Spooky Gravestone Markings

[Indaloman]

Not spooky but very sad, the story behind this grave is she was brought over by her owner in winter and was baptised a few months before her death. two other slaves were brought from Nevis with her, the boy also died soon after arriving and the third was sold on.

[uk2003]

Not a Headstone marking but could be classed as "SPOOKY" 

Took this picture for a fellow rootschatter some time ago at Philips Park cem in Manchester

[ali607]

I may have got this wrong but Im sure i read once (in a book about a scottish burial isle) that the skull and crossbones on the graves were to keep the evil spirits away  -and thats what iv believed ever since. iv never heard anything about pirates.

Alison

[Lady Di]

I took this photo recently in Fettercairn Scotland.

Looks like someone was covering their bases with every symbol imaginable engraved therein.

Di

[toni*]

in the Tarot Cards,
Death which is symbolised by a skeleton means new life,
i wonder if it means the same here.

which is a much nicer thought

[apanderson]

Lady Di,

The old saying 'If you've got it, flaunt it' springs to mind!

Anne

[Glen in Tinsel Kni]

Old thread i know but a stone placed in the church wall at Roxburgh, cropped from an image of a window and the stones

[Redroger]

Are any of these gravestones dated? A stone bearing a death's head was at itsmost popular during the 18th century, and was largely obsolete by 1820. A stone featuring a cherub was used between 1740 and 1840, whilst a stone showing an urn and willow was popular from 1780 to at least 1860. Stones undated of these and other types can be used by archaeologists to date burials approximately, the process being known as frequency seriation.

[Glen in Tinsel Kni]

There are a number of silmiliar stones with skulls and/or bones in my area (Scottish Borders) and several are dated, i think the earliest one i have photographed is 1733 and also bears two letters (initials?).

There are several at Lennel (berwickshire) around a mile from where i live but the graveyard is no longer tended and badly overgrown, several also appear at Hutton about 10 miles away., one stone is dated to 1697 but doesn't feature any carved symbols, it just has a plain inscription.