In October I visited my brother in Colorado. It’s a magical place for me, full of crunchy leaves, kind people, and awe-inspiring beauty. I also have a favorite place to go while I’m out…the graveyard. I absolutely love visiting cemeteries and when I’m in one, I find this unexplainable peace and comfort.
There’s this one in particular that I love. Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins, Co.
The first time I visited it was at midnight in the fall several years ago. The light shimmered through the trees as they swayed in the wind and dead leaves skittered over the lawn gathering at my feet. I took a few pictures that night, in the dark, and the next day there were so many interesting orbs floating around in my pictures. I can’t help but wonder if they really are just unexplainable moving orbs of light in my photos or the friendly ghost inhabitants of the graveyard saying hello.
There are several homes that line the street across from the cemetery on Grandview Avenue and I love them. I desperately want to live in one. I picture living there in one of the homes, with my writing office in a front room facing the cemetery. You can see them here, if you select street view. Aren’t they wonderful? And then I wondered, how many homes like this are for sale? Not just in Colorado, but anywhere.
This of course, led me down a magical internet worm hole where soon I was shown articles about buying and selling graveyards.
Now, my reasoning tells me that someone has to own and care for a graveyard but I didn’t realize how many cemeteries were for sale. There are a lot. Apparently, after they’re full of bodies and no longer a huge monetary opportunity, people like to get rid of them, which makes me sad. But I also saw a few cemeteries for sale, where the owner had owned and operated it their entire life because it was passed down through the family, but they were now too old to keep it up easily. Those made me happy. They wanted to pass the important job of protecting the dead and the history, to the next generation.
Here are just some of the cemeteries for sale I found.
I also found this interesting Inquisitr post about owning a graveyard, though it’s over a year old.
I found an even weirder post from South Wales, specifically St Dials, Cwmbran, which had a home for sale with a graveyard for a backyard. Locals were calling it the “tomb with a view.” The best part, it was old £8,000! Here’s the post on it where the real estate agent described it as a “A detached chapel which is believed to date back to the 17th Century.” There’s a local legend as well that the graveyard, though small, is actually haunted by a black hound, specifically The Black Hound of the Underworld. According to the legend, the previous minister of the chapel heard the howls of a hound late one night. Soon, the minister saw a large black hound following him. Once he realized he was being persued by a hell hound, he struck the dog between the eyes with his Bible. According to the lore, the hound burst in to flames and vanished, leaving the minister shaken, but his soul intact. His only proof: a singed beard.
Would you ever own a graveyard? Do you have one you’d love to live by? Let me know in the comments below!
- Pictures not by me. Hover over images for credit.