scary cemeteries- the largest concentrations of people who have nothing to do with life. What could be more terrifying? And I know that: the photos of these places are real horror stories about cemeteries that are spread by legends all over the world.

1. Parisian catacombs, France

On the one hand, it is a tourist attraction, which you can easily get to by visiting the capital of France. On the other hand, there is an open cemetery. Open, I chose this word not by chance, because the skeletons and skulls of the dead are stacked one on top of the other, forming a wall.

In the overall standings, a person can see the remains of more than 6 million people underground. Not at all surprising are the numerous stories of those who saw moving clots of light, heard groans, human voices that spoke in an unfamiliar language. Esotericists claim that this is the most powerful place for the accumulation of otherworldly forces in Europe. I will write a separate, more detailed post about the catacombs, therefore, fix the address of my blog in the memory of your browser.

2. Prague Jewish Cemetery, Czech Republic

One of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the world. From the outside, it looks more like a tombstone dump. The burial place of the Jews is located in the Josef quarter in Prague. It is officially recorded that the last burial was carried out here in 1787, but not because then someone forbade burial, but because there was simply nowhere to put the corpses.

The fact is that according to documents, there are 12 thousand graves here, and more than 100 thousand people rest underground. This became possible due to the multi-storey burial, which indicates the location of several deceased at once in one small grave.

Cemetery overseers claim that at night there are healthy man can not. The plates begin to glow. Scientists claim that it's just the glow of phosphorus, which is released from the remains of the skeletons of people. Ordinary people are sure that these are ghosts. How to explain the groans and cries of pain, which are also heard at night, scientists do not yet know.

3. Recoleta, Argentina

Scary cemeteries are those that inspire horror. But in Buenos Aires, a real scary story about a cemetery rather inspires darkness. The thing is that this place is considered almost the main tourist attraction here. Previously, only rich people of Argentina were buried here, which is noticeable from the monuments, which are valuable pieces of art of their time.

But here also rests the body of the Lady in White, or, according to reports, Rufina Cambacérès. The girl was of extraordinary beauty during her lifetime, but the case shackled her body into a medical coma. Given the little medical knowledge at the time about such a physical condition, Rufina was buried alive. She came to her senses when she was already walled up with a concrete slab, started screaming and calling for help. By the time the coffin with her body was opened, she had already suffocated from lack of air and was buried again.

The cemetery guard, who dreamed of receiving the honor of being buried next to Rufina, walled himself up in the grave next to the girl, and thus was martyred. Many saw the image of Rufina between the monuments of the cemetery, she walks between the graves and suffocates, begging to get her out of the ground. And behind her is the same guard who makes sure that the ghosts also keep order.

4. Bachelor's Grove, USA

Chicago is famous not only for its musicals, but also for the legendary "Bachelor's Cemetery". If you are looking for scary cemeteries, then you should try this place. The guards, who are replaced here almost every month, tell real scary stories about the cemetery.

One day, the Chicago authorities decided to conduct an experiment here. From different sides of the cemetery, they put a new employee and gave him a voice recorder, into which he was ordered to dictate everything he saw, even if it went beyond common sense. How surprised everyone involved in such an experiment was when 4 law enforcement officers who did not know each other told in their notes about what they saw at the same time of the night: about a woman with a child in her arms, about the sound of a passing harnessed carriage, and also about monks who walked around the cemetery three times with candles in their hands, constantly whispering words in an unfamiliar language.

5. Ganges, India

“What does the river have to do with it?”, you rightly notice. But this is the largest cemetery in India, because until today the Hindus have a tradition of burying the bodies of the dead in the water. Varanasi is famous for the most ardent adherence to this ancient tradition.

The corpses of dead people are placed on the shore and set on fire, and everything that has not burned out is pushed to swim along the Ganges. Surprisingly, the river is not closed for swimming of the living. Very often, tourists capture terrible things in the photo: children swim in the river, and unburned parts of the body of the deceased swim past them.

6. Stull Cemetery, Kansas

If you create a top based on the ratings of real scary stories about the cemetery, then the most reliable leader will definitely be the Stull cemetery, which is located in Kansas City. Firstly, the very place chosen for burials causes frost on the skin. Secondly, esotericists claim that this is the most powerful place for the accumulation of the paranormal in the world.

Scientists made special measurements in this area and are sure that Stull is located at the break of energy areas, which is why the clock stops here, no equipment works and a person can get lost between three crosses.

According to the stories, it is here that witchers and sorceresses receive their blessing from the devil, and if you make a conventional sign (which only the elite know), then you can safely go to another world and return from there already “reflashed” person. Inside the cemetery there is a collapsed church, in which a burning light was repeatedly seen, and even the ringing of bells was heard, which, in principle, never existed here.

7. Cemetery for the feebleminded, USA

This strange burial is located in Ohio. It is distinguished by the fact that a clearing with even rows of small tombstones of the same size opens up to the eye. It would seem that there is nothing surprising, because in America it is customary to organize burial places in this way. But if you look at the plates, you can only see the inscription “Sample” and the serial number.

It was the “samples” that were the patients of the State Institute for the Demented in Ohio. Simply put, this is a typical mental hospital in which medical experiments were performed on people. All documents that had data about a person were destroyed when they entered this institution, the patient was given a number and periodically tested new medications on him. With a clear frequency, strange fires occurred at the institute, in which all the results of one or another test disappeared.

But the essence of my story is in the cemetery, which is considered the most terrible in the region of Colombia (and, for sure, in the world). Esotericists claim that the buried people did not die a natural death, and their souls cannot understand what kind of world they are in. Thus, they try to explain the phenomenon that graves migrate. The overseers of the cemetery claim that the buried places are moving: from the moment of burial, they move at a speed that allows them to distinguish the space they have traveled even in a day. Maybe you want to visit this place and witness this unnatural fact?

8. Cemetery behind glass, Italy

Chiesa del Morti, or in our opinion - the Church of the Dead, is the name of the burial place of the monks, which differs significantly from all other classical burials. Its whole essence lies in the fact that the remains of the members of the “Good Death” brotherhood, which still exists at this church in the town of Urbino, in Italy, are located in glass niches.

All that remains of a member of the brotherhood is revealed to the gaze of a person, and at the head is the dressed skeleton of the founder. To say it's creepy is an understatement. 18 mummies, as it were, guard the ideology of the brotherhood, which you can learn more about by visiting this strange institution. They will immediately tell you why these 18 people were honored to be buried in such an unusual way.

9. Hanging Cemetery, Philippines

The Igorot tribe, which is of great importance for the history of the Philippines, believed that it was easier for the soul to reach the sky when the body was above the earth. It was they who invented the coffins with the bodies of the dead to tie rocks to the wall, and leave them like that forever. Over time, the sheer cliffs turned into a whole memorial, on which the remains of the dead Filipinos were located in rows.

It is difficult for a sane person to look at this accumulation of darkness, just as it is difficult to physically be in this place, since the corpses decompose, which entails all the ensuing consequences.

10. Highgate Cemetery, London

But Highgate Cemetery, which is located in the outskirts of London, is perhaps the most legendary and most visited in the world. The thing is that there are a huge number of legends about ghouls, who allegedly previously found refuge here. A huge number of tombstones are marked with the letter V, which, according to legend, means "the resting place of the vampire." People are sure that if you knock on the slab three times and read the inscription from the monument loudly, you will be able to see the ghost of the deceased nearby.

But all this seems like childish horror stories against the backdrop of statistics. It is Highgate London Cemetery that is the most opened in the world. This means that despite the fact that the cemetery is open only for tourist routes and has not been used for its intended purpose for a long time, open fresh graves and skeletal remains dug to the surface of the earth are still found here to this day.

In addition, in the English archives one can find documentary evidence of numerous exhumations, which indicate the presence of skulls with "atypical sizes of fangs in the jaw." This ancient cemetery has a huge number of crypts, because at the time when this place was used for burials, nobles and wealthy people were buried in family crypts. Due to the fact that they are often quite roomy and have a decent area, these tombs have excellent acoustics inside. The cemetery security assures that if you stay overnight and watch what is happening, then no one else will have the desire to walk around this place even during the day ...

Scary cemeteries or just real scary stories about cemeteries - this is a huge layer of facts to study. It is a fact that these are special places that, by their very nature, cannot radiate positivity and positive energy. But how to relate to certain stories is up to you.

Some ancient cemeteries and tombstones feel free to add to the list cultural heritage humanity, because they are unique works of art. On one of the monuments, which testified to the place of burial of monks at a Buddhist monastery, there is an inscription: “We were like you. You will become like us.” Interesting? Then remember the address of my blog, because I try to collect in it all the most mystical and unusual things that we should remember. I will be glad to receive feedback.

In fact, people are scared in most cemeteries, because this is the place where they remember death, including their own death. But these cemeteries are teeming with ghost stories and odd facts! Want to tickle your nerves? That way.

You might be surprised that the first cemetery photo on this list is of an airport. However, this is really a cemetery! Beneath runway number 10 are the graves of the Dotson couple, a married couple who used to live in a house on the site of the airport and were buried in the area next to it. The airport repeatedly negotiated with Dotson's relatives about the transfer of the remains, but they did not agree, and without the consent of relatives in the United States, this is not allowed.

The architectural splendor of the Recoleta cemetery is amazing, but it was not included in this list because of it, but because of a number of terrible and unusual stories about those who are buried there: next to the grave of Evita Peron, on which there are always fresh flowers, Rufina Cambáceres is buried , a girl who was buried alive and came out of a coma right in the coffin, and David Alleno, a poor gravedigger who saved money for a burial site for thirty years, and having saved up, committed suicide.

We are used to the fact that cemeteries are underground, but the Filipino Igorot tribe buries their dead ... in the air. Cemeteries always hang over the heads of people from this tribe. For example, this rock covered with coffins looks creepy!

This cemetery is a popular tourist attraction in the Romanian village of Sapinta. The monuments of the cemetery, painted in bright colors, take us away from the mourning atmosphere of the place, and the epitaphs on them can be both funny and even satirical.

This is perhaps one of the most famous cemeteries in England. Every crypt and every statue here is an architectural masterpiece. But, beyond that, the graveyard is known for its abundance of ghosts - for example, a tall Highgate vampire with a hypnotic gaze. Another famous ghost is a crazy woman running around the cemetery looking for the children she killed.

Greyfriars Cemetery is an old cemetery with a rich history. It was founded in the 1560s. at the local jail. Of the 1200 prisoners, only 257 left it alive - the rest remained here forever. Now a rare brave man will dare to enter the gates of Greyfriars at night - the souls of the innocently killed will not give him rest.

People are afraid to visit even ordinary cemeteries. What would you say about the whole island of the dead? He is in Venice! When it was found that burials in the main territory of Venice lead to unsanitary conditions, the dead began to be taken out to San Michele. This is still done in a gondola specially designated for this.

The mining towns of La Noria and Humberstone are located in the middle of the desert in Chile. The history of these towns is a terrible story about the violence of the masters over their slave miners. Sometimes they were simply brutally killed, not sparing even the children. They were buried in the cemetery of La Noria; now, when you are in this cemetery, the feeling of the otherworldly environment around does not leave. There are many open and dug graves in the cemetery, from which skeletons even show up!

4. Chiesa dei Morti (Church of the Dead), Urbino, Italy

The Church of the Dead is famous not only for its big name, but also for the exposition of mummies. Behind the classic baroque arch, you have a great view of most of them. Each of the 18 preserved mummies is in its own alcove. The church was built, which is characteristic, the Brotherhood of the Good Death.

3. Bachelors Grove Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois, USA

This place is legendary as one of the most haunted cemeteries in America. Eyewitnesses confirm the appearance of strange figures in the cemetery. One of the famous ghosts is a white lady with a child in her arms. Also in the 1950s so many visitors to the cemetery have reported a ghostly house. In addition, a farmer with a horse appeared in the cemetery, killed nearby, and a black dog.

The number of "inhabitants" of the catacombs of Paris is almost three times the number of Parisians living above - almost 6 million corpses are buried here. The ebullient life of the chic "upper Paris" is terribly different from the gloomy city of the dead underground. Here you can find whole corridors of skulls and bones. The Parisian catacombs are huge, and no one knows how confusing their labyrinth is: it is quite possible to get lost here forever.

The Crypt of the Capuchins are 6 rooms located under the church of Santa Maria della Concezione in Italy. It contains 3,700 skeletons of monks of the Capuchin brotherhood. When their remains were brought here in 1631, they took 300 wagons and were buried in earth specially brought from Jerusalem. After 30 years, the remains were exhumed and displayed in the hall. But the worst thing is not the mummies themselves, but the “message of the brotherhood”, translated into 5 languages: “We were what you are. You will be what we are."

On January 6, 1993, the world famous ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev passed away. According to the wishes of the star, he was buried in the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris, and his tombstone became as unique as the dancer himself was. Many celebrities design their tombstones and monuments on their own during their lifetime, but for some, fans and heirs pay tribute to them. At the same time, often the decorations of the graves of famous people are real works of art.

1. Rudolf Nureyev. After the death of the artist, one of the leading artists of the Paris Opera, Enzo Frigerio, who was a friend and colleague of the dancer, proposed to arrange his grave in the form of an oriental carpet, since Nureyev loved ancient carpets and ancient textiles from different countries.

With the funds raised by the dancer's friends in 1996, the tombstone was made in the Italian mosaic workshop Acomena Spazio Mosaico. At the same time, the mosaic is made of such high quality that the seams between small elements are practically not visible on it.

Some tourists even ask if the carpet gets wet in the rain and how often it is changed, the tombstone turned out so realistic.

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3. Vaslav Nijinsky. Another Russian dancer and choreographer of Polish origin, one of the leading members of the Russian Diaghilev Ballet, is also buried in Paris, at the Montmartre cemetery.

4. Yuri Nikulin. The grave of the beloved actor is decorated with a sculptural composition: a smoking pensive actor in a hat, at whose feet lies a Giant Schnauzer - the first dog that the artist brought from abroad.

5. Freddie Mercury. Although the ashes of the singer were scattered, a sculptural portrait in Swiss Montreux is considered his place of memory and a kind of tombstone. The statue was made in 1996, five years after the death of the actor.

6. John Wayne. After the death of the legend of American cinema, his grave stood without a monument for almost 20 years. The actor himself asked to write on the tombstone: "Ugly, strong and worthy", however, against his will, a scene from a western was depicted on the stone and a quote was placed: "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. It comes to us at midnight very clean. It's great when it comes and it's in our hands Tomorrow hopes we learned something from "yesterday".

7. Jimi Hendrix. The musician is buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, Washington, and his grave is adorned with a majestic stone pavilion.

8 Buck Owens Perhaps the most recognizable country artist of the 20th century died in 2006 after a heart attack and was buried in Bakersfield, California, and his mausoleum leaves no doubt that the musician is buried there.

9. Jim Morrison The musician's grave is one of the most visited attractions in Paris, and it is notable for graffiti, commemorative inscriptions and souvenirs left on it by fans. Morrison's tombstone has been stolen and destroyed so many times that it is now under guard.

10 Michael Jackson The remains of the king of pop are kept in an unmarked crypt at the famous Forest Lawn Cemetery near Los Angeles, California. Although it is filled with flowers and other gifts from fans, the crypt is closed to visitors and is constantly guarded.

11. The remains of the writer Jules Verne buried in the Cimetière de la Madeleine cemetery (Amiens, France) and decorated with a rather creepy tombstone.

12. Sir Isaac Newton was so dedicated to science during his lifetime that even by his tombstone it becomes obvious.

14. Tombstone of Edgar Allan Poe, who died in 1849, is crowned with a raven, the symbol of which was invariably present in the writer's work. The grave is also notable for the fact that someone constantly leaves a bottle of booze on it.

15. Grave of John F. Kennedy, killed in 1963, looks stern and majestic in the company of "eternal flame".

16. Merv Griffin. It is not the tombstone of the TV star itself that is noteworthy, but the epitaph on it: “I will not return after this message.”

17. Princess Diana buried at Althorp, North Hampshire, on a beautiful island surrounded by a small lake inhabited by four swans.

18. This is the gravestone of Oscar Wilde in Paris.

19. At some point, a tradition appeared to leave the writer a “kiss” on the wall of the tomb.

20. The body of Irish writer James Joyce buried in a grave next to his wife and son, who is watched over by his own statue.

21. Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36. His grave is placed in a vast mausoleum, set just a few feet from his childhood home in the village of Nine Mile. The whole structure resembles a small house rather than a burial place.

22. Monument to Bruce Lee Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle attracts people from all over the world.

23. Fashion star Coco Chanel buried in the Swiss city of Lausanne, and her elegant tombstone is complemented by a floral arrangement made in the shape of the Chanel logo.

24. Although John Lennon and was cremated with the fate of his ashes a mystery, people flock to the Strawberry Fields Memorial in New York's Central Park to pay their respects.

25. Veteran actor Joe Mafela was buried at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, and his tombstone is a replica of a living room with a plasma TV, coffee table and sofa.

26. This is the tombstone of the musician and actor Fernand Arbelo., who died in 1990 and was buried in Paris at the Père Lachaise cemetery, and his tombstone depicts him holding his wife's face, as the actor wished to look at him for eternity.

7. Actress Carrie Fisher was buried in Hollywood next to her mother, Debbie Reynolds. Their graves are adorned with a combined headstone designed to show the depth of their emotional connection.

28. This tombstone belongs to Jack Crowell, who owned the last wooden clothespin factory in the United States.

29. Comedian Jack Lemmon and after his death did not lose his sense of humor: on his tombstone is the inscription: "Jack Lemmon inside."

30. Bob Hope. American comedian, theater and film actor rests under grave stone in the form of a scene.

31. Victor Mature. The tomb of the Hollywood legend is crowned with a statue of a sobbing angel.

32. Johnny Ramone Participant bands The The Ramones is depicted on a grave statue giving a concert.

33. Tomb of Karl Marx looks monumental, and the statue accompanies the call "Proletarians of all countries unite."

34. Belgian writer Georges Rodenbach buried under a gravestone, from which his bronze copy appears to come out with a rose in one hand.

35. Grave of French journalist Victor Noir has become an unspoken symbol of love and fertility. Tradition says: if you want to find a beautiful lover, you must kiss the statue on the lips, if you want to get pregnant, just touch his right foot, if you want to have twins, touch his left foot. Well, another organ is also quite often touched by visitors.

36. Grave of Frederic Chopin with a gentle, like his music, sculpture.

37. Theodore Géricault. The tomb of the French painter in Pere Lachaise is decorated with his bronze statue with a brush and palette in his hands, and on one side is a bronze version of his painting "The Raft of the Medusa".

38. Fedor Chaliapin died on April 12, 1938, was buried at the Batignolles cemetery, but in October 1984 his ashes were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow, where they opened a monument made by sculptor Alexei Yeletsky.

39. Nikita Bogoslovsky. The composer's music sounds in many Soviet films, and his tombstone is on Novodevichy cemetery made in the form of a piano cover.

40. Archil Gomiashvili. Many consider the actor "the best Ostap Bender of all time." He was buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery, and it is the sculpture in the image of the Great Combinator that adorns his grave.

41. And this is the gravestone of Savely Kramarov.

42. Anna Politkovskaya. Perhaps the most unusual and figurative tombstone of a celebrity at the Troekurovsky cemetery...

43. And this is a monument to Micah, leader of the Jumanji group.

44. Those lying in these graves were not celebrities and became famous precisely because of the tombstones. A Catholic woman and her Protestant husband were not allowed to be buried together ( Roermond, Netherlands, 1880 and 1888 - Mariinsk). And two hands connect the graves through the wall.

45. And this unique monument depicts a boy who has been tied to a wheelchair all his life. The boy's name was Matthew Stanford Robison (Matthew Stanford Robinson), born September 23, 1988 Died: February 21, 1999, was paralyzed, blind and spoke only a few words. The sculpture - as a symbol of the son's liberation from earthly burdens, was installed by the father in 2000.

Of course, the tombstones of not all departed celebrities are shown here. But you can add in your comments...

I propose to take a walk around the Novodevichy cemetery, which is located on the territory of the current Resurrection Novodevichy Convent. Many do not even suspect the existence of the Novodevichy cemetery in St. Petersburg, believing that a cemetery and a monastery under this name exist only in Moscow. Nevertheless, today the St. Petersburg Novodevichy Cemetery is beginning to revive, tombstones are being restored here, interesting excursions are being conducted (both ordinary tourist and special pilgrimage ones), and that’s it. more people learn about this place.

Before the revolution, the Novodevichy Cemetery was one of the most expensive and prestigious in St. Petersburg, and although it suffered greatly during the Soviet period, it remains a valuable historical necropolis to this day. A walk around the Novodevichy cemetery will be of interest both to those who like to study the biographies of prominent people, and to connoisseurs of artistic tombstones. There are also shrines here, where people come to pray or just make a wish. About famous people buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery can be read in a separate note. In the meantime, we will talk about the most beautiful and unusual tombstones of the Novodevichy cemetery, and also get acquainted with its history (and the history of the monastery itself).

The most beautiful and unusual tombstones of the Novodevichy cemetery in St. Petersburg

Among the tombstones at the Novodevichy Cemetery there are sarcophagi, obelisks, slabs, steles with crosses, pedestals, hills with large chips, monuments in the form of an oncoming wave, chapels, miniature churches ... busts, bas-reliefs and other similar details suffered during the destruction of the cemetery in the first place.

Although a significant part of the pre-revolutionary burials has not survived to this day, we can still admire the surviving monuments of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which are of undoubted historical and artistic value.

Many headstones are made from valuable materials, including rare marbles and granites. On some, you can still read the names of the owners of the workshops where they were made.

From the point of view of artistic merit, family chapels-tombs stand out especially.

Unfortunately, all of them are ruined and are unlikely to be restored to their former splendor, however, even today they amaze with the quality and variety of design.

Perhaps the most beautiful is the Art Nouveau tomb of Lucia Gilse Van der Pals, née Johansen.

The massive chapel with a decorative frieze is a stylization of an ancient Egyptian tomb.

The tomb was built in 1904 according to the design of the architect V. Yu. Johansen in the workshop of Yu. P. Korsak. Its walls are made of Radom sandstone, the plinth is made of granite, and the floor is marble.

Inside the tomb, a marble bas-relief by the Piedmontese sculptor Pietro Canonica (1869-1959) (sometimes spelled "Canonicus" or "Canonico") has survived. For my long life the master managed to work fruitfully in Russia, Italy, England, Turkey ... Not everyone knows that once on Manezhnaya Square in St. Petersburg there was an equestrian monument to Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich by Pietro Canonica (1914). In 1918, the “ugly idol” was demolished, however, in the House-Museum of Canonica, in the Villa Borghese park in Rome, to this day you can see the models created for the monument. From other works of Canonica, we know the sculpture of the nun "After taking the vow" (currently one of the options is on display at the St. Petersburg Museum of the History of Religion).

Buried in such an exquisite chapel, Lucia (Lucy) was the daughter of a Danish professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Julius Johansen, and the wife of a Dutch consul, co-director of the Russian-American Manufactory of Rubber Products (the future Red Triangle), philanthropist and philanthropist Heinrich van Gilse van der Pals. Many people are familiar with the luxurious mansion of G. G. Gilze van der Pals on English Avenue (the current military enlistment office). The mansion was built by Lucia's brother, the architect William Yulievich Johansen (who, as was said, designed this magnificent tombstone). From old photographs it can be seen that the rooms of the mansion were decorated with marble statues by Pietro Canonica, including the mentioned figure of a nun. Apparently, Gilse van der Pals was a connoisseur of the work of Canonica, so it is not surprising that he entrusted him with the sculptural decoration of the grave of his beloved wife.

Another interesting burial place from the point of view of artistic merit is the grave of the artillery general Dmitry Sergeevich Mordvinov (1820-1894). This is undoubtedly one of the most famous and beautiful tombstones of the St. Petersburg Novodevichy cemetery. Unfortunately, the side plates with the name of the buried person have been lost, but the artistic metal fence has survived.

The most remarkable detail of the gravestone is the bronze figure of a seated angel over a marble sarcophagus. A live flower is often placed in the hand of an angel.

The sculpture of an angel was created in the workshop of the French sculptor and artist Charles Berto (Karl Avgustovich Berto) (Charles Bertault). Petersburg bronze foundry Berto (former F. Chopin) specialized in the production of small bronze plastics. For participation in the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, where the products of the factory were awarded a gold medal, Berto received the title of "Supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty." Despite this, due to financial difficulties, after two years he had to close the case and return to France.

Sculptural monuments with marble or bronze figures of angels standing or sitting at the tombstone were very common at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, but few such examples have survived to this day. Therefore, despite the fact that we have before us just a “typical” sample, not related to the individuality of the customer, the tombstone is perceived as a great value.

As for the identity of D.S. Mordvinov buried here, it is known that he served in the artillery from a young age. In 1856 he was appointed head of a separate office of the War Office, and ten years later he became director of the office of the War Office, to which he devoted almost half of his many years of service. In 1872, Mordvinov was granted the adjutant general to His Imperial Majesty; in 1881 he was appointed a member of the Military Council and awarded with diamond badges of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. In 1883, Mordvinov was promoted to artillery general, and in 1889 he celebrated his 50th anniversary of service in the officer ranks and received the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree.

It is also worth paying attention to the tombstone of the St. Petersburg architect, who, however, is not very well known to the public. This is Ivan Denisovich Chernik (1811-1874), who worked in the military department and built, in particular, the new building of the General Staff and the Kryukov (Naval) barracks.

The burial of I. D. Chernik is one of the most beautiful surviving monuments at the Novodevichy cemetery. It is a magnificent white marble sarcophagus on a high pedestal. The board with the epitaph and the name of the deceased has not been preserved, but the bas-relief portraits of I. D. Chernik himself and his wife have survived (the latter, unfortunately, was damaged by vandals and cannot be restored due to the specifics of Carrara marble.

The monument was made in the workshop of the Italian sculptor Domenico Carli in Genoa (1878).

One of the most unusual burials at the Novodevichy Cemetery is the grave of a mathematician, professor Vladimir Pavlovich Maksimovich (1850-1889).

Maksimovich was born in St. Petersburg into a noble family and from an early age had outstanding mathematical abilities. Studied in St. Petersburg and Paris, worked at Kazan and Kiev universities. At the beginning of 1889, the mathematician was diagnosed with a severe mental illness, and in the same year he died at the age of 39.

The tombstone of Vladimir Maksimovich is a stone sphere in an artistic metal fence. On the sphere - images of the signs of the zodiac and a quote from Byron's poem "Ephthanasia" (Euthanasia) on English language (« Count o "er the joys thine hours have seen...»).

This poem is known in the translations of I. Goltz-Miller and V. Levik (in the arrangement of the latter, this quatrain sounds like this: “He is close, the day calling for the feast, || Count the blessings of past days, || And you will understand: whoever you were in life, || Not to be, not to live - much more truly").

To be continued...

There is something mystical about death. And where people find their last resting place, there is always a special, slightly creepy atmosphere. It excites the imagination, frightens and attracts at the same time. So there are superstitions, legends, ridiculous rumors creep. Here are collected the most interesting and unusual of them.

Graves of witches and sorcerers

If during life there was a bad rumor about a person, he was buried in a special way. The body could be burned, nailed to the ground, tied with straps, cut, cut the tendons, “sealed” with silver. Many peoples believed that a witch should be buried without a coffin, face down. Graves were often placed outside the fences of cemeteries, in forests, at crossroads. Stones were thrown from above, thorny bushes were planted.

If this is not done, the dead man will be able to get out. There is a belief that holes and cracks appear on the graves of witches and sorcerers over time, through which they come to the surface. A large number of ants, bleeding grass and strange sounds from underground also point to the place where the witch is buried. Without knowing these signs, it will be difficult to find it. But there are also well-known facts:

This cemetery is located in Salem, Massachusetts. Well, I think a lot of people have heard of the famous 1692 Salem witch trials. Then about 200 people were arrested on charges of witchcraft. Some were executed immediately (hanged or crushed with stones), others died in prison.

True, in 1702 the authorities officially recognized the process as illegal, in 1957 all sentences were canceled, and in 1992 the cemetery became a memorial to the victims. By the way, in fact, those convicted of witchcraft were not buried there. There are no witch graves in Salem. But the legend attracts tourists there.

And in the forests of Michigan rests a witch who, according to legend, destroyed an entire city. If in 1874 there were about 1500 inhabitants in Pere Cheney, then by the beginning of the 20th century there were 25 of them left. Two epidemics of diphtheria wiped out most of the population, the rest left. And the disease, of course, was sent by a local witch.

She is said to have given birth to an illegitimate child and was banished. The baby died, and then the woman cursed the city. In the end, the witch was caught, hanged, and the body was buried. Dark figures and ghostly lights still appear in that forest, the laughter of children can be heard. But get real photos of ghosts so far failed.

Graves of vampires and ghouls

Legends of the dead who drink living blood, almost all peoples have it. Usually such a fate awaited suicides, sorcerers excommunicated from the church ... yes, many others. And, of course, those who were bitten by a vampire. Naturally, people were afraid of these creatures and took measures so that the deceased would not leave his grave after death. And for this it is important to properly bury someone who can become a vampire.

The body should be burned or at least pierced with an aspen stake and laid so that it is oriented from east to west. It is desirable to separate the head and place it between the feet. So that the corpse could not eat its shroud, it is necessary to slip something under the chin (stone, iron). You can also pour sawdust or grains into the coffin so that the vampire begins to count them and does not have time to get out before dawn. Here are the most famous burials:

In the north part of London there is an old Highgate cemetery. It has attracted attention for a long time. There are frequent reports of vampires, and suspicious graves are marked with a V. Visitors find dug up and decapitated corpses, empty coffins. Several bodies were exhumed, and they looked strange.

Plump, plump… not quite dead… There are real photos of vampires they look exactly like this. But everything is easier to explain. The corpse always swells, this is one of the stages of decomposition. There is blood on the lips. If you pierce the body with a stake, it can make a groan, as the accumulated gases will pass by the vocal cords.

The Père Lachaise cemetery in France is also considered a haven for vampires. It all started in 1848 when some lunatic dug up some graves, pulled out the bodies and badly damaged them. He felt that he should do so. Since then, rumors have spread. However, appearance some gravestones are suggestive.

The symbolism of the burials looks ominous. Skulls and bats, which are considered the visual embodiment of vampires, fatalistic inscriptions ... However, in the 19th century, this was accepted in Western Europe. According to another version, the image of a bat with outstretched wings served as a protection from evil.

Wandering graves and restless crypts

There is a belief that the earth does not accept the ashes of a person if they have not been properly buried. Creepy stories about moving graves have flooded the Internet. In general, this phenomenon has been known for a long time, but the evidence is bad. Everyone rewrites the same texts, where non-existent cities and people are mentioned. There are no real photos or documents.

Normal explanations too. Perhaps there are forces and energies at work here that we do not yet know anything about. Like when it exploded Chelyabinsk meteorite, strange things also happened… negative pressure and many other things… But in the case of the graves, it was something else. If they moved at all. Here are a couple of more or less plausible stories:

This event happened even before the revolution in a remote Russian village. At night, a mound of earth with a half-rotted cross appeared in one of the huts. They tried to remove the grave, but it turned out that there was also a lot of earth under the floor. When it was carried out, human remains were found there.

The cross looked like those that were installed in an abandoned cemetery near the village. How all this ended up in the hut, no one understood. The grave was taken out, the bones were reburied. But the house had to be abandoned. Since then, people have avoided the terrible place.

The Chase family crypt is located in Barbados. It is carved into the rock and covered with a marble slab. Every time it was opened, the coffins that were there turned out to be turned on their side, standing upright, scattered ... They seemed to be spreading around the room. This was repeated from 1812 to 1820.

Various versions have been put forward, from Voodoo magic and Masonic rites to floods and shifts in the earth's crust. Researcher Eric Russell in the middle of the 20th century identified a number of patterns in these phenomena. He believed that metal coffins are moved by water under the influence of gravity and a magnetic field.

So what is it? True or just gossip? I don't know.. But here the materials are collected all over the Internet, I didn't even manage to identify the primary sources. And the dead cannot confirm or deny the rumors about them. In anticipation of better times, they will keep their ancient secrets.

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