Images from the Library of Congress archives
31 Days of Halloween – October 15
A sad, wistful poem, from the midst of WWI, for today’s post. Hallow-E’en, 1915 Winifred M. Letts Will you come back to us, men of our hearts, to-night In the misty close of the brief October day? Will you leave the alien graves where you sleep and steal away To see the gables and eaves…
31 Days of Halloween – October 14
In the days before photography and when the vast majority of the population could not afford to have their portrait painted, there were limited ways to remember loved ones who’d passed on. The memento mori tradition most likely began with mourning rings, small bands that may have had the name of the deceased engraved inside. They quickly became more intricate.
31 Days of Halloween – October 13
This past weekend, I visited Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe and other local luminaries, including James McHenry (signer of the US Constitution and namesake of Fort McHenry), Philip Barton Key (son of Francis Scott Key), and Robert Smith (Secretary of the Navy, Secretary Of State, and Attorney…
31 Days of Halloween – October 12
Hollywood has made cemeteries seem scary, but really, they are lovely, peaceful places. It’s usually quiet and there are some fantastic pieces of art in the older ones. If they’re not too weathered, you can also read the epitaphs engraved on the stones. Sometimes it is only a name and a date, but often there…