{"id":3178,"date":"2016-04-26T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-04-26T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/?p=3178"},"modified":"2016-02-29T19:15:30","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T03:15:30","slug":"graveyard-superstitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Graveyard Superstitions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Graveyard<\/a>

Graveyard Superstitions<\/p><\/div>\n

No place holds quite as much fear and mystery as a graveyard. Whether it is an historic old burial site no longer in use, or a modern cemetery with sleek marble slabs in place of traditional headstones, people have a way of getting nervous anywhere there are bodies buried in the ground. It is a fear that’s existed for thousands of years, which means there’s been plenty of time for superstitions to build up.<\/p>\n

Here are a few of the more common (and unusual) myths surrounding graveyards.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Holding your breath as you pass by a cemetery will keep you safe from wandering spirits<\/i>. Breath and breathing have always been linked with the essence of human life, so it makes sense that this would be an avenue for spirits to come and go.<\/li>\n
  2. Wildflowers growing naturally over a grave is a sign of someone who lived a good life.<\/i> I iss also sometimes said that the opposite (weeds on a grave signaling someone who lived a bad life) is also true. Because funeral flowers have long been a part of the mourning process, this myth likely arose as a result.<\/li>\n
  3. Standing near an open grave can cure minor aches and pains (like toothaches).<\/i> In an age when the origins of disease and sickness were more mystery than science, it was common for superstition to take the place of medical care. No one was sure why <\/i>a grave will cure a toothache, but in the absence of modern dental care, it certainly could not have hurt.<\/li>\n
  4. Whistling in a cemetery is a way of summoning evil spirits.<\/i> Anywhere there are lingering souls, there are likely to be bad spirits hoping to lure them, and whistling is a common way of calling to someone. This superstition is not a terrible one, though, if it keeps cemeteries quiet and respectful.<\/li>\n
  5. A maze at the entrance to a cemetery is a good way to confuse any wandering spirits so they won’t escape.<\/i> Spirits can apparently be easily confused and can only move in straight lines. That is why people often left windows and doors open (to let a soul depart), and why cemeteries have gates (to keep the spirits in).<\/li>\n
  6. If you take the flowers from a grave, you will be haunted by the spirit you stole from. <\/i>This one seems pretty fair, actually. It is always best to respect the gifts left by loved ones.<\/li>\n
  7. The soil from a cemetery is believed to have strong, magical powers and should not be removed by the average person.<\/i> Witches, in particular, were believed to take advantage of this superstition. On a more practical note, it is a good way to scare grave robbers away.<\/li>\n
  8. Graves should never be left open overnight, as it will lead to a second death. <\/i>This is also fairly practical from a historical standpoint. A grave that is left open but not filled in is more likely to attract predators, which would be bad for any family coming by to visit the next day.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These days, superstitions about graves are more entertaining than scary, but it is a good idea to always be respectful. Do not remove anything that does not belong to you and keep the noise to a minimum – the other families in attendance will thank you for it.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    No place holds quite as much fear and mystery as a graveyard. Whether it is an historic old burial site no longer in use, or a modern cemetery with sleek marble slabs in place of traditional headstones, people have a way of getting nervous anywhere there are bodies buried in the ground. It is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[163,47,17,2207,2205,2206],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_0716edit.jpg","yoast_head":"\nGraveyard Superstitions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No place holds quite as much fear and mystery as a graveyard. Whether it is an historic old burial site no longer in use, or a modern cemetery with sleek...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graveyard Superstitions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No place holds quite as much fear and mystery as a graveyard. Whether it is an historic old burial site no longer in use, or a modern cemetery with sleek...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Funeral Blog | iMortuary.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/imortuary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-26T14:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-01T03:15:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_0716edit.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1872\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1219\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@imortuary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@imortuary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Funeral Blog | iMortuary.com\",\"description\":\"Funeral, Death Care Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_0716edit.jpg\",\"width\":1872,\"height\":1219,\"caption\":\"Graveyard Superstitions\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/\",\"name\":\"Graveyard Superstitions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-26T14:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-01T03:15:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2d46185ac1a24e6a61c09a24f6ad7f4\"},\"description\":\"No place holds quite as much fear and mystery as a graveyard. Whether it is an historic old burial site no longer in use, or a modern cemetery with sleek...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/graveyard-superstitions\/\",\"name\":\"Graveyard Superstitions\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2d46185ac1a24e6a61c09a24f6ad7f4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03d89586eb4274ed4dcc6b6a102726f8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3178"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3178"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3181,"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3178\/revisions\/3181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imortuary.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}