Taphophile Corner - An Introduction

Taphophile Corner – An Introduction

Yes, I am a Taphophile, or as some may say, a Tombstone Tourist. This is not a disorder of some sort, in fact far from it. It is more of an appreciation for a vast category of topics. A Taphophile simply stated, is a person who has a fascination in all things cemetery related.

For some background on the term, the etymology of the word Taphophile comes from two Greek words…

Taphos – meaning tomb or sepulcher

Philia- an attraction or affinity for.

Pine Grove Cemetery - Brunswick, Maine

In studying Taphophilia, I have needed to research many topics including, history, religion, architecture, geology, Greek & Egyptian culture, iconology, poetry, stone carving, and much more. The more I learn, there more I realize there is to know. During the summer months, I lead tours cemetery tours. I travel to some of the more notable cemeteries in Maine. The tour is known as the Sunday Cemetery Series. Typically at each location I focus on an aspect of my love of these open air museums. One location may deal with scribe identification, while at another spot we may learn about the art of stone rubbings. We are so fortunate here in Maine to have some of the most beautiful and historic cemeteries in the country. Every grave has a story and I do exhausting research to bring those stories to life. Did you know for instance, there is a woman buried only a few feet away from Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain who's stone reads simply "BORN A SLAVE" as her birth date? You can find both of these members of history in the Pine Grove Cemetery located in Brunswick, ME.

Now you may be wondering how I become drawn to such an odd interest? For some reason, isn't the truth always stranger than fiction? As a child I grew up in a house that had a stray gravemarker under the front porch. That very fact fascinated me to no end. I often wondered if the spirit of the girl named on the stone was sad because her stone was missing.Once as teenagers, my sister and I tried to use a Ouija board to see if we could speak to the little girl. Lets just say it was quite a night and I have never used a Ouija again.

During summers and school breaks I would spend my time on a small Canadian island off the coast of Maine. There was literally nothing to do except watch the tide change. One day I decided to go for a walk in the woods. I thought how lost could I get? It was an island. To my surprise, I seemed to find what looked like a path, I began following it. If it sounds kind of like an "Alice in Wonderland" moment, it was. Believe it or not it lead to a small woodland cemetery that I knew well. The small cemetery was the resting place of many of my relatives, including my great grandparents, who's home we always stayed in while on the island. This cemetery became my secret place. I would go there and play or just sit and read. At times I would weed the graves and tidy things up. The feeling there was always the same, simply peaceful.

That is my story. It is my passion to appreciate cemeteries and share my knowledge with others. People who attend the Sunday Cemetery Series are always amazed at the my specialty and all that I have learned. So during these cold winter months I will be sharing some of this information with you, the reader of this blog. I will focus on a different topic of interest in each posting. The topics will be varied but so very interesting (if I do say so myself!)