It's Not Grave Robbing
I'm not sure how you are planning on spending your Halloween. I'll be preluding mine in a related activity, that being a visit to a graveyard. In other words, I'll be attending a funeral. Now, it's not all doom and gloom, as this funeral is for a person who had lived a good long life. She probably lived longer than most people would care to live, once the losses are too numerous to mention, and one's quality of life just isn't what it once was.
Throughout her life, this classy lady carried herself with honour and dignity. That said, she will be buried at a graveyard reflecting these qualities. As far as resting places go, this is a beautiful, remote graveyard, hidden smack dab in the middle of nature, amongst the trees. Her final resting place is sure pretty this time of the year with the wonderful autumn colours, like the lovely crimson reds, oranges and yellows.
Unfortunately, all this graveyard talk has reminded me of a story out of the States that was making the rounds a few months ago, where hundreds of bodies were dug up in a grave reselling scheme. Apparently, the con-artists thought they would turn a fast buck, in the most despicable way you could imagine. After the shysters dug up the grave-sites, they then resold the vacant ones for their own financial gain. After the fact, family members came around looking for the remains of their loved ones only to be told, "I don't know where your Uncle John Doe is." This story is pretty stomach churning wouldn't you agree?
I had a similar experience, although it was much more innocent. Not so long ago, my family and I had to take my dearly departed Dad's just completed tombstone to his grave-site. It is a pretty secluded graveyard deep in the woods much like the one I described earlier, and not far from the water. We hadn't visited the grave-site in a few months, and the site was not marked well, and had since overgrown with grass. We "thought'" we remembered where my father was buried.
Now, I don't know how appropriate this story is in retrospect, but I'm only telling it because my Dad would have laughed hysterically at it, if it had happened to anyone else. Anyhow, to make an already embarrassingly long story short, we placed my father's tombstone in the wrong spot!
24 hours later, when it was nearly dark, we all snuck back to the scene of the crime, when the cemetery manager informed us about the error of our ways. With our shovels, wheelbarrow and picks in tow, we dug the tombstone up again. Then wouldn't you know it, someone drove in while we were in the midst of this chaos. I prayed that it wasn't the people, who actually were the rightful owners of the erroneous site. It wasn't, thank goodness and we fixed things up so that no one would be the wiser.
Now, if you're in Copenhagen and looking for some "innocent" Halloween activities that don't include grave robbing, why not check out Halloween at Krogerup Avlsgård. The ecological firm Aarstiderne invites one and all to a scary evening in the dark, empty fields, which are usually used to grow ecological goods such as corn and other green veggies.
Jack-O-Lanterns, skeletons, ghosts and goblins will all be guests at this get together. You may cut out pumpkins and make amulets that will protect against the wicked spirits. Baked cake, coffee, soup and grilled sausages will be available for purchase.
Where: Krogerup Avlsgaard,
Krogerup vej 3, 3050 Humlebæk
When: Saturday the 31st of October from 10:00 a.m. to 19:30 p.m.
Cost: Free!
P.S. Humlebæk is just a half hour train ride north of Copenhagen. After that, it's just a 10 minute walk to the woods from Humlebæk Station. Just head north young man! Women and children are welcome too, of course.
