NY Cemeteries Part Two - Halloween Series

Part two of the NY cemeteries series is finally here, as is my last post for the Halloween series! This week's post is dedicated to showing the "creepier" side of cemeteries. While it is not really creepy, some of the stuff I found was quite old and even a bit weird (the teddy bear head). Some of the statues were a bit decrepit as well. However, no amount of decay could take away from the beauty of cemeteries - a little decay even adds some character to the place in my opinion.

Here are my top 5 tips for visiting cemeteries in general- 

1) Please be respectful of the deceased! Do not destroy their gravestones or any of the statues and other artifacts in the cemeteries. Look but don't touch. 

2) Also be respectful of anyone who is there grieving. 

3) If you are taking photographs, just be cautious of what you are photographing. I like to try to avoid taking photographs of actual gravestones (unless they are that of someone historical or famous).

4) Most cemeteries are only open during daylight hours - so be cautious of that.

5) Lastly, if you want to give your photographs a creepy feeling - put a black and white filter on them. Black and white is one of the most versatile filters. With cemeteries, it can give off an eerie and old timey feeling. 

NY Cemeteries Part One - Halloween Series

This entry is part of a split two part series on a few cemeteries in New York State. None of them are "haunted" per se, I just really loved the statues I saw in them while I was exploring. This post features some of the more beautiful statues/other objects in some of the cemeteries, while the next post will be with some of the more creepy ones. I think cemeteries are so beautiful, especially in the fall - as evidenced by some of the photographs below.

 

My tips for cemetery photography will be added in with next weeks post - so I don't repeat myself. 

Sarah Winchester's Final Resting Place - Halloween Series

The story of Sarah Winchester's life is one of the most fascinating tales of heartbreak and mystery. Sarah was married to a man named William and they had a daughter named Annie who passed quite young according to her gravestone. However, that is not where the heartbreak ended for Sarah. Her husband also passed away while he was still relatively young. Sarah is responsible for the continuous building of The Winchester Mystery House - which is on my bucket list of amazing places to visit. When Sarah passed, she was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, CT - and you can go and visit her during the daylight hours.

Here are my top 2 tips for if you want to visit the resting place of Sarah Winchester-
1) Her grave is large, but quite hard to find. Just keep driving around until you find Highland Ave and her plot is along that row.
2) Be as respectful as you can, speak in low voices and if there is anyone else around - try to not disturb them.

The Crypt at Center Church - Halloween Series

Underneath Center Church on the Green in New Haven is a burial ground that dates back to the 1600's. The church was built over the burial ground, and the graves were all left exactly how they were. You can go down into the crypt and look at the tombstones, and learn about the history of the crypt. The crypt is only open on Saturdays from 11am-1pm from April through October, so make sure you plan accordingly. Tour guides are available, although I think you can do a self-guided tour if you would prefer that. My tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable about the crypt and the church itself. She explained everything in great detail and made me feel almost like an expert on the area. If you want to get an in depth knowledge of the crypt, I would recommend the tour - however most of the information can also be found on their website - http://centerchurchonthegreen.org/history/crypt/. This is certainly one of those places that appears to be creepy before you go, but is actually quite interesting.

Here are my top 5 tips for if you want to visit The Crypt -
1) Please be extremely careful down here. All of the tombstones are old, so that makes them incredibly fragile. Most of them have seen their fair share of damage due to the conditions in the crypt. Do not touch them, just look.
2) When you go down the stairs, just watch your footing as the staircase is kind of narrow.
3) The ceiling is low, so you need to crouch down in some spots. Also, if you suffer from claustrophobia - I would recommend you sit this one out.
4) Lighting is dim, so if you want to take pictures make sure you do so with a decent camera - and then you can edit the lighting in photo shop if you need to.
5) The directions on how to get in were kind of confusing. On the GPS it led to this one church, that I guess is technically considered to be a part of the area - however, the crypt was nowhere to be found there. I ended up walking down the street a bit before I found the right church - and they had signs out front indicating that the crypt was open for tours. Just look out for the signs, and you will know that you are in the right place.

Salem, Massachusetts - Halloween Series

Salem, Mass is a place full of rich and terrifying history, and I figured this was a perfect location to kick off my month long Halloween blog series. Salem is known mainly for one thing - witches. When you think of Salem, the Salem Witch Trials is most likely the first thing that pops into your mind. During the 1600's, there was a mass hysteria involving accusing people of practicing witchcraft. This resulted in a long trial, and in the deaths of many innocent people. This trial and the deaths have stuck with Salem all these years later, and as you can imagine, there are a variety of fun and scary activities in Salem. There are many haunted attractions that you can venture through if you are brave enough. Psychic readings are offered basically all over the place, if you are into that kind of stuff. There is also the Salem Witch Museum that you can visit in order to learn more about the trials. Cemetery's are also abundant in this area, and most of them offer tours (day time and night time tours are available, depending upon your preference). There are a variety of other things in this area as well, and I hope to visit again in the future so that I can do and see more! If I do go again, I will eventually write an updated blog post on new things I have found and done in the area.

Here are my top 5 tips for if you plan to visit Salem -

1) Really do your research before visiting, because there was a lot of stuff I discovered after I had been that I didn't have time to do when I was there because I didn't plan very well. 

2) Wear comfortable shoes, as there is a lot of walking involved with this area.

3) Please be careful, especially when you are trying to cross the street. This is a busy area and some people don't watch where they are going.

4) Make sure you have a good amount of cash with you, as some of the attractions will only take cash.

5) Be careful to not get swindled out of your money. Some of the things are just touristy money grabs that you could absolutely skip if you wanted to. For example, if you want to do a psychic reading, make sure you do your research on which ones are the best in that area so that you don't get swindled out of your money.