The cemetery: Birthplace of Horror

While in London, our class visited Highgate cemetery. Established in 1839, this cemetery has become a rich part of London’s history. After surviving many acts of vandalism and natural aging, the cemetery was left to the care of The Friends of Highgate Cemetary who preserve, restore, and give tours of the grounds. Highgate cemetery is the sight where many have said real vampires have been found, however, The Friends of Highgate cemetery try to dispel these rumors. While in Dublin we also visited Mount Jerome Cemetery, an active cemetery and the final resting place of J.S. Le Fanu. a picture I took in Highgate Cemetery

In nineteenth century London, the perceptions of cemeteries were quite different than those today. They were not places to mourn the death of loved ones, but rather to celebrate the life of that loved one. People would often spend much of their free time in the cemetery where their loved one lay.

Dracula, written in 1897, shows evidence of these perceptions in that time period. In her journal entry from July 24, Mina Murray describes her favorite spot in Whitby.

“Between it and the town there is another church, the parish one, round which is a big graveyard, all full of tombstones. This is to my mind the nicest spot in Whitby, for it lies right over the town and has a full view of the harbor and all up the bay to where the headland called Kettleness stretches out into the sea.”

Mina Murray and Lucy Westenra subsequently spend much time here throughout the story. It is evident from this writing that Bram Stoker was accustomed to these positive perceptions of graveyards within the time period.

While cemeteries were often depicted as places of contentment, they have also been painted in a more sinister light. Within stories of the dead (and undead), it is almost impossible to not encounter the final resting places of many beings in the settings and plots. This can be seen in Dracula when Lucy resides and is destroyed in a tomb. It is also seen in J.S. Le Fanu’s Carmilla when Carmilla is found and destroyed in a graveyard. We are all familiar with scenes of hands arising from beneath the soil of a grave in classic horror films. The cemetery will most definitely play an important role in horror for a long time to come. Because we often associate cemeteries with the spiritual world, stories of the dead, undead, and ghosts can always begin and end in the cemetery.