Upcoming Events

From the Beyond: Ghosts, Spiritualism, and Cemeteries

15 Jul

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

All will be revealed.

Anyone who works at a cemetery (technically, a cemetarian) knows that the number one question posed to them by the public will always be: have you ever seen a ghost? The question is often in jest, but inquiring minds seem to want to hear yes. Why are so many people intrigued by the potential for poltergeists? What’s got us gasping for ghouls?

 

After years of avowed silence and cynicism on the subject, we’re ready to talk about it. Elmwood Cemetery Executive Director Kim Bearden, a cemetarian with 24 years of experience, will share the fascinating history of spiritualism in the United States, and how it ties into the abolitionist, temperance, and suffrage movements. She will explore the meaning of spiritualism, or the religious belief that the dead communicate with and advise the living. Ghost photography, séance, and more will be illuminated during this 45-minute presentation in the Chapel at Elmwood Cemetery. Cost is $20 per person; beverages and snacks will be provided. Space is limited. All proceeds benefit historic Elmwood Cemetery.

 

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Foul Play: True Crimes of Bygone Times (An Indoor Presentation)

22 Jul

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Heinous history of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

True crime stories of decades past - that's what we're featuring on this new tour at Elmwood Cemetery. Who was accused of lacing her cookies with arsenic? Who was at the center of a nationwide missing person search for decades beginning in 1899? Who married seven times and was accused of offing at least three of her spouses?

Join Elmwood Cemetery volunteer Sheena Barnett for this hour-long, indoor presentation, based on the tour of the same name. We'll meet in the Chapel at Elmwood at 5:30 pm. Beverages and snacks are included. Admission is $20. Sign up soon for what's undoubtedly to be a sold out performance; admission is limited.

 

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From the Beyond: Ghosts, Spiritualism, and Cemeteries

29 Jul

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

All will be revealed.

Anyone who works at a cemetery (technically, a cemetarian) knows that the number one question posed to them by the public will always be: have you ever seen a ghost? The question is often in jest, but inquiring minds seem to want to hear yes. Why are so many people intrigued by the potential for poltergeists? What’s got us gasping for ghouls?

After years of avowed silence and cynicism on the subject, we’re ready to talk about it. Elmwood Cemetery Executive Director Kim Bearden, a cemetarian with 24 years of experience, will share the fascinating history of spiritualism in the United States, and how it ties into the abolitionist, temperance, and suffrage movements. She will explore the meaning of spiritualism, or the religious belief that the dead communicate with and advise the living. Ghost photography, séance, and more will be illuminated during this 45-minute presentation in the Chapel at Elmwood Cemetery. Cost is $20 per person; beverages and snacks will be provided. Space is limited. All proceeds benefit historic Elmwood Cemetery.

 

Register Now

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Yellow Fever History & Elmwood Cemetery: An Indoor Presentation

10 Sep

1 PM - 2 PM

How yellow fever nearly destoyed Memphis forever.

"Yellow Fever is what is known as a flavivirus, a group of viruses spread by mosquitoes that includes West Nile, dengue and Japanese encephalitis. As a virus, yellow fever is not one of the stronger ones...What the virus lacks in evolutionary prowess, the mosquito makes up for." -From The American Plague by Molly Caldwell Crosby

Join us for this indoor presentation at Elmwood Cemetery and learn how Memphis was devastated by an opportunistic vector from Africa called Aedes aegypti, a terrible lack of sanitation or good hygiene, and a stagnant bayou that cut through downtown. We'll tell the stories of the heroes who paid dearly for their commitment to helping the sick and dying. They now rest in Elmwood Cemetery.

We will begin our presentation at 1:00 pm in the Chapel at Elmwood Cemetery. Light snacks and beverages will be available. Cost of admission is $20 per person; all proceeds benefit historic Elmwood Cemetery.

 

Register Now

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