Memorial Day: Weeping Angels at Eternally Eerie Graveyards

May 26th, 2013 Permalink

No matter your religious beliefs or cultural background, we all mourn our lost loved ones. When remembering the departed, we can all be ‘haunted’ by ghosts and specters of memories. Some people are so bereaved that they erect elaborate statues for tombstones. The details and symbolism on headstones are usually created by those still living, weeping and mourning; the monuments capture that sense of loss and pain to be remembered for all time. Graveyards are eerie enough, but other tombs are topped off with curiously spooky and complex reminders, making the cemetery seem like it was created to be a totally creepy and morbid place. Having lost a beloved grandmother and great-grandmother this year, we can feel the pain of loss and the love that went into these grieving angel statues. Angels monuments often offer comfort to those still living, but when they too have passed on and the graves are forgotten, time and weather may play havoc on the tombstones. For Memorial Day, here’s a trip through cemeteries that seem eternally eerie by being haunted by weeping angels and other ghoulish statues standing guard for an eternity. [45 Photos]

Mourning angel and golden leafs of fall, cemetery of Laeken, Brussels

Mourning angel and golden leaves of fall, cemetery of Laeken, Brussels. Stone sculptures as headstones lend a sense of permanence in being remembered. Photo #1 by Eddy Van 3000

Dismal Angel looking down on a grave at a cemetery in Oslo, Norway

Dismal Angel looking down on a grave at a cemetery in Oslo, Norway. Elegant but spooky. Photo #2 by Thomas Drevon



Foggy Graves Through Trees

Some cemeteries are more depressing than creepy, giving some people pause before entering the spooky scene. These foggy graves seen through the trees are marked with stone masonry, which is the most common type of headstone. Other headstones types are Masonry, Ashlar, Monumental, Rubble, Slipform, Carving and Sculpture. Photo #3 by ShotsAtRAndom

My weeping wings

“My weeping wings. The famous Haserot Angel, located in Lakeview Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio.” The bronze Angel of Death Victorious, commonly called the Haserot Angel, statue was created by Herman Matzen in 1923 for the Haserot family grave site. Over time, the forces of nature have acted upon the bronze to create an eerie effect of the angel weeping. As Wikipedia points out, “Since gravestones and a plot in a cemetery or churchyard cost money, they are also a symbol of wealth or prominence in a community. Some gravestones were even commissioned and erected to their own memory by people who were still living, as a testament to their wealth and status.” Photo #4 by thewoodenshoes

Baby in Angels wings - Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Seen at a California cemetery on a beloved child’s headstone: Baby in Angels wings – Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Photo #5 by D.O’Brien

Same cemetery that Interview With the Vampire was filmed in New Orleans

Same cemetery where Interview With the Vampire was filmed in New Orleans. Others can be seen on Tales from the Crypt. Photo #6 by casch52

Autumn angel

Autumn angel. “He spake well who said that graves are the footprints of angels,” ~ quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Photo #7 by Henning Mühlinghaus

I miss you

“I miss you.” I’m not sure how long this intense feeling of mourning lasts, but statues such as this heartbroken angel are erected in misery to last forever. Special emblems on headstones translate into themes in many faiths such as The Angel of Grief which clearly indicates great sorrow. Photo #8 by Thomas Hawk

Recoleta cementary in central Buenos Aires, Argentina

This shot was taken at Recoleta cementary in central Buenos Aires, Argentina. The photographer added, “I was amazed by how this statue looked…especially the overwhelming sadness it conveys.” Photo #9 by Daniel Calonge

Angels as tombstones. Michelangelo once said ~ “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” Photo #10 by Pascal Vuylsteker & #11 by e_monk

Visiting the Cologne Melaten Cemetery on a fine autumn day

“Visiting the Cologne Melaten Cemetery on a fine autumn day.” Luciano de Crescenzo said ~ “We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” Photo #12 by Henning Mühlinghaus

Decaying memories

“One of the oldest graves I found,” wrote the photographer of Brugge cemetery in Belgium. “The face is completely decayed.” Photo #13 by Henning Mühlinghaus

grave tombstone Erosion of eternal love cemetery

Erosion of eternal love. While not angels, it clearly speaks of a love that transcends time. Photo #14 by Suvi Korhonen

Eternally missing you

Right: Eternally missing you. Left: Bereavement at Aachen, Ostfriedhof. Photo #15 by Paul-Henri S & #16 by Henning Mühlinghaus & #17 by By *cedro*

Italy angel in mourning

Italy angel in mourning. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” ~ Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism. Photo #18 by Ondablv

Black and white misery at Wuppertal, NRW, Germany cemetery

Black and white misery at Wuppertal, NRW, Germany. Photo #19 by Henning Mühlinghaus & #20 by Henning Mühlinghaus

Weeping Angel in the Fall

“The angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hand of God,” ~ quoted in The Angels’ Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994. Photo #21 by Denise O’Brien

Sleeping Angel

Sleeping Angel. Photo #25 by Ben Jeffrey

The Tomb Of Thomas Sayers - Bare Fist Fighter - Highgate London

Not everyone has such elaborate cemetery statues as they cost a small fortune, just like not everyone has an angel eternally keeping watch. The Tomb Of Thomas Sayers – “Bare Fist Fighter” in Highgate London has a hound guarding the grave. Photo #28 by Nick Garrod

Watching and waiting in graveyards

Watching and waiting in graveyards. Left: Venice. Right: Cincinnati – Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum “Civil War Soldier in Autumn.” Photo #29 by Thomas Lieser & #30 by David Ohmer

Revelation 1.18

The photographer called this, “Revelation 1.18 — I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Photo #31 by Carl Jones

Creepy looking tree in the Extra Mural Cemetery, Brighton

Creepy looking tree in the Extra Mural Cemetery, Brighton. Photo #32 by Paul (howzey)

Cincinnati - Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum

Cincinnati – Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum. “Dexter Mausoleum in a Tree Grip – Foggy Morning”. Photo #33 by David Ohmer

Reaper at spooky fog cloaked graveyard

Top left: Spooky fog cloaked graveyard: Bottom left: Reaper? Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France. Right: Reaper at Melaten cemetery Cologne. Photo #34 by hugovk & #35 by Alexander Boden & #36 by Leo Reynolds

Paris cemetery

Depressing monument at a Paris cemetery. Photo #37 by Valentina Costi

Surreal graves look fit for vampires

Surreal graves look fit for vampires. Photo #38 by Paul-Henri S

Highgate Cemetery in North London is full of old graves like this

“Forgotten as the stone endures forever. Highgate Cemetery in North London is full of old graves like this.” Photo #39 by James Hill

Detail of a grave at the Melaten Cemetery Cologne -- Dr. Leuffen

Detail of a grave at the Melaten Cemetery Cologne. “This one is highly remarkable because of it’s rich symbolism,” the photographer wrote. “I found it in Google: Dr. med Franz Leuffen is the author of a book concerning post-mortem examinations, written in the 1860s. Dr. Leuffen died in 1900.” Photo #40 by Henning Mühlinghaus

Mossy skull and crossbones at the Brugge cemetery, Belgium

If you were to choose, would want a creepy headstone like this mossy skull and crossbones at the Brugge cemetery, Belgium? Photo #41 by Henning Mühlinghaus

Graves lit by candles in Sweden on All Souls Day

Or not any specific gravestone, but remembered ‘forever’ in various ways such as these graves lit by candles in Sweden on All Souls Day? Photo #42 by Holger Motzkau

Hauntingly beautiful angels at cemeteries

Or would you regard your grave as less eternally eerie if it were to be marked by hauntingly beautiful angels? Photo #43 by massimo ankor & #44 by David Ohmer & #45 by Maciek



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