As long as I can remember, I have been a "sucker" for all places "old" and "mysterious". I absolutely love old buildings, cemeteries, etc. It's the aura of mystery that surrounds many old places that I love the most. I absolutely adore the historical architecture that you don't see in many new buildings (columns; tall, paned windows; intricate hand-carved details; crow-stepped gables; stone; etc.) and when it comes to cemeteries, I just love the creepy moss-covered headstones. It's kind of sad that they don't make things like they used to.
Growing up, every time we went to my mom's hometown, Palmyra, MO, (my 2nd home) to visit family, I HAD to see my "favorite house" and my "favorite cemetery" (that sounds morbid). I used to make my mom drive past both places at least once every time we were in Palmyra.
One of my Uncles and his family lived a couple blocks from the house so anytime we could get away with it, my sisters, their youngest daughter, and I would wander down the street and gaze in awe at the "spooky" old house. The house was a circa mid-1850s, two-story, rectangular, brick structure with tall windows and a huge wood front door. The lower story windows were covered with very old shutters and all you could see through the upper story windows were old, tattered, shredded, white lace curtains. On the west side of the house was a single story addition and a covered porch. The property was rather dark (even on a sunny day) because of the enormous mossy trees growing around the house. We always wanted to sneak into the house, but we never did. I always imagined that there was a huge staircase in the parlor that led upstairs (the kind that rises to a platform and then branches off to the left and right). At one point I took a picture of the house (back when I hadn't evolved to digital photography) and shortly after that a gentleman bought the house and leveled it. :( That was a sad day for me. I regret only getting one picture of the place and never exploring it (although I would've been in big trouble had I gotten caught).
As for the cemetery, it is filled with moss-covered head stones of all shapes and sizes. There is even a headstone shaped like a coffin (the lid even comes off), which is the one that amazed me the most when I was growing up. Other headstones are at least 20' tall or taller. Some have intricate carvings and others are plain. The cemetery is surrounded by a wrought iron fence and as soon as you step into it the world seems to get dark and quiet. There are many trees growing in the cemetery and they block most of the sunlight. The last time I was there some of the trees had been cut down so it seemed a little brighter, but it still had its aura. As with many old places, it has been vandalized and some of the headstones have been knocked over. Sad.
Luckily my mom is from a very old part of Missouri (only 12 miles from Hannibal - home of Mark Twain) so there are many other old places for me to photograph. Some have been preserved and some are rotting away (sad). I haven't been "home" in over a year, but the last time I was there I managed to get some pictures of a few old & mysterious places. Next time I will spend more time enjoying the mysterious aura that part of the country has to offer.
