Statues of Death

Okay...I know that I sufficiently covered all the pertinent and spooky details of Highgate Cemetery in the previous post. But there were a few photos that I wanted to share. Due to this cemetery being created during the height of the Victorian era....grandiose burials were de riguere. And ostentatiousness was a requirement for those of means. So it was common practice to build elaborate and ornamental burial chambers and mausoleums, complete with one's own ornately carved stone statue. Some of these are very lovely and mysterious, and some like Karl Marx's head are just obnoxious. (Although it does bear a striking resemblance to Santa Claus if you ask me.) But you can't deny the variety and creativity in the selection, and this is just a sampling of the offerings. It makes one ponder what kind of statue they'd choose to mark their own final resting place if money and space were no object. The more I look at photos of Highgate, the more enchanted I become, and I'm increasingly convinced that this may well be the most beautiful cemetery around. Mother nature and Father time have turned these burial grounds into an exquisite work of art that no landscape company or architect could ever replicate.