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61st out of 151 books
—
50 voters
Cemetery Stories: Haunted Graveyards, Embalming Secrets, and the Life of a Corpse After Death
by
Katherine Ramsland (Goodreads Author)
Never look at a grave the same way againAdmit it: You're fascinated by cemeteries. We all die, and for most of us, a cemetery is our final resting place. But how many people really know what goes on inside, around, and beyond them?
Enter the world of the dead as Katherine Ramsland talks to mortuary assistants, gravediggers, funeral home owners, and more, and find out about:...more
Enter the world of the dead as Katherine Ramsland talks to mortuary assistants, gravediggers, funeral home owners, and more, and find out about:...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
October 2nd 2001
by It Books
(first published October 1st 2001)
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I picked up a copy of this book based on a negative review which claimed it was disgusting. It's always an occasion when such reviews on the subject matter turn out to be true, but absolutely, to a large portion of the population this book would be quite disgusting.
I'm part of a smaller percentage of the population who have no problem whatever with reading about decomposition, embalming, exploding corpses, and leaking crypts. In fact it was all good until I reached the section on necrophilia......more
I'm part of a smaller percentage of the population who have no problem whatever with reading about decomposition, embalming, exploding corpses, and leaking crypts. In fact it was all good until I reached the section on necrophilia......more
The subtitle sums this book up nicely - if you've done other reading on the death care industry, a lot of the information will be a repeat.
Although she does have a bibliography page, many of the "haunted graveyard" and funeral home stories have an air of the apocryphal about them. The embalming section does go into detail - so if you're easily squicked, you might want to skip that section. And unless you're *really* strong-stomached - skip the necrophilia section - TMI indeed.
All in all - if y...more
Although she does have a bibliography page, many of the "haunted graveyard" and funeral home stories have an air of the apocryphal about them. The embalming section does go into detail - so if you're easily squicked, you might want to skip that section. And unless you're *really* strong-stomached - skip the necrophilia section - TMI indeed.
All in all - if y...more
Aug 11, 2007
Chelsie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in a career in funeral directing or embalming
I found this book very interesting. It was given to me as a Christmas gift(due to my fascination with death at the time). A I was hoping to become a funeral director and this book was a very real, and scary look into the business. It is one of the most real books I have ever read on the subject....I found that she dug past all the typically written things on death and corpses and opens your eyes to a whole new and exciting world! It was a great read....just don't read it alone late at night.(as...more
Interesting read from this author who explores the concept of death and what happens to our body after the event. Spilt into three chapters she follows what happens immediately following death to the body, how it breaks down and the role of the undertaker, embalmer and cosmetic expert. Ramsland also meets up with other people who are interested in death and dying, touring cemeteries and museums dedicated to death. The final chapter is all a little weird and covers the ghost stories that inevitab...more
Infelizmente, ficou bastante aquém das minhas expectativas.
É um livro escrito por americanos, para americanos. Não só não aborda a questão da morte e rituais associados de um ponto de vista amplo, de forma a contextualizar muitos dos rituais americanos que, na sua maioria, partilham raízes com os rituais europeus, como a prosa está cheia de piadas e comentários pseudo-humorísticos.
Esta é uma característica que, infelizmente, tenho encontrado em outros textos de não ficção e que me aborrece imen...more
É um livro escrito por americanos, para americanos. Não só não aborda a questão da morte e rituais associados de um ponto de vista amplo, de forma a contextualizar muitos dos rituais americanos que, na sua maioria, partilham raízes com os rituais europeus, como a prosa está cheia de piadas e comentários pseudo-humorísticos.
Esta é uma característica que, infelizmente, tenho encontrado em outros textos de não ficção e que me aborrece imen...more
When you run out of Kathy Reichs stories about bones or Jan Burke novels with "bones" in the title, it's time to turn to cemetery stories. Maybe growing up across the road from a cemetery gives me this morbid streak.
Along with the entertainment, Katherine Ramsland offers some good advice writers can use: medical examiners versus coroners and corpse abuse, to name a couple of topics covered. She even has a section on Haunted Cemeteries, right up my alley.
Along with the entertainment, Katherine Ramsland offers some good advice writers can use: medical examiners versus coroners and corpse abuse, to name a couple of topics covered. She even has a section on Haunted Cemeteries, right up my alley.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I’ve read several other books by Ramsland. I’m all over the place in how much I like them. This was square in the center. It’s good but I neither loved nor hated it. This covers a host of death related subjects.
It starts with funeral directors and that business. I’ll be honest. I struggled through this. I had just read something similar last month and this was so schizophrenic hopping from one aspect to another. That’s the issue with books like this, trying to cover too much. A book could have...more
It starts with funeral directors and that business. I’ll be honest. I struggled through this. I had just read something similar last month and this was so schizophrenic hopping from one aspect to another. That’s the issue with books like this, trying to cover too much. A book could have...more
All I can say is this is in my top ten of my very favorite books. She goes across the country talking with morticians and their families and teaches, in a very storytelling way, about the history to now of the mortuary services. This was very helpful for me when I wrote my first book.
Read for research for my next book - not for the faint-hearted but an excellent overview of what happens to corpses. Cremate me as fast as possible when I pop off, because I do not want to end up on an embalming slab ...
It was interesting, but served more of a sample of the stories of the dead. Ramsland doesn't really go into too much detail on one subject, and I agree with Trisha's comment about Ramsland jumping to something new right when you get interested in what she's talking about.
Overall, a good book if you're interested in small anecdotes about the dead and what happens to them. Don't expect to get any wealth of information from it. I suggest using it more of a collection of stories to look up on your o...more
Overall, a good book if you're interested in small anecdotes about the dead and what happens to them. Don't expect to get any wealth of information from it. I suggest using it more of a collection of stories to look up on your o...more
i thought this book was very informative. i liked all the stories and how it covered so many aspects of life after death in the physical realm.
Sep 10, 2008
Trisha
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
writers of dark fiction
Shelves:
non-fiction
I love the idea of this book, but though it IS fairly interesting, it's a bit disappointing at times too. Ramsland's writing style is a bit too rambly and anecdotal for me. She tends to jump to something new- just when I'm getting interested. This one is not nearly as confusing and meandering as Piercing the Darkness: Undercover with Vampires in America Today however.
I do recommend it for writers of horror and dark fantasy. The section on "body cheese" alone is worth the price of admission (alth...more
I do recommend it for writers of horror and dark fantasy. The section on "body cheese" alone is worth the price of admission (alth...more
Whoa nelly, what a book this was. This book is not, I repeat, NOT for the faint of heart. It talked about everything from ghosts, to detailed descriptions of the stages our bodies go through after we die, to insane weirdos having sex with dead people...and detailed descriptions about it. I checked this out of the library once, and my mother picked it up from the coffee table and started reading it. After 5 minutes, she yelled, "Oh Sean! GROSS!"
I wasn't expecting it to be very gross, but it was....more
I wasn't expecting it to be very gross, but it was....more
You may be afraid to die after reading this inside look.
A good, solid book. The writing style is a little stiff, but the stories conveyed and the information provided are excellent.
Jan 14, 2010
A. Non
marked it as to-read
Library
Anything and everything you could possibly want to know about what happens to your body after death is in this book. It was fascinating reading even though many parts of it were quite ghoulish. I couldn't put this book down but then again maybe I'm a bit different.
Here Lies the Hype
This novel was undeveloped and mostly anecdotal. There are much better books out there.
This novel was undeveloped and mostly anecdotal. There are much better books out there.
I understand the embalming process, boring! This book read like a young child recently come home from summer vacation, bursting at the seams with random bits of information, trying to tell them all to a friend to impress them when they themselves had no understanding what they are saying. Poor writing style and NOT entertaining or educational.
This book is a collection of basic facts about death and the death industry, as well as occasional shocking tidbits. If presented in a more orderly fashion or in some amount of depth, it could've been a really interesting read. However, the book reads like a book report written by a 5th grader.
Very interesting book for me. I learned alot from this book about death, funeral homes, embalming and a bit of what goes on behind the scenes before a funeral or burial takes place. Nothing really brutal, but can be a sensitive area if you have recently lost a loved one.
Enjoyed every minute of this book. It had many interesting stories covering the variety of topics as in the title.
I thought Stiff was going to be more like this book...Stiff was
a disappointment.
I thought Stiff was going to be more like this book...Stiff was
a disappointment.
Nov 13, 2008
Annie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyoneallweirdlike me
Recommended to Annie by:
Nobody
Shelves:
horror-mystery-sci-fi-fantasy
This was kind of creepy, but very informative. It's a factual trip of what a body goes through, from death to the monuments they have on their graves. I really liked it!
It's alright, it's not earth moving. The sections on Jewish death practices, types of embalming and funeral home scandals are the most interesting parts.
really cool, it led me to other books about death
Personal fave of mine. Great stuff. I dig Ramsland's writing.
May 22, 2013
Sarahweiand
marked it as to-read
May 21, 2013
Aishe
marked it as to-read
May 21, 2013
Sarah Kennedy
marked it as to-read
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I've loved books since I was 3, and the library was a highlight of my childhood. I've been fortunate to be able to find great joy in what others have written and sometimes to give this to readers. I follow my own muse, because it leads me on interesting adventures. If others benefit, so much the better.
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Jan 12, 2013 01:32pm