Initial Thoughts

                Growing up in the generation of R.L. Stine and Are You Afraid of the Dark, I grew up under the notion that cemeteries were to be feared. Immediately upon entering a cemetery, you would be surrounded by ghosts and various other bump-in-the-night creatures that wanted nothing more than to have you “join” them in their supernatural form.  About the time I was twelve, it was passed around on the school bus that you should never breathe while passing a cemetery, because you would breathe in the souls of the dead and become possessed. We passed a very large cemetery on the way to school. Would I be able to hold my breath the whole time? What would happen if I took a tiny gasp of air? Maybe then only a baby ghost could possess me. After a few weeks of several of us turning blue on the bus, I decided I had had enough. The next time we passed this cemetery, I made it a point to take giant gulps of air the whole time, while my fellow bus riders looked on in horror. As soon as we cleared the cemetery, I turned to them and said in my best demonic voice, “Hello,” and dissolved in a fit of laughter. When the initial shock died down, and everyone realized I wasn’t really possessed, it became a game. Every day after passing the cemetery, we would all take the persona's of those we thought were buried there.

                My breath-holding bus buddies and I were pulled in by the general “creepiness” of the cemetery idea. We couldn’t help it. Most of us are at least a little scared by the thought of death. I think I will always be kind of weird-ed out by cemeteries. Where did we get this idea to dig a hole for the dead, and then cover them with dirt and cement?

                Of course, as we grow, our thoughts and perceptions of things change. In thinking about the questions that this course raises, such as “Why do we have cemeteries?”  and “What purpose do cemeteries serve?” I have reached a two-fold conclusion. First, I believe that cemeteries exist so we feel that we will be remembered. In the grand scheme of things, we are on earth for a very brief amount of time. We want our lives to mean something; we want to know that we made an impact on this world. Secondly, they serve as place where those who have lost a loved one can go and remember who the person was to them. Cemeteries are not for the dead, they are for the living.

                 Cemeteries are a collection of monuments meant to represent people’s lives. Epitaphs and symbols are carved into headstones and are there to memorialize the people buried beneath them. They are cryptic to those who do not have knowledge of the person. Personally, I feel like it is like looking at a page of someone’s diary that I have never met. It gives a brief glimpse into their life, but what does it really mean? Only those who are acquainted with the person will know the true meaning.

                Although cemeteries may never lose that “creepy” quality for me, I am still fascinated by them. I want more information. How did they die? Who remembers them? What does this mean? Who was this person? There are many mysteries waiting to be uncovered. I want to read the whole diary, not just a page.