Walking Among Graves~Cemetery Adventures and Stories

Hello, friends! Today I just wanted to chat about a recent trip I took and some of the story ideas I'm developing at the moment.

I recently took a trip to Wilmington, North Carolina and visited the USS North Carolina Battleship as well as Oakdale Cemetery (a historic cemetery that was opened in the 1850s). If you've ever met me then you know I love cemeteries. I think they are some of the most peaceful places to visit. Over the past several months I've had some story ideas rolling around in my head and now I want to share one of those with you.

While traveling I love to visit cemeteries and historic sites when I can find them. There are a few historic cemeteries near my house that I love to walk around and explore. There is so much fascinating information on gravestones (if you can still read them) and I've been playing with the idea of writing a novel or series of short stories set in cemeteries.

Let me fist show you some images from some of my travels through cemeteries. The pictures below are from Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina and Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.

 I love that fenced in lot above. I believe this was a family plot. And the one on the right is the grave of a young child. The cradle stone is really interesting.

 

 The angel above is one of my favorites from Oakdale (although I didn't see nearly everything). It's part of a larger set of statues shown at the bottom.

  

The picture on the right is large and fascinating. You really have to see it in person to get the full effect.











So now that I've shared with you some of the pictures of graves that have inspired me, let me share a little bit about the stories that I am currently brainstorming.

The story (or stories) will center around a character who loves spending time in cemeteries. I have yet to decide if there will be any paranormal elements. I'm considering some type of mystery that includes ghosts communicating with the main character and leading him/her and his/her companion(s) on a road trip to visit several cemeteries that connect the overall mystery. Either way, one or more cemeteries will play a large role.

Without the paranormal I'm thinking of a road trip for an art or history assignment that takes the characters to multiple grave sites in order to study a certain historical period (the Civil War or something).

As you can see the ideas are not yet solidified and I am still playing with them. I'm currently researching for this and other stories as well as working on a novel. I'm hoping to have a rough outline in the next month or two so I can begin writing the story.

This post may be a bit all over the place (I've been staying up far too late at night and am kind of out of it), but if you have any thoughts on any of my ideas please share them with me in the comments. I would love to hear any feedback you might have.