July 2020 - These Curious Times

Review
In The Boneyard: History and Horror of America’s Haunted Graveyards
Troy Taylor
Death is the final mystery. We
have feared and worshipped it since
the beginning of time. All of us have
contemplated the mystery of demise,
and we all wonder – no matter our
beliefs – what will happen to us after
we die. Some believe we are born
again in a new body with an old soul,
others believe our spirits pass on to
another place – or perhaps remain
behind as ghosts. The mystery of death
has forced us to create rituals and
practices to deal with and immortalize
it with cemeteries, grave markers, and
of course, with dark and frightening
legends and lore – usually involving
ghosts.
But what makes a spirit linger
behind in a cemetery? Nearly every
ghost enthusiast will profess that
a place becomes haunted after a
traumatic event or an unexpected
death. We may understand why a
spirit might linger at home or other
locations where they lived, but why
a cemetery, which appears to be the
final destination before we leave this
world and journey onto the next?
Graveyard ghosts seem to be
a different sort of spirit than what
might be found hanging around a
haunted house. These ghosts seem to
be connected to the cemetery in a way
that has nothing to do with events
that occurred during their lifetime.
The restless spirits found in graveyards
linger because of events that occurred
after their deaths instead of before.
Eternal rest eludes them in the place
where they physical remains were
placed, disturbed by things like grave
robbery, desecration, unmarked or
forgotten graves, natural disasters, or
worse.
In his latest book, author Troy
Taylor delves into our fears of death,
graveyards, and what might be
waiting for us beyond the grave. In
the Boneyard: History and Horrors of
America’s Haunted Graves, is a crosscountry
trip to the most haunted
cemeteries and burial grounds in
America, with detours along the way
to pick up stories of ghosts, cemetery
curses, and vanishing hitchhikers.
In the Boneyard, however, is not
just a book about haunted places. Taylor
also explores the traditions behind our
funeral and cemetery customs and a
history of how graveyards in America
came about. Additionally, the reader
will need to brace themselves for tales
of forbidden and forgotten places,
premature burials, grave robbery,
desecrations, haunted cemetery art,
a history of American vampires, and
a myriad of lingering spirits that are
sure to chill the reader’s blood, if with
the lights on.
This book is filled with
nightmarish stories that seem to be
too good to be true – but, they aren’t.
They are not tales from fiction, but
authentic accounts from the dark side
of American history, including the true
story of Resurrection Mary - one of the
most famous cemetery phantoms of
all time.
This collection of unsettling tales
of boneyard ghosts and specters is
Taylor’s most chilling work yet. He
explores favorite tales and reveals a
few mysteries of haunted cemeteries
that have thus far eluded him. If there
is any book that will have you “whistling
past the graveyard” as you walk home
at night, it’s In the Boneyard: History
and Horrors of America’s Haunted
Graves!
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