Cemetery Angels in Virginia
An angel prays atop a grave marker at the Mount Hebron Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia.
There are all kinds of angel figures at cemeteries, especially older cemeteries. And in some ways, especially as they age and the weather starts to deteriorate some of their features, the angels start to look just a little creepy. So with Halloween just around the corner (at the time of this writing), I thought I would share a few that we saw in Winchester. This one pictured above was my favorite of all those that I photographed.
This next one was by far the creepiest of the angels that I photographed. There is something about that face. Why are the angel’s eyes closed? What is she reaching out toward? I have no idea. I am sure this was a comfort to the family at the time. And maybe it is just my brain that makes it creepy.
This final cemetery angel is a little creepy just because her face is completely dark. Yes, that is because of the mold and other stuff growing on her, but it still makes her look just a little strange.
Historic Vs. Spooky
Some people find cemeteries to be spooky. To them, it does not matter if it is day or night, Halloween or Christmas, or any other variable. For various reasons, some people just try to avoid any trip to any cemetery.
Other people find cemeteries to be fascinating, because they are full of history. Even small cemeteries often have some interesting history just waiting to be discovered. And older cemeteries, such as this one with graves dating to the Civil War, Revolutionary War, and beyond, have an even richer history to them.
From the above, I am guessing that you can determine which of those categories Laura and I fall in. We love wandering around old cemeteries to see what we can find. It is not unusual for us to see a cemetery as we are driving somewhere and stop in for a visit.
However, a few years back we were reminded that there are some people in the first group when we took some people to the small cemetery near our house. One of the friends stayed over by the car, and we eventually figured out why. Oops! We were just attempting to share what we found interesting, not realizing that there might be some issues about it. Fortunately, the friend was good-natured about it.
To me, that is just a reminder of how we are all different. We have different things that we like to do, and different things that unnerve us. So while this post is all in fun, I will not think anything negative about you if you choose to skip it. Happy, fun things are coming soon!
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23
About the Photos
I had fun converting these into black and white from their original color versions. I typically prefer color, but black and white seems to suit cemetery photos well.
Also, these are not quite true black and white, because I gave them a sepia tint. I prefer the brown tones over the gray tones of black and white.
I had mentioned sharing some black and white photos in the previous Mount Hebron Cemetery post, and these are the photos that I had in mind when I typed those words.
Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Raw Therapee and GIMP.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens
Date: July 26, 2023
Location: Mount Hebron Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia