumpkinferno, a display of meticulously hand-carved jack-o-lanterns. It was magical! Walking among hundreds of lit jack-o-lanterns while Halloween-themed music plays is the epitome of Halloween. There were also some haunted attractions there to visit like Grim Reaper’s Grove, Macabre Mansion, and the Ghost Ship. They even had a little cemetery set up. After enjoying some hot chocolate, we headed back to the Beck House and apartment 302.

  • The Beck House, Penetanguishene ON ©2022 Photo taken by my fiancé Chris.

The doll in the green dress had not moved, and nothing seemed to be out of place. We settled in the living room to decompress from the days’ travels and adventures. In the dining room, there is a notebook filled with previous guests’ experiences, I read a few while we had some snacks. We decided to spend some time alone in each of the rooms, to see if a spirit may want to reach out. I took the red room, while Chris took the green room. I read with the light on, now and then peeking at the rocking horse to see if it was moving. Chris sat in the dark in the green room, with only the light from his phone as he scrolled on social media. He didn’t experience anything either. After a while, he joined me in the red room. We decided we would spend the night in the green room, as we could hear another tenant’s TV below us. Then we retired to bed. 

I don’t generally sleep well when we stay at haunted locations. I think it’s because I am afraid to miss out on seeing something supernatural happen. Eventually, I did fall asleep. Nothing peculiar happened, although. At one point during the night, Chris seemed to be having bad dreams. He was moving a lot in his sleep and even cried out. At exactly that moment I heard a creak in the floorboards. It sounded like it came from the doorway of the bedroom. We had gone to sleep with the door open. I didn’t see anything in the doorway. The rest of the night was uneventful.

In the morning, we packed our things and said goodbye to the Beck House, but we still needed to say goodbye to Carl and Emelia. After a nice big breakfast at Phil’s Casual Dining, we stopped in to visit the Presbyterian Cemetery. 

  • Presbyterian Cemetery, Penetanguishene ON ©2022

At the back of this pretty little cemetery is the Beck Mausoleum. It’s a rather imposing structure, flanked on either side by lovely white planters. The door is firmly locked, with a charming cast iron gate protecting it. I’m not certain of who rests within the mausoleum, but I would think that Charles, Emelia, and some their children, if not all, are laid to rest here. I thanked Carl and Emelia for our lovely visit in their house and paid my respects. Directly in front of the mausoleum, there are many grave markers for later generations of Becks. This is the only mausoleum in this small cemetery, standing like a sentinel keeping watch.

Beck Mausoleum, Presbyterian Cemetery, Penetanguishene ON ©2022

We did visit a couple of other spots in Penetanguishene, but that will be a story for another day. I hope you enjoyed this Haunted Cemetery Road Trip story. Have you ever spent the night in a haunted hotel? Do you have any October traditions? I would love to read about them in the comments!

Happy October and as always, thank you for reading! 

References:

  1. Haunted Simcoe: The Beck House | Barrie 360
  2. Carl Beck House | Penetanguishene Heritage
  3. Facebook post, October 9, 2018 | The Beck House