Meet the “Oldest Depiction of a Ghost”, as appropriately awarded by Guinness World Records! This Ancient Mesopotamian clay tablet (approx. 2,500 years old) functioned as part of an exorcist manual for unwanted ghosts—a very real and common problem among Ancient Mesopotamians.

The tablet features a bearded male ghost who, the tablet tells us, was lonely and neglected in the afterlife and thus haunted the living. To appease him, he was offered food, libation, and a female companion who is seen guiding him on a lead back to the Netherworld.

This occurred because the ghost maintained certain needs required of their once living form, including feelings of “hunger, thirst, and the need for attention.” (Heinrich, 2024)

After someone passed away, it was believed that a proper burial would help to ensure that their ghost moved on peacefully to the Netherworld and stayed there... that is, so long as the living (ideally family) continued to acknowledge, honor, and care for them.

It is when this supply of sustenance stops that one might create an angry and restless ghost who could inflict headaches, disease… pretty much every illness under the sun unto the living.

As we can infer, before acquiring our current knowledge on germs and the human body, ghosts helped to explain such unfortunate facets of life.

To help avoid a haunting, intramural funerary chambers, such as family chambers constructed underneath one’s home, were implemented for ease of leaving offerings to avoid neglecting an ancestor spirit.

If the family left and were unable to take their dead with them, the next family to move in would likely care for them to also avoid a haunting.

This was important considering that, over time, such malevolent ghosts could eventually “become more or less demonic—the utukku demons.” (Scurlock, 2016) Similarly, communal cemeteries for the dead who had no one were placed on the outskirts and avoided like the plague for the neglected ghosts they housed.

But should one find themselves to be inflicted by a ghost, exorcists (like the one who sported this award-winning manual) and protective amulets were aplenty until they identified and appeased the spectral culprit!

Of course, none of this information is perfect—understanding such ancient textual evidence requires lengthy research, translation after translation, and educated guess work to fill in the blanks. Regardless, the information we have learned and surmised from such Ancient Mesopotamian artifacts is invaluable in helping us to better understand the ghost!

Sources:

Adrian Cornelius Heinrich, “Ghosts, Mesopotamia” Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2024

Dr. Irving Finkel, “The First Ghosts”, Hodder, 2021

JoAnn Scurlock, “Mortal and Immortal Souls, Ghosts and the (Restless) Dead in Ancient Mesopotamia” Religion Compass, 2016

You know that unshakeable feeling we all get from time to time that someone is right behind us? So we turn around, only to see that no one is there… Well, I bet someone was there. Is there. Because we are never really alone.

We all have ghosts—those of our family, friends, maybe even strangers we picked up along the way who stick to our presently living soul, guiding and observing. They follow us, whispering in our ears, tapping our shoulders, giving us that sensation of “being watched” while influencing us in ways we may not always pick up on. And no one can convince me otherwise.

A while back, I felt a sudden and strong urge to deep-clean the bathroom before leaving for work that day. I had been busy and severely neglected this chore, knowing that no one but me used this bathroom so it was fine at the moment. But I caved to the urge, deep-cleaned, and later that day a family member reached out and asked to come use my shower because their hot water wasn’t working. And I get it—I don’t want to take a cold shower either, and I like to think one of my own ghostly companions influenced my spur-of-the-moment cleaning to prepare me for an unexpected guest.

To offer up another personal anecdote, one of my small nephews nearly took a tumble down a set of basement stairs some years back. At the moment before the fall, however, the basement door swiftly shut entirely on its own. Was this the result of a strong and coincidentally targeted draft? Or a protective ghost looking our for the little one? I know where I stand.

I could go on and on with such circumstances: feeling compelled to call out of work and learning that the evil district manner came by that day, or leaving the house late and narrowly missing a car crash. Moreover, if in need of further reassurance for the presumed ghostly interventions at hand, I can reflect upon the mere fact that humans have believed in such phenomena for thousands of years.

In Ancient Rome, ancestor spirits known as lares familiares were believed to reside alongside us as guardians. In the British Isles, a whole host of spirits—human and inhuman—were believed to be present in the home as well. In fact, such ghosts are present in nearly every culture across space and time, many of which require offerings of food, drink, and words of praise to ensure their continued assistance and protection against misfortune. It makes me wonder what more I should be doing for my own ghosts…

While some may be uncomfortable with the idea of a phantom entourage, I happily welcome it, and I hope everyone reading this does as well. Who knows what other mishaps or embarrassments I have dodged thanks to them. (Seriously, time to go tell mine thank you and offer up some treats!)

Subscribe for more paranormal ponderings.

• JoAnn Scurlock, “Mortal and Immortal Souls, Ghosts and the (Restless) Dead in Ancient Mesopotamia”, Religion Compass, 2016

• Joshua J. Mark, “Ghosts in the Middle Ages”, World History Encyclopedia, 2019

• Rob Dunn, “What Are You So Scared of? Saber-Toothed Cats, Snakes, and Carnivorous Kangaroos - The evolutionary legacy of having been prey”, Slate, 2012

Books:

• Ann Braude, “Radical Spirits”, second ed., Indiana University Press, 2001

• Dr. Irving Finkel, “The First Ghosts”, Hodder, 2021

Videos and Lectures:

• Dr. Irving Finkel, “The First Ghost Stories”, Archaeology Now (YouTube), 2020

• Dr. Justin Sledge, “The Evolution of Ghosts”, Esoterica (YouTube), 2025

• Dr. Eleanor Janega, “Did People In The Medieval World Believe in Ghosts?, History Hit (YouTube), 2024

Project Gutenberg - Pliny the Younger Letters to Licinius Sura (LXXXIII) https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2811/2811-h/2811-h.htm#link2H_4_0083

This podcast is researched, hosted, edited, and produced by Ivy Boyd.

The statue of a woman stares vacantly at you through weathered glass - her gaze is sharp against her soft, stone features as the sun highlights the curvature of her eyes. She stands at the head of a grave in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, but this is not where she is buried. Instead, she marks the grave of Herman Luyties: a man who grew so infatuated with her (a young voluptuous model he met in Italy) that he hired the renowned sculptor Giulio Monteverde to create a statue in her likeness. Not only did he keep this statue in the home he shared with his wife, but he also requested, upon his death, that she be moved to the cemetery with him. Now, she stands before him as he lays in his everlasting rest.

Or so the story goes... This popular cemetery tale of the “Girl in the Shadowbox” makes the rounds every so often, but could it really be true? There isn’t much to go on, but we do have newspaper printings of his death which give glimpses into the statues true origin:

On October 14, 1921 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article titled “Statue of grief for grave in predicament.” The sub-headline read “Lack of funds for pedestal prevents removal of Luyties’ mortgaged marble figure.” This article references the apparent financial struggle Luyties underwent to finance the removal of the statue from his home to be relocated at Bellefontaine, costing an approximate $20,000. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $327,000 today.

The same article states that the artist who sculpted it was actually Federico Bringiotti, a different sculptor from Italy who was inspired by one of Monteverde’s most famous works, located in the Genoa cemetery and known as the “Monteverde Angel”. This angelic statue was first created in 1882 and has become one of the worlds most recreated images in funerary art.

According to the aforementioned article, Luyties did spend a good deal on his own version of the statue, costing about $4,300 total: $2,600 to carve, and another $1,700 to transport it to St. Louis. (Adjusted for inflation, that is over $68,000 today.) The foundations in his home were also reinforced for its temporary storage, but finances would wear thin for Luyties, and moving the hefty item to his families grave site would prove difficult. He had planned on having others use his life insurance money to have the statue moved after his death, but the funds had to be placed elsewhere. In 1922, the sale of Luyties company would eventually fund the moving of the statue to his grave (where other members of his family reside) where it still sits today.

The creepy legend I previously shared really begins to fall apart as we look more into the supposed model herself. Many researchers believe that the young model in question was Lola Mora, a woman who studied under Monteverde - possibly being the muse behind the Monteverde Angel. Mora was born in 1866, and Luyties 1871, making her older than Luyties. This detail doesn’t quite match with the account of Luyties falling in love with a “younger” model. Mora and Luyties were both in Italy in 1899 as she studied under Monteverde, so it is possible that they crossed paths. Perhaps Herman was in love with her, or perhaps he (like many others) was simply infatuated with the Monteverde Angel and it’s somewhat seductive image...

Angel statues are typically modest and simple in their anatomy and posing, but some find the stance of the Monteverde Angel to have an alluring nature: the way the contours of her bellybutton can be seen through the detailing of the fabric which clings tightly to her body is atypical for a depiction of an angel, alongside her hip which pops out. The posing of her arms across her chest is also out of character for other angels - her hand positioned under her chin, which is angled down, adds further to her allure. It very well may be that Luyties was merely taken with the imagery of this popular statue, while not romantically in love with the woman who it may have been modeled after who he might have briefly met.

It is also possible that no real woman ever posed for this statue, as some artists didn’t have the need for a live model. Others might use a model briefly for the initial base carving, but take creative freedoms in the actual features and details as the carving progresses. In short, the Monteverde Angel, which Luyties statue is nearly identical too and clearly replicating, may not be based on a real woman for him to have fallen in love with.

The odd (and moderately unsettling) “romantic” tale of the married Luyties proposing to a young model, whom he commissioned an entire statue to be carved in her likeness to mark his grave, was likely a later invention which can be traced back to the book Tales of Bellefontaine written by Carol Shepley. The source for this story was reportedly a groundskeeper who claimed it was orally passed down in his family. But the details and timelines which don’t match up, alongside the many other nearly identical sculptures of the Monteverde Angel seen across the world (and which is regarded as a masterpiece in neoclassical religious art) alludes to the truth behind this story being that Luyties simply fell in love with this funerary art trend, having wanted one of these statues for his own families cemetery plot. Maybe he did find the figure attractive, but the infatuation was likely no deeper than that.

I have visited this marvelous statue twice for myself, and have personally reached out to Bellefontaine Cemetery via email about further information, proof, and sources behind this story. In their response, they stated that they, too, have researchers tracking down the history of this statue and will be correcting any misinformation on their website sometime in the future.

Resources used:

• Herman Luyties, Bellefontaine Cemetery

• Beth O’Malley, Oct. 14, 1921: ‘Statue of grief for grave in predicament:’ Luyties’ statue nearly placed at his grave, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2023

• Biography of Dr. Herman C. G. Luyties, Access Genealogy

• Herman Carl George Luyties, Find A Grave

• Herman C. G. Luyties (Obituary), Missouri Gravestones

• Giulio Monteverde, Wikipedia

• Monteverde Angel, Wikipedia

• Lola Mora, Wikipedia

The advancement of our understanding of the human body is a good thing, and a lot of people donate their bodies to science for this reason—to give the pro’s more stock to study and learn from. But it’s not all sunshine and roses.

Let’s use “George”, shown above, as an example:

George is a retired medical specimen from the Independent Order of Odd Fellows - a fraternal organization who used skeletons to represent morality to its members.

Studies indicate that most early medical specimens were essentially grave robbed from the disenfranchised. (Jaime K. Ginter Origins of the Odd Fellows Skeletal Collection: Exploring Links to Early Medical Training) This typically included the poor, immigrants, the enslaved, and our indigenous people.

Heinous enough as this is, one of many influences fueling the need for bones is far more grim: to compare the bones of various racial identities to those of the white man. In doing so, and with the help of some serious mental gymnastics and disproven pseudosciences, they aimed to justify their belief in racial superiority.

In Colonizing the Indigenous Dead, author Margaret M. Bruchac puts it best when she notes that, regarding this effect on our indigenous people in particular, “Skewed representations do more than merely distort the past; they interfere with human rights in the present, when the ‘archaeologizing’ of the dead is implicated in the political vanishing of the living.”

The moral of this story is that today, those in the human bone trade utilize the words “ethically sourced” to justify this trade through noting that the bones are retired medical specimens. But a look at this history will show you that even retired medical specimens can be far from ethical, having been grave robbed in pursuit of white supremacist agendas.

No one needs the human bones of the grave robbed in their collection. Under some circumstances, they can feasibly remain ethically on display (or safely stored away) in proper educational settings, with some of my own friends who own such remains having bought them at miscellaneous markets out of fear of someone else buying them with ill intent. (For example, human bone art has a market wherein artists turn bones into wearable accessories. I have thoughts on this I will save for another day.)

Debates are ongoing even among experts about what to do with such bones. Would labels stating their identity or true origin suffice? Is repatriation possible? Should they be reburied? I would argue yes for the latter two, with exceptions being made if they offer something truly historically or medically invaluable. Although there are certainly nuances here in need of further exploration.

Book description: “When he became an undertaker, Rupert Callender undertook to deal with the dead for the sake of the living. What Remains? is the brilliant, unforgettable story of the life and work of the world's first punk undertaker - but it is also a book about ordinary, everyday humanity and our capacity to face death with courage and compassion. To say goodbye to the people we love in our own way.”

Pro tip: Don’t read this book around others unless you are ok with public crying and break-downs! (But in a good, emotionally productive, deeply meaningful way.)

As an aspiring mortuary archaeologist, understanding todays funerary industry, undertaking, and how we grieve our dead is something I have been familiarizing myself with in order to better my future approach to dealing with the dead hands-on. And boy, did this book deliver… and then some.

My eyes were pried WIDE open to the harsh realities of the predatory nature of the modern funerary industry. I was entirely ignorant to the extent of the issues within the field of tending to human death, and the information Callender delivered unto his readers feels sacred and precious to me. I didn’t expect to leave its pages as a newly radical thinker in regard to how we approach funerals today, but here I am, 30 years old, re-thinking what I want for my own funeral someday and the funerals of those I love.

From cheap fake handles on vastly over-priced coffins, to plumes of awful chemicals used in embalming drifting into the air we breath during the constant daily world-wide cremations. Not to mention how we bury the dead so deep that the natural process of decay does not benefit or enrich the soil so much, as has always been part of the circle of our crazy, wild life. (As it turns out, the whole “6 feet under” thing is kind of silly and, at times, pointless.)

Callender brings us personal stories of families actually able to spend time with their dead for hours prior to burial—camping out in sleeping bags around a large ritualistic bonfire under the stars, their loved one just feet away in a natural wicker coffin, allowing for frequent visits and reflections in the final, intimate moments before burial. Moments which we deserve. Moments which help many in their grief. Moments which the modern industry often doesn’t allow for. Get the dead in and get them in the ground. Onto the next body, and repeat.

I could go on and on and on, but at the risk of spoiling too much, I will refrain from diving in further. But if the few words I have typed thus far are speaking to something hidden within you (as the words on the pages did to me) I highly recommend giving this book a read!

Have you read this book? Drop your thoughts below, or suggest a similar read!

More and more cemeteries are hosting events for profit—art fairs, picnics, movie nights, small concerts, and headstone cleaning classes just to name a few. Some even go so far as to curate gift shops and museums to accompany the rise in foot traffic. But is profiting off of the deceased and their burial grounds… immoral? Should we be supporting this?

Yes, we should. No, it’s not immoral. Let me explain…

Cemetery owners need money. Point blank. Funds are typically obtained through government grants, non-profits, or donors which not only supports the owners financially (we all have bills to pay) but also any hired staff they rely on.

If the cemetery is still offering space for new burials, you need people who can either manually dig or operate machinery utilized for this task. Furthermore, there is the machinery used to lower coffins and caskets into the ground. Other mundane duties also need hands to perform them: the set-up and take-down of canopies, the coffin stand or table, chairs for the bereaved, fake turf… these are jobs which are easy to by-pass in our minds, especially for those who have attended your standard funeral: you arrive at the cemetery, everything is set up, your loved one is buried, and you leave.

Beyond this, all cemeteries—even those which are old and defunct with no active burials—still need landscapers who can mow often which, in a cemetery, can be tedious and delicate work. Navigating headstones greatly slows down this chore, with the integrity of grave markers, ideally, being kept in mind. But even the most patient and gentle hands cannot hold back the ravages time can have on the headstones, mausoleums, and monuments which decorate these gardens of stone.

When gravestones topple, crumble, and deteriorate, the buried are at risk of abandonment with nothing left to mark who they are, where they are, or both. (That is, unless physical or digital records exist.) Most cemetery owners do their best to perform headstone maintenance and repairs themselves, but if not, this is yet another task which they must either pay someone to do, or find trained volunteers to do.

Herein lies the end of many of our historic cemeteries: the owners, whether it be the local government or a private entity, like a church, do not have the means to care for everything themselves. They lack funds to hire others, and they cannot find free labor. The grounds fall into disrepair and become an “eye-sore” as I so often see it described as in records for old cemeteries which no longer exist. The plot of land will either lay abandoned, or the dead are relocated and the plot sold for re-development.

No one likes the idea of their loved ones being disturbed and removed from what was supposed to be their final resting place. There is also the risk of unmarked graves which lack documentation being left behind, only to be discovered, for example, if the ground is ripped up to be used for the building new store fronts, apartments, a parking lot, or what have you. (You know that scene in Poltergeist where heavy rains expose the graves the home was built upon? Yeah, it’s kind of like that, but without the Hollywood-esque haunting.)

I hope that my point here has become clear: cemeteries need funds, and if they don’t have them, we might lose them.

Some cemeteries across the US have utilized creative monetary avenues in order to receive the funds they so desperately need. Hosting art fairs on the grounds not only brings in money by charging booth rental fees, but the venders, who are often small local businesses, are also being advertised and supported. (A real win-win!)

Small concerts and movie nights with projectors are another option, alongside the development of gift shops or museums for historic cemeteries aiming to bring in more visitors. Not only does this help to preserve their history, but again, it is a chance for sales and acquiring funds. If you are curious, common merch I have seen at cemetery gift shops I have personally visited includes tee shirts, tote bags, lapel pins, or even cemetery honey!

Yes—thats right—honey harvested in cemeteries. Why? Because a lot of cemeteries also double as registered arboretums, flower gardens, and public parks, a tradition made popular by the Victorians who, quite literally, designed cemeteries to function as public spaces of enjoyment. Shade trees, shrubbery, and flowers naturally attract critters and insects, like bees, with some cemeteries harvesting the honey to sell it because… why not? Bees need our help, cemeteries need our help, another big win-win if you ask me!

I could go on and on, and there is also the point to be made that we, in this current era, have lost a closeness with death which humans have lived with since our earliest beginnings. Communities would mourn and show love for their dead with annual celebrations, giving offerings of feasts and honoring the lives which used to be with them, but who now walk the spirit realm. Some cultures even take these celebrations to the burial sites themselves, or will exhume the dead to see them once more.

I am not saying we need to be digging up grandma and grandpa every year here in the US, but seeing how other cultures view death/the dead really puts our current sterile attitude into perspective. Today, people tend to view cemeteries as drab, depressing, sad, and untouchable. But put yourselves in the shoes of the dead: would you rather no one sees your grave, reads your name, or brings you flowers ever again? Having been lost to overgrown weeds and forgotten records. Or would you rather have visitors who admire your headstone, gently brushing off debris, picking up litter, laying flowers or other gifts atop your grave as they enjoy the beautiful nature around you?

If you made it to the end of this post, I applaud your patience in my long-winded, passionate explanation for why cemeteries are hosting events and selling merchandise for-profit, and why I believe that this is a good (and often necessary) thing.

I will end with some very important rules to keep in mind if you find yourself wanting to frequent cemeteries or attend events being hosted by them: always be mindful of graves, respect their space, and keep an eye out for any active mourning or funerals taking place. So long as these are being respected, go support your local cemetery!

Here is a quick list I have put together of some cemeteries hosting events and selling merchandise (which I will try to update over time) but feel free to list more in the comments below:

Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home and Cemetery in Seattle, WA is part of the Catacomb Bee Collective

Forest Home Cemetery and Arboretum in Milwaukee, WI hosts bees and works with Fairy Garden Hives to produce a line called Silent Hill Honey.

Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, PA has been a trailblazer in maintaining the Victorian attitude of utilizing cemetery grounds for events, which you can view on their websites calendar.

Union Cemetery in Kansas City, MO hosts of a number of events, including a spring and fall Bazaar, alongside their own gift shop, a display of antique toys and jewelry found by metal detectorists, and they also offer classes for headstone cleaning.

Book description: “An anthropologist working with forensic teams and victims’ families to investigate crimes against humanity in Latin America explores what science can tell us about the lives of the dead in this haunting account of grief, the power of ritual, and a quest for justice.”

This sorrowfully eye-opening read by Alexa Hagerty takes us on a journey through her experience exhuming and studying human remains behind a genocides in Guatemala and Argentina. Many of which were innocent civilians, including children and babies…

In this book, Alexa, an anthropologist who studies science, technology, and human rights, helps to identify causes of death and specific war crimes committed against civilians. Some of the dead were found with rope still tied around their boney wrists—others showed signs of blunt-force trauma or bullet holes which allude to mass execution-style murders. Some bones even help identify the dead, having been marked by their daily actions—one skeleton was that of a weaver, as was evident through the unusual shape of her toes from kneeling in front of a loom most of her life. (It makes me wonder what marks I may be leaving on my own bones.)

Identifying remains and piecing together the atrocities of genocide aren’t the only goals in Alexa’s work, alongside the many others carrying on this important duty. In finding and identifying these human remains, they, in-turn, might reunite the missing dead with their families, offering funeral rights to take place and easing in a sense of closure after decades of wondering what happened to their loves ones. Alexa points out that psychologists have observed how the lack of a body can almost freeze the grieving process, keeping loved ones in a limbo of sorts until they receive the dreaded, but necessary, confirmation they have been waiting for: that the body has been found.

Ritual is another key theme throughout this book, with Alexa noting that “anthropologists have long considered funerals to be among the most stable and enduring rituals.” Continuing with this theme, she makes an interesting observation likening the act of arranging bones in their anatomical order to a type of ritual in and of itself: “Arranging the bones in anatomical order… isn’t necessary from a scientific point of view after analysis in the lab… But it is done at many inhumations where the team, family, and community work together, combining elements of forensics and funerals to create something new.” Furthermore, Alexa makes a connection between archaeological sites and funerals themselves, concluding that “exhumations don’t just allow funeral rituals; they are funeral rituals.”

Overall, this book showed me a side of forensic anthropology (and adjacent focuses of study) I was ignorant to, highlighting just how impactful this work can be. And on that same note, just how dangerous it can be. Alexa recounts the threats made against forensic anthropologists and archaeologists who seek these mass graves—some of which have even lost their lives in the pursuit of finding and identifying victims and the war crimes committed against them.

It may be easy to finish this book with tear-stained pages and a heart filled with an overwhelming sense of despondency… Although the first may be true, I have found myself instead having been filled with admiration for Alexa’s work, to which I commend her and others in this field. It offers a sense of hope that despite the cruelty which is ever-present in this world, especially in the hands of the political, criminal, and powerful, there are souls willing to put their own livelihoods on the line not just to help the living, but to give peace to the dead.

Have you read this book? Drop your thoughts below, or suggest a similar read!

A walk through your local cemetery will bring you an array of symbols carved into stone. You may find yourself asking “why is that there?” or “what does it mean?”

Here is a list I have compiled of the most common symbols you might find in a cemetery and what they represent, bearing in mind that meaning varies regionally and can evolve over time.

Feel free to copy and paste this into your notes app, or screenshot to save for your next cemetery visit!

• Acorn: Independence, power, prosperity.

• Anchor: A sailor and/ or the Navy, hope, Christ as their '“anchor”.

• Angel and Cherubs: Heaven/a guide to heaven, spiritual protection. Cherubs specifically are often used for graves of infants and children.

• Anvil and/or Hammer: Blacksmithing.

• Archway/Gateway: Victory over death, the entryway into heaven.

• Bow and Arrow: Mortality, martyrdom, present among graves of Odd Fellows.

• Beehive: Abundance, hierarchy in community, present among graves of Odd Fellows, Free Masons, and Mormons. Also common on German-American graves.

• Bell: Faith. When held by a hand, it can represent the “death bell” rung to signal a death or the start of a funeral.

• Bench: Quiet reflection, remembrance, a place for mourners to rest.

• Bird: Peace, purity, resurrection, spirituality, the flight of the soul.

• Boat: Journey, refuge and safety.

• Bones: Death.

• Book: The Bible, Book of Life, or may represent the lifetime and/or accomplishments of the deceased.

• Burning flame: Eternal life, resurrection.

• Butterfly: Resurrection, cycle of life, flight of the soul. Can represent children and be found on their headstones.

• Candle: Life.

• Celtic cross: Faith, eternity.

• Chains: Usually seen in rings of three as used by the Odd Fellows. Broken chains can also represent death of a loved one.

• Chalice: Holy communion, the Eucharist, the Holy Grail. Seen often on graves of priests, rectors, or other holy men.

• Circle: Eternity, the cycle of life.

• Clock: Time—in the sense of the scale of life. It may be positioned at the hour of death for the deceased.

• Clouds: Heaven.

• Clover: Irish ancestry, 4H affiliations. Three leaves may represent the Holy Trinity, four leaves may represent luck.

• Column: Unbroken represents a full life lived. Broken represents a sudden death or life cut short.

• Corn: Farming, abundance.

• Cross: Faith, resurrection, used often on military graves from World War I. When slanted/leaning, it might be the Portate Cross or the cross of St. Gilbert.

• Crown: Victory, royalty. Paired with a cross inside, it signifies glory of the afterlife, resurrection, and victory with Christ over death.

• Curtains: Veil between life and death.

• Daffodil: Rebirth and new life, hope, love.

• Dove: Love, peace, purity, innocence, the Holy Spirit, flight of the soul to heaven.

• Dragonfly: Transformation, joy, a closeness with nature. In some Native American beliefs, can represent human spirits.

• Eagle: Military, patriotism, often seen on graves from the Civil War-era.

• Eye: With rays of light and/or a pentacle or triangle, it is the All Seeing Eye (of God) used by the Freemasons.

• Ferns/Evergreens: Humility, longevity, faithfulness, remembrance.

• Finger (Pointed Hand): Pointing down represents God’s hand reaching for their soul (usually a sudden death) while pointing up represents the pathway to heaven.

• Fish: Spiritual nourishment, faith, seen often on Christian graves.

• Fruit: Eternal abundance.

• Garland: Remembrance, victory over death. The type of flora can have additional meaning.

• Grapevine: Prosperity, Christ.

• Grim Reaper: Death.

• Handshake/Clasped Hands: Farewell, the souls welcoming to heaven, meeting in heaven someday. Common for married couples, with cuffs indicating one is a man and one is a woman.

• Harp: Hope, worship/instrument of the angels, Irish heritage and resilience. A broken string can symbolize the human life which has ended.

• Heart: Bliss, love, devotion.

• Hexagon: Harmony, natural order. If it contains “333” and “777” it represents The Knights of Tabor and/or their family—an African American fraternal organization.

• Hourglass: Death, the swift passing of time.

• IHS: The first three letters of the Greek name for Jesus, seen often on Christian graves.

• Ivy: Eternal life, undying love.

• Key: Universal access, opportunity, entry into Heaven. Two crossed keys are often the Key’s of Heaven or Key’s of St. Peter.

• Lamb: Innocence, often used for infant or child graves.

• Laurel: Triumph over death, triumph.

• Lily: Purity, chastity, fidelity, innocence. Popular on Victorian-era headstones to represent the innocent status of the deceased.

• Lyre: Harmony, music, poetry, worship, . Like the harp, a broken string can also symbolize the death of the individual. Japanese graves in North American often feature the lyre, as it is similar to the biwa and koto instruments which hold cultural significance.

• Masonic Square and Compass: Free Masons - representing honesty, fairness, and self-restraint.

• Moon: Renewal and new life, Islam. As a crescent with a crown of stars or alongside a sun, it can represent the Virgin Mary. The Daughters of Rebekah (in relation to the Odd Fellows) also utilize the moon with seven stars to signify order, nature, and regularity.

• Myrtle Leaves: Undying love, peace, often found on Jewish graves.

• Oak Leaves: Faith, virtue, strength, endurance.

• Obelisk: Rebirth, a connection between earth and heaven.

• Oil Lamp: Biblical reference, light-bringing, truth and knowledge.

• Olive Tree/Branch: Peace, forgiveness from God.

• Ouroboros: The cycle of life—death and re-birth.

• Pentagram/Pentacle: The five wounds of Christ, five human virtues, five elements of earth. Often seen on Free Mason graves, and their sister organization The Order of the Eastern Star. Rarely, they identify graves of pagans, witches, Wiccans, or Satanists.

• Period: A period at the end of a name can indicate that the individual was the last of their bloodline.

• Pillow: Eternal sleep, peaceful rest.

• Pyramid: Eternal life, enlightenment, resurrection.

• PX (Chi-Rho): Two Greek letters for Christ,

• Rose: Love, beauty, remembrance, a mothers grave. Two intertwined roses might symbolize a strong bond, such as marriage. A fully bloomed rose can represent a long life lived, whereas a rose bud might represent an early death. A snapped stem means the death was sudden and unexpected.

• Scroll: Honor, mortality, the unrolling of time, sacred scripture.

• Scythe: Death, a life cut short, the “final harvest”.

• Shield: Often part of a crest, or a simplified version of a families coat of arms.

• Skull: Mortality. With feathered wings, it represents the fleeting nature of life and the flight of the soul to heaven. Bat-like wings can represent misfortune and death from a terrible disease.

• Star of David/Six-Point Star: Judaism, various occult affiliations.

• Swallow: Motherhood, consolation, the spirit of children.

• Sword: Military. Crossed swords can represent having died in battle.

• Thistle: Scottish descent.

• Torches: Burning upside down, it represents eternal life and the deceased who’s soul (the flame) still carries on. It can also signify the end of the family line.

• Tree: Life, frailty, knowledge, the fall of man through sin. Tree stumps can represent a life cut short, or the graves of Woodmen of America/Woodmen of the World.

• Triquetra: Trinity, unity, The Holy Trinity.

• Trumpet: Resurrection of soul as it enters heaven.

• Tudor Rose: English descent.

• Urn: Death of the flesh, immortality, the soul, penitence.

• Wheat: A long life lived, abundance, farming, or (as the primary ingredient in communion wafers) it can mark the grave of a Christian.

• Wheel: Cycle of life.

• Willow Tree: Mourning and grief, life, death, longevity, resilience, resurrection of the soul.

• Wreath of Flowers: Heavenly joy, bliss. The type of flora can have additional meaning.

Have I missed one? Comment below and I will update the list!

Researched and written by Ivy Brandine Boyd, a WSU anthropology student with a particular interest in burials and paranormal beliefs.