Clancy Tucker's Blog: CEMETERIES

Showing posts with label CEMETERIES. Show all posts

30 September 2022 - CHISINAU JEWISH CEMETERY

CHISINAU JEWISH

CEMETERY

G'day folks,

In the outskirts of Moldova’s capital Chisinau, is a massive Jewish cemetery that lies in ruins.

A little known fact, even for Moldovans living in Chisinau, is that a large Jewish cemetery can be found in the city. In the end of the 19th century there was a large Jewish community of about in Chisinau, accounting for nearly half of the Jewish population of Bessarabia. It was one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in the region. But that would all change. Tensions grew in the city and led to a small pogrom in 1903 that resulted in the tragic deaths of over 40 Jewish citizens.

The 1930s marked the peak of Jewish life in Moldova. They had been granted citizenship in 1918 when Romania took control over Bessarabia and there were numerous Jewish schools and hospitals in the city. Unfortunately after 1941, around 147,000 Jewish Moldovans were deported to concentration camps, with a staggering 90,000 perishing.

By the end of the 19th century there were around 25,000 graves at the cemetery but it all fell into despair after WWII, with many of the structures being destroyed by bombing. Today much of it is covered by thick vegetation and a number of the graves don’t seem to have been visited for decades.

14 May 2022 - HEADSTONE-EATING TREES - USA

HEADSTONE-EATING

TREES

G'day folks,

Arlington National Cemetery is hallowed ground for the U.S. Armed Forces, with around 400,000 burials since 1864 representing every American war. The sprawling rows of white marble headstones and grassy lawns are shaded by more than 8,600 majestic trees. As a work of landscape architecture, the effect is inspiring.

But a few rogue trees are currently in the process of consuming some of the headstones. You can see it here and there in the older parts of the cemetery, where the marble markers are thickly embedded in the arboreal roots and stick out of the timber like stubby molars. Find A Grave puts the count at 11 afflicted markers, with most of the entombed having served in the Civil War, World War I, or World War II.

The headstone absorption is actually progressing much more rapidly than it would initially appear. The case of Corporal Chas Ippel is a prime example. Find a Grave has photos dated from 2008 that show the stone as relatively unmolested, with the inscribed text still clearly readable. However, as of September 2017, a nearby willow oak’s roots have expanded by inches and begun to absorb the grave. Now all that’s readable is “S IPPEL.” Anecdotal calculations suggest that the tree will eat another character from the inscription every year.

When the tree eventually dies, it will be interesting to see how authorities handle the embedded stone. Perhaps some future chainsaw-wielding arborist will be asked to wade into the solid timber in search of the lost marker.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... I spent hours walking around this hallowed ground when I worked in Washington DC.

I'm ...

17 November 2020 - DEAD CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND IN ALABAMA CEMETERY

DEAD CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND

IN ALABAMA CEMETERY

G'day folks,

If this isn’t one of the creepier things you’ll read today then you must lead a pretty scary life in general.

In the town of Huntsville, Alabama there is a cemetery called Maple Hills Cemetery. In this cemetery there is a children’s playground, if you know where to find it that is.

Hidden in a corner of the property is a place officially named “Drost Park”, or as it’s known to the locals, the “dead children’s playground”. The story behind this park is pretty creepy. Supposedly the souls of children are abundant in this place and paranormal activity is extremely common.

This is Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, AL. It looks like a pretty normal cemetery from this picture, headstones all neatly laid out in rows. It is actually the oldest cemetery in Alabama, being founded in 1822. It is also the largest cemetery in the state, encompassing over 100 acres of land.

Well if you know where to go, set deep back in the cemetery is a playground for young children. A solid canopy of branches over the park never allow much sunlight through, so the park always has an eerie feel about it. Three sides of the park are also surrounded by vertical cliff faces.

It’s said that after dark the playground is teeming with paranormal activity. People have set up cameras and claimed to have captured orbs in still shots that are said to be proof that ghosts roam the property. For decades, locals have reported strange phenomenon happening after dark on the playground such as the sounds of little children’s feet running through the park, dust being kicked up as though kids are running, kids laughing, and swings going back and forth all by themselves when there is absolutely no wind pushing them. Even though the old equipment is gone, the children still seem to enjoy their playtime in the park.

As the cemetery expanded, one night the playground equiptment was taken off the property by the city. The community felt such an attachment to this area that they quickly demanded that it be declared a protected area. It was declared as such, and new playground equipment was installed immediately.

This is where the story takes a turn. This field is directly to the right of the playground, and holds an extremely dark secret. Local legend has it that a serial child murder led a reign of terror in the town in the 40’s. He would dump the bodies in this field, and there are also multiple children buried close to the field at the edge of the cemetery across the road. Trails lead away from the field and into old mining shafts that the killer is said to have lived in.

Some locals try to avoid the place at all costs. Many have had some scary experiences here, and will advise anyone they can to stay away. Other more adventurous people though are drawn to the mystery that surrounds what was supposed to be an area of peace and tranquility for children, but turned out to possibly be a grave site for many of them.