Old English cemeteries, where the spirit of Victorian Gothic has been preserved, often become the places of filming of various horror films. They cause genuine interest among visitors to England who dream of visiting not only the country's most famous sights.
One of the most interesting historical complexes of Great Britain, which no tourist can do without inspection, is the Highgate Cemetery in London full of secrets and mysteries. Photos of destroyed tombstones, unusual sculptures, grieving angels on ivy-covered graves cause an irresistible desire to quickly get acquainted with a mysterious place.
Quiet corner full of secrets
The mystical corner, where famous personalities who left a mark on the history of the state, are buried, gained fame thanks to its architectural monuments. The gothic atmosphere reigning on the graveyard attracts filmmakers filming mystical thrillers. In addition, the necropolis is the scene of many literary works, where the main characters are ghosts and vampires. For example, the famous Bram Stoker described in his novel "Dracula" the events that took place here.
And in the 70s of the last century, the Highgate Cemetery, the history of which began two centuries ago, attracted the attention of newspaper people who learned about the strange events that took place here.
The story of the appearance of a mystical place
In the 19th century, due to population growth, there were almost no places in small cemeteries around churches, and therefore seven graveyards were created outside of London so that the problem of burial of the dead did not turn into a sanitary disaster. They were private possessions, and their owners demanded significant amounts for providing a place for the grave. The fast-growing Highgate Cemetery appeared in 1839 on the side of a hill called Highgate. The last refuge for the prominent people of England is striking with Gothic monuments, which are real architectural masterpieces.
Necropolis turned into a rainforest
In 1975, the Highgate Cemetery, where people were buried regardless of their religious affiliation, was closed because the company that owned it went bankrupt. Now its owner is the recently created charitable foundation, the participants of which arrange excursions and look after abandoned graves. However, during the time when the courts and trials were going on, trees grew in the cemetery, and numerous tombs damaged their roots. Currently, visitors see on a graveyard, where people are rarely buried now, the rainforest, frightening and mysterious.
The popular Highgate Cemetery (London, UK) is a unique place where no one is struggling with the devastating effects of nature and time, but those who care for the graves do not allow the process to go far.
Two parts of the cemetery
Initially, in the western part of the graveyard, the English rich aristocrats found the last refuge, who paid about five thousand pounds for the construction of magnificent monuments after their death. In 1854, burials appeared in the east, and both sectors were once connected by an underground tunnel. The western necropolis with crypts and columbaria, forming complex architectural ensembles, surprises with unusual beauty and desolation. Many graves are overgrown with grass and moss, and because of centuries-old trees intertwined with crowns, an eternal twilight reigns here and the outlines of many tombstones are not visible. Some guests who visited the Highgate Cemetery, the description of which causes a sense of curiosity, even feel someone's eyes on themselves.
Now the western part of the most prestigious burial place of the XIX century is closed to single visits by tourists. You can get here only as part of an organized tour, which must be booked in advance. You can wander through the well-groomed territory of the eastern sector of the most mysterious corner of London from 10 to 16 hours on all days except weekends.
Egyptian alley
The famous Highgate Cemetery is a real oasis of peace and tranquility, a quiet place combining the natural charm, the majestic beauty of architectural monuments and a special mystical atmosphere. The rich did not spare money and bought plots for subsequent burial, on which magnificent mausoleums were erected. Beautiful tombstones and crypts appeared here, striking the imagination of visitors.
Noble lords were fascinated by the ancient pyramids and other attributes of the afterlife in Egypt, and soon a whole site grew up around the ancient cedar, planted even before the appearance of the cemetery. The Egyptian alley, the entrance of which is covered by overgrown trees, leads to the Lebanese circle - a huge hill surrounded by a ring of mausoleums destroyed from time to time. They are located below ground level and diverge in different directions. There are many empty sites, as the fascination with Egyptian culture soon dwindled.
Pantheon of prominent people who left a mark on history
Currently, visitors are attracted to the gloomy atmosphere of the necropolis, which gives the impression of an abandoned one, and the opportunity to visit the graves of many celebrities. More than 800 prominent people found peace here, and the most famous "inhabitants" of the cemetery are Karl Marx and Michael Faraday. You can see the empty graves of Dickens, buried elsewhere, and Galsworthy, whose ashes are scattered above the ground.
The Highgate Cemetery in London, which turned into an open-air museum, recently hosted the last star guest, the famous singer George Michael, who passed away at the end of last year. He was buried in the western sector of the graveyard, which was closed to visitors, and relatives asked that the grave of the artist be excluded from the excursion route of tourists.
Stories that have made the world famous Highgate Cemetery
Vampires in our time are perceived as the heroes of popular TV shows, and few really believe in them. However, before people referred to the existence of ghouls drinking blood with superstitious fear.
More than 35 years ago, all the editions of London were full of headlines about strange events taking place at the place of eternal rest. There were rumors that vampires live in the cemetery, who attack passers-by who did not have time to leave before dark. After eyewitnesses' stories, interest in the necropolis awakens, where many observe the appearance and mysterious disappearance of strange figures, and visitors discover bloodless animal corpses.
After numerous articles by journalists trying to find out if the bloodsuckers actually exist, the Highgate Cemetery has become a place of true pilgrimage. Crowds of curious townspeople who dreamed of seeing a terrible ghoul came here. An entire detachment of volunteers was immediately formed, who began the hunt for the terrible ghouls. People opened crypts and drove aspen stakes into the remains of the dead.
After the headless and half-burned body of a young woman was discovered one morning, the police arrested vampire hunters and the public demanded that they be punished severely for abuse. After such “feats”, the relatives of the deceased walled up all the entrances to the tombs of their loved ones.
New surge in interest in the cemetery
It seemed that over time the hysteria had passed, but in 2005 again there was talk of evil spirits living on the churchyard. A married couple from Scotland, who came on an excursion, heard a story about the cemetery horrors from a local boy. The couple did not believe the word, believing that it was fiction for visitors, and visited the infamous Highgate cemetery, where they met an old lady in old-fashioned clothes at the entrance. She introduced the couple to the rules for visiting the necropolis and warned that it was forbidden to pronounce the word "vampire" out loud.
However, it so happened that the tourist nevertheless violated the condition of being in the cemetery, and the couple saw the strange trinity that appeared from nowhere, consisting of a young man, a girl and a sad old woman. The man shot a fast-moving people on a video camera, and later discovered that there was nothing on the film except for the destroyed ancient crypts that fell into the frame. And when the couple asked the locals about the woman who met them on the way, the townspeople recognized in the description the ticket holder of the churchyard who had died several years ago.
Fiction or truth?
No one knows what is true in this story, and what is a lie, and the story of tourists seems like a real fiction. However, many believe in the prescribed scenario, which was invented by the workers of the churchyard, thus warming up interest in unusual sights. However, nobody undertakes to explain strangenesses with a videotape.
Be that as it may, but to this day is considered one of the most mystical areas of the capital of England, the legendary Highgate Cemetery. A photo of an ancient necropolis, on which unnatural silence reigns, fully convey its unusual beauty and evoke various emotions. Some dream of getting into such an amazing place, shrouded in legends, while others prefer to bypass it.
A pacifying corner, inspiring thoughts about the value of human life and the brevity of earthly stay, is worth a visit in order to feel the taste of life.