Author: Kate Cherrell
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Maud Heath’s Causeway
The area known as ‘Maud Heath’s Causeway’ was named after a benevolent local woman who passed away centuries before.
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The Grave of XYZ
In December 1899, the Deep River Savings Bank in Connetticut received a tip-off that a robbery was about to take place.
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The Mourning Letters of George Roe
The mourning letters of George Roe offer a glimpse into a grieving family in 1906.
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The Strange Tale of the Gold Leaf Lady
In 1988, a Floridian housewife began producing patches of gold leaf across her face and body…
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‘Phwoar! Look at that masonry’ St Peter’s at Normanby by Spital
St Peter’s is a treat of a redundant church with interesting graves and terribly fancy stonework.
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‘Grave in a Field at Oldfield’ On the Hunt for a Woodland Grave
A Victorian grave, a field and a garden burial…
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Walt Disney’s Ancestral Knights at Kingerby
The finest treasures are often found in the most unexpected places.
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The Legend of the Chained Oak
An enormous and infamous oak tree in Staffordshire has been bound in huge chains for over a century.
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She’s got the Eye (and teeth) of the Tiger: Hannah Twynnoy’s Grave
Hannah Twynnoy is best known for being the first person to be killed by a tiger in Britain.
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The Weird World of Mummy Parties
In the 19th century, ‘Mummy Mania’ spread through the western world like a colonial Tamagotchi.
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Flayed Saints, Weeping Graves and Robin Hood at St Bartholomew the Great, London
St Bartholomew was founded in 1123 by Rahere (just the one name, like Beyonce…), a courtier of King Henry I.
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Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus
We’re all used to ‘Hocus Pocus’ as a term used to command magic and mysterious forces. But where on earth did this phrase come from?
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Death of a Wombat
In the latter part of the 19th century, some artists developed an obsession with keeping exotic Australian animals as pets.
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The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
The stone spheres of Costa Rica are one of the most fascinating and enduring mysteries in Central American history.
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The Loveland Frogman
According to local legend, the Loveland Frog was an enormous creature that lived in Loveland, Ohio, measured approximately 4ft tall and walked on two feet.
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Bones in Brooklyn: The Journey of a Wandering Coffin
In 2015, an old coffin, complete with bones, was found dumped on a Brooklyn street. But why, who was it, and who did it?
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Let’s Visit a Finnish Plague Park
‘Ruttopuisto’ means ‘plague park’, and is the final resting place of thousands of Finns who died in the great plague of 1710.
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Whitby’s Hidden Horse Steps
Tucked away in Whitby’s residential streets are small sets of steps that go to nowhere.
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Remembering Evil Elmo
Instead of friendly phrases, the freshly juiced-up Muppet suddenly started to say, ‘Kill James’.
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A Trip to Bunhill Fields Burial Ground
Bunhill Fields is a relic of London’s overcrowded inner-city burial grounds.
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The Whitby Wishing Chair
On the Western outskirts of Whitby, sits an inconsequential little stone seat.
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The Petrol Station Pet Cemetery
Probably the last place one would expect to find a pretty little pet cemetery is a garage forecourt, but such a site existed in Kent…
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The Rocky Horror Coffin Clock
It’s astounding. Time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll…
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Tea With a Martyr at St Crux
There are few things in life I love more than a good church, a good grave, a cuppa and a slice of cake.
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The Bloody Ceilings of Kyoto, Japan
In Japan’s Kyoto prefecture, five serene temples which harbour bloody secrets within their walls can be found.
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Empress Elisabeth’s Mourning Mask
A closer look at the world’s most famous mourning mask.
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Henry Trigg and the Coffin in the Rafters
Henry Trigg was an eccentric man. A wealthy and successful man. A real character. And undoubtedly, a pain in the rear to his family. At…
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Grand Tombs at St Peter’s Church, Chillingham
In the shadows of Chillingham Castle sits a tiny, unassuming church, framed by woodland and centuries-old headstones.
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The Body in the Catacombs
A labyrinth of tunnels and passageways snake and criss-cross for miles beneath the French capital, with countless inhabitants of their own.
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The Roadside Grave of Betsy Smith, Kenilworth
The dead are everywhere. You can’t avoid them. Under city buildings and railway lines, gardens and churches. As centuries pass, memorials are removed, with the…
Burials & Beyond 