The Taphophile Diaries

The Poltergeist of Greyfriars Kirkyard

The historic Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, Scotland has a long, interesting, and bloody history, even housing its own alleged poltergeist... Follow along on Instagram: @thetaphophilediaries Music: "Horror Dark Piano" by Nikita Kondrashev Resources used for this episode: https://ewh.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Greyfriars-Kirkyard.pdf [https://ewh.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Greyfriars-Kirkyard.pdf] https://greyfriarskirk.com/history/ [https://greyfriarskirk.com/history/] https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/632836/greyfriars-kirkyard-ghostly-history [https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/632836/greyfriars-kirkyard-ghostly-history] http://www.eatdrinktravel.com/most-haunted-graveyard-in-the-world-greyfriars-kirkyard/ [http://www.eatdrinktravel.com/most-haunted-graveyard-in-the-world-greyfriars-kirkyard/] https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/george-mackenzie-s-mausoleum [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/george-mackenzie-s-mausoleum] https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Colin+Grant+was+talking+to+the+spirit+world+when+he+unexpectedly...-a060820879 [https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Colin+Grant+was+talking+to+the+spirit+world+when+he+unexpectedly...-a060820879]  https://angusfolklore.blogspot.com/2019/02/bloody-advocate-mackenzie-monster-or.html [https://angusfolklore.blogspot.com/2019/02/bloody-advocate-mackenzie-monster-or.html]  https://darkhauntings.wordpress.com/2017/07/27/greyfriars-kirkyard/ [https://darkhauntings.wordpress.com/2017/07/27/greyfriars-kirkyard/]  https://edinburgh.org/blog/tales-from-beyond-the-grave-in-edinburgh/#:~:text=In%201999%2C%20a%20homeless%20man,ghost%20of%20%E2%80%9CBluidy%20Mackenzie

The New Orleans "Casket Girls"

Does this episode involve cemeteries? No...BUT, it does involve caskets...sort of... Legend has it that a group of women (and their caskets) docked many years ago in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rumors of their vampiric nature began to swirl, and they remain a popular topic for tour guides in NOLA to this very day. But for this episode, I dive into the REAL story of the casket girls, which I find far more horrifying than the idea of real-life vampires... Follow along on Instagram: @thetaphophilediaries Music: "Horror Dark Piano" by Nikita Kondrashev Resources used for this episode: * The Casket Girls [https://wams.nyhistory.org/settler-colonialism-and-revolution/settler-colonialism/casket-girls/] for Women and the American Story * Andrew Milne, edited by Jaclyn Anglis, How French 'Casket Girls' Were Forced Into The New World To 'Tame' The Male Settlers [https://allthatsinteresting.com/casket-girls] for All That's Interesting * French Colonial Women [https://scrcexhibits.omeka.net/exhibits/show/sihistory/settlement/french/frwomen#:~:text=Many%20French%20explorers%2C%20traders%2C%20and,were%20relatively%20independent%20and%20influential] for SCRC Exhibits

Birth of the Modern Funeral Home

(First and foremost, let's all ignore my mispronunciation of diphtheria throughout the episode!) There was a time when Seattles streets were described as being, quite literally, littered with bodies of the dead, sparking the creation of Butterworth and Sons - the first purpose-built mortuary in North America. Today, this location is now home to Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub, having been made famous for its hauntings and feature in an episode of Ghost Adventures... Follow along on Instagram: @thetaphophilediaries Music: "Horror Dark Piano" by Nikita Kondrashev Resources used for this episode: * Meg van Huygen, Pike Place’s Butterworth Building has pretty much been creepy since day one [https://seattle.curbed.com/2018/10/31/18048486/pike-place-butterworth-haunted-history] for Curbed Seattle * James Ross Gardner, Exquisite Corpses [https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2012/03/butterworth-mortuarys-exquisite-corpses-april-2012]for Seattle Met, News & City Life * Alana Loftus, Kells Irish Pub: Haunted bar on site of mortuary serves spirits of a different kind in Seattle [https://www.irishstar.com/culture/food-drink/kells-irish-pub-haunted-bar-31231270.amp ] for the Irish Star * Mortuary [https://www.etymonline.com/word/mortuary ] for Etymonline

Rosalia Lombardo

With rumors of ghostly happenings, including her own eyes opening and closing on their own, young Rosalia, a fantastically preserved corpse, is now one of the most visited among the rest held within the Capuchin Catacombs. Follow along on Instagram: @thetaphophilediaries Music: "Horror Dark Piano" by Nikita Kondrashev Resources used for this episode: * Adam Farley, edited by John Kuroshio The Mystery Of Rosalia Lombardo, The ‘Blinking’ Mummy Who Appears To Open Her Eyes [https://allthatsinteresting.com/rosalia-lombardo] for All That’s Interesting. * Rosalia Lombardo [https://www.palermocatacombs.com/explore/rosalia-lombardo], Palermo Catacombs. * Rosalia Lombardo [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalia_Lombardo], Wikipedia. * ICONIC CORPSE: Sweet Little (Haunted?) Rosalia Lombardo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOhSd0ugmI4] with Caitlin Doughty, YouTube.

The Old Stone Cutter

A walk through any historic New England cemetery will bring you examples of the famous "deaths head" symbol: a skull with wings which represents, among many things, the fleeting nature of life. In this episode, I discuss this beautiful example of American folk art and the famous (and nameless) figure believed to be behind its creation. (Or popularity, at least.) Follow along on Instagram: @thetaphophilediaries Music: "Horror Dark Piano" by Nikita Kondrashev Resources used for this episode: * Iconography of Gravestones at Burying Grounds: Seventeenth-Century Iconography for City of Boston. [https://www.boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/iconography-gravestones-burying-grounds] * Kim Jacobson Early New England Stone Cutters–The Stone Cutter of Boston for Cemetery Symbolism [https://symbolism.magnoliasandpeaches.com/2022/06/early-new-england-stone-cutters-the-stone-cutter-of-boston/] (Wordpress) * Funerary art in Puritan New England for Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funerary_art_in_Puritan_New_England]