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New Hampshire Book of the Dead:: Graveyard Legends and Lore
New Hampshire's historic graveyards, from Portsmouth to North Conway, have bizarre and eerie stories to offer their visitors. Graveyards often invoke fear and superstition among the living, but the dead who rest within them may have more to communicate to the world they left behind. The sands of Pine Grove Cemetery in Hampton once concealed the tombstone of Susanna Smith, but now its message--which reads simply Slaine with thunder"--and her story have risen from beneath the soil. The Point of Graves Cemetery in Portsmouth is home to the spirit of Elizabeth Pierce, who beckons departing guests back to her grave. Along the state's southern border in Jaffrey, tombstones at Philips-Heil Cemetery caution the living to cherish life. Author Roxie Zwicker tours the Granite State's oldest burial grounds, exploring the stones, stories and folklore of these hallowed places."
- GenresHistory
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 15, 2018
New Hampshire Book of the Dead: Graveyard Legends and Lore by Roxie J. Zwicker is such an interesting and well written collection of tales from the beautiful state of New Hampshire.
When I saw this book sitting on a shelf at Deadwicks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire while on my bachelorette party trip, I just had to snag it!
The introduction drew me right in! I loved that I the author touched on why she visits cemeteries and how important it is to remember our history.
While reading, I couldn’t help but let the narration in my head sound a bit dramatic like one of the history channel specials. This certainly made the read even more fun!
I learned so much from this book!
Right from chapter two I learned that the oldest cemetery in the state of New Hampshire is in Rye; Old Odiorne Point Cemetery located in the woods at Odiorne Point State Park. I learned that in Pine Grove Cemetery in Hampton, headstones appear and disappear when the weather shifts the sand and dirt. I learned that at the Point of Graves in Portsmouth, there is a rare turnstile that are not frequently seen in New England as well as purple headstones that would have been shipped here from England. Also at Point of Graves is a headstone for Elizabeth Pierce, which is said to be an active location spiritually.
Later on, reading about a cemetery very close to where I currently live was heartbreaking! There is so much history with the Valley Cemetery in Manchester... and hearing about how many areas have been vandalized with graffiti really got my blood boiling!
The rest of the book covered tales and lore from other New Hampshire towns. Whether I was reading about an old cemetery or a horrible tale of injustice, this book had me totally hooked.
My favorite passages:
New Hampshire is also proud of its scenic (albeit tiny) seacoast, where visitors from Europe visited the shores as early as the sixteenth century. Here, seeds of revolution were sown in the eighteenth-century, and the echoes of the past can be found in the old town neighborhoods.
For some people, graveyards are uncomfortable places, and this sentiment is usually tied to superstitious belief. But what we should really be fearful of is forgetting where we come from. There is much to lean and see among the forgotten stones, if you dare to look.
My final thoughts:
A must read if you live in, or have visited, New Hampshire and enjoy learning about spooky things. I'm so happy I picked this one up and I know that I will be rereading it time and time again. This book also made me want to visit some of the areas that the author wrote about!
When I saw this book sitting on a shelf at Deadwicks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire while on my bachelorette party trip, I just had to snag it!
The introduction drew me right in! I loved that I the author touched on why she visits cemeteries and how important it is to remember our history.
While reading, I couldn’t help but let the narration in my head sound a bit dramatic like one of the history channel specials. This certainly made the read even more fun!
I learned so much from this book!
Right from chapter two I learned that the oldest cemetery in the state of New Hampshire is in Rye; Old Odiorne Point Cemetery located in the woods at Odiorne Point State Park. I learned that in Pine Grove Cemetery in Hampton, headstones appear and disappear when the weather shifts the sand and dirt. I learned that at the Point of Graves in Portsmouth, there is a rare turnstile that are not frequently seen in New England as well as purple headstones that would have been shipped here from England. Also at Point of Graves is a headstone for Elizabeth Pierce, which is said to be an active location spiritually.
Later on, reading about a cemetery very close to where I currently live was heartbreaking! There is so much history with the Valley Cemetery in Manchester... and hearing about how many areas have been vandalized with graffiti really got my blood boiling!
The rest of the book covered tales and lore from other New Hampshire towns. Whether I was reading about an old cemetery or a horrible tale of injustice, this book had me totally hooked.
My favorite passages:
New Hampshire is also proud of its scenic (albeit tiny) seacoast, where visitors from Europe visited the shores as early as the sixteenth century. Here, seeds of revolution were sown in the eighteenth-century, and the echoes of the past can be found in the old town neighborhoods.
For some people, graveyards are uncomfortable places, and this sentiment is usually tied to superstitious belief. But what we should really be fearful of is forgetting where we come from. There is much to lean and see among the forgotten stones, if you dare to look.
My final thoughts:
A must read if you live in, or have visited, New Hampshire and enjoy learning about spooky things. I'm so happy I picked this one up and I know that I will be rereading it time and time again. This book also made me want to visit some of the areas that the author wrote about!
December 5, 2022
I'm going to be nice, and give this a three. I live in Portsmouth, within a few blocks of both the South Street Cemetery and Point of Graves. Zwicker writes that South Cemetery is one of the oldest and most haunted cemeteries in New Hampshire, and it is neither. It is not considered haunted by any stretch of the imagination by Portsmouth residents, and neither is Point of Graves. People walk through South Cemetery regularly, for exercise, to meet friends, to take their little kids for bike rides. It's a Victorian cemetery, mostly from the 1800s, and still taking burials today. I've lived across the street from it. No one is afraid of it. The story of Ruth Blay that the author presents is considered a legend, and not history.
The story about opening a tomb in Point of Graves sounds like a combination of other stories about opening tombs in the Pleasant Street and St. John's Church cemeteries. I never heard of it in Point of Graves--maybe it did happen, but I didn't hear it.
Somehow, I think Zwicker combined the really creepy, and much older cemetery on Maplewood Ave.--North Cemetery. This is an 18th century graveyard with probably thousands of graves, and very ancient stones. There is a mass grave for the victims of a yellow fever outbreak in the late 1700s. No stones, but there it is. It's North Cemetery where the earliest residents of Portsmouth are buried, not South Street Cemetery. It's as if Zwicker was talking to someone over the phone, took a lot of notes, and never really visited Portsmouth to verify her own writings. There are other books that contradict what she writes about Portsmouth cemeteries, so it makes me wonder about everything else she writes.
I think this is a valuable addition to the many books of New Hampshire history and cemeteries, but read it with many grains of salt, if you do. Although there is a bibliography at the end of the book, I have a lot of doubts about the accuracy of anything in this book. Read it for the photos, which are good, and the quotes from the stones themselves. But the author may have taken a few liberties with the "lore and legends." It's not history. Just stories.
The story about opening a tomb in Point of Graves sounds like a combination of other stories about opening tombs in the Pleasant Street and St. John's Church cemeteries. I never heard of it in Point of Graves--maybe it did happen, but I didn't hear it.
Somehow, I think Zwicker combined the really creepy, and much older cemetery on Maplewood Ave.--North Cemetery. This is an 18th century graveyard with probably thousands of graves, and very ancient stones. There is a mass grave for the victims of a yellow fever outbreak in the late 1700s. No stones, but there it is. It's North Cemetery where the earliest residents of Portsmouth are buried, not South Street Cemetery. It's as if Zwicker was talking to someone over the phone, took a lot of notes, and never really visited Portsmouth to verify her own writings. There are other books that contradict what she writes about Portsmouth cemeteries, so it makes me wonder about everything else she writes.
I think this is a valuable addition to the many books of New Hampshire history and cemeteries, but read it with many grains of salt, if you do. Although there is a bibliography at the end of the book, I have a lot of doubts about the accuracy of anything in this book. Read it for the photos, which are good, and the quotes from the stones themselves. But the author may have taken a few liberties with the "lore and legends." It's not history. Just stories.
March 4, 2024
I did enjoy this book, mostly because it gave me stories and places to look up online and gather more info about what actually happened. Some of the facts/tales are factually inaccurate, such as the death of Mitty Beebe on Star Island. The author states that Mitty was a boy when she was in fact, a girl. Also the burial place of the Willey Family is inaccurate.
August 11, 2014
Zwicker's book featured several stories of New Hampshire graveyards that were quite interesting; however, the writing was a bit too sensationalist at times. Definitely not an exhausting volume historically, but a good starting point for those interested in learning more about New Hampshire's history. The story she wrote regarding the Willey Family Graveyard in North Conway, NH was particularly striking, as it is very reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Ambitious Guest."
June 12, 2013
Pretty good. An introduction book. Not a lot (if any) of in-depth or hard to come by information. Too many "most haunted place in New Hampshire" descriptions. The organization is strange.
November 24, 2013
this book was very interesting, although i could easily have added a few more cemeteries to her list.
May 1, 2014
Pretty neat. A few places to check out!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews