http://www.jazjaz.net/2009/04/40-hauntingly-beautiful-photographs-taken-in-graveyards.html
40 Hauntingly Beautiful Photographs Taken In Graveyards
Last week, I spent a few pleasurably-languid hours reading Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book.” Gaiman’s wonderful tale of a young boy – Nobody Owens – who is nurtured and protected by the ghostly denizens of a graveyard, transported me into another world, and made me contemplate about life, death and the afterlife.
I had experienced the same feelings once before. That was while reading Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death.”
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then ’tis centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity. (Lines 13-20)
Graveyards are oases of tranquility in this chaotic world. They are places where some people finally find – in Earth’s welcoming bosom – the peace and solitude they craved for their entire lives. Is there really an afterlife? No one really can tell for sure. But it sure would be great if there were one.
Here are a few images inspired by the evocative imagery that Gaiman conjures up in his book. All the images were released under various Creative Commons Licenses by their photographers.
Image Credit: Denise O’ Brien
Image Credit: Smitty
Image Credit: Robert Catalano
Image Credit: Suzanna
Image Credit: Lucid Nightmare
Image Credit: Howzey
Image Credit: Sidereal
Image Credit: Casch52
Image Credit: Brandy Buck
Image Credit: Elephi Pelephi
Image Credit: Laura Burlton
Image Credit: Frederik M
Image Credit: Carl Jones
Image Credit: Onkel Wart
Image Credit: E3000
Image Credit: Hugovk
Image Credit: Snake Eyes
Image Credit: Bildungsr0man
Image Credit: Dizzy Girl
Image Credit: John Althouse Cohen
Image Credit: Sighthound
Image Credit: Rachel Sian
Image Credit: Shots at Random
Image Credit: Anders B.
Image Credit: Hugovk
Image Credit: Carl Jones
Image Credit: Mike Boehmer
Image Credit: La Cola De Mi Perro
Image Credit: Casch52
Image Credit: Orvaratli
Image Credit: Carl Jones
Image Credit: Andrew Lee
Image Credit: Autumn Sonata
Image Credit: Stuck in Customs
Image Credit: Sabriirmak
Image Credit: Zoriah
Image Credit: Remuz
Image Credit: Autumn Sonata
Image Credit: Lucid Nightmare
Update: Mark VanderJagt sent in this great photo that he took last fall in Denver, Colorado.
