By CLUE DROP!!
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR CLUES!
We’re baaaack with our fourth annual Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt, and this year it’s bigger than ever! With new and returning vendors and cemetery partners across the world, you don’t want to miss this year’s event.
This year’s cemetery scavenger hunt will be held on Sunday, October 29th, 2023
Taking place every Halloween weekend, TalkDeath’s Cemetery Scavenger Hunt is an annual event designed to bring together communities, families, cemetery lovers, and history enthusiasts. TalkDeath DFFs (Death Friends Forever) are encouraged to visit their local cemeteries and search for monuments, headstones, and symbols that match the provided clues shared on Instagram and TalkDeath.com. Participants have fun while learning about the history of their local cemetery, significant figures, and the art and architecture of different graves and eras. The first three parties to find all of the clues win prizes donated by artisans, craft makers, collectives, and more!
TalkDeath 2023 Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt
How TalkDeath’s Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt Works:
- There will be TWO different Cemetery Scavenger Hunts this year to better accommodate our DFFs around the world!
Participants East of the Atlantic
- If you live on the East side of the Atlantic (Australia, Europe, Asia, etc.), you will need to sign up.
- Please sign up by October 27th if you live East of the Atlantic and would like to participate!
- On Sunday, October 29th at 7pm Sydney time / 10am London, UK time, we will email you the clues to find! (psss check your spam if you don’t receive them!)
- You will submit your findings to the form we’ll provide with the clues!
Participants West of the Atlantic
- If you live on the West side of the Atlantic (Canada, USA, Mexico), you do NOT need to sign up
- We will be posting a second, different set of clues to find on Instagram at 2:30pm ET/ 11:30am PT
- You will need to submit your findings to the form we’ll link in our bio! (We are not using Instagram DMs this year)
More info:
- The more the spookier! Invite your friends and check in with your local death collectives to see if they are participating as well.
- Wait for the clues to drop for our East of the Atlantic friends via Email at 7pm Sydney time / 10am London time, and then another set of clues for our friends West of the Atlantic via Instagram and here at 2:30pm ET/ 11:30am PT
- Scour the cemetery looking for monuments that match the clues (think symbolism, names, dates, etc.)
- First 3 people to fill out the form with their complete findings win! (link to form will be shared closer to event date)
- All winners from both scavenger hunts will be announced around 3:30pm ET/ 12:30pm PT
- We invite all our readers from around the globe to participate!
More details, rules and clues to come, so stay tuned on our socials to keep in the loop!
We are honored to partner with some amazing cemeteries this year! Our partnering cemeteries will be welcoming guests to their grounds for the scavenger hunt (and some of the TalkDeath staff will be there handing out some free merch). You can however attend any local cemetery (that is open of course) near you!
Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY
Green-Wood in Brooklyn, NY: Founded in 1838 and now a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood was one of the first rural cemeteries in America. After almost two centuries, Green-Wood is as beautiful as it was at its founding.
Graceland Cemetery, Chicago IL
Graceland in Chicago, IL: Graceland was established in 1860; its innovative design used native plants to create the cemetery’s pastoral landscape, which today makes it one of the most beautiful places in Chicago for residents and tourists to visit.
Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury CT
Riverside in Waterbury, CT: Riverside Cemetery is significant for its landscape architecture, which beautifully reflects the natural landscape style and rural cemetery design introduced in the 1830’s. The landscape is graced with winding paths, ponds, and ornamental plantings.
This Year’s Death Work & Collective Partners
In addition to cemetery partners, this year we are collaborating with some incredible collectives, individuals, and death-adjacent groups to bring you merch and death education. If you live nearby one of these cemeteries, please come out to meet them and get a treat!
Ashley Johnson of Loyal Hands and National End-Of -Life Doula Alliance (NEDA) @ Greenwood in Orlando, FL
With more than a decade in the death care industry, Ashley launched Loyal Hands End-of-Life consulting agency, where NEDA proficient doulas assist the dying and their families to feel more confident and connected during the end-of-life process.
Connecticut Death Collective @ Riverside Cemetery in Waterbury, CT
Connecticut Death Collective promotes education and community amongst the death-curious, death-positive and everyone in between in Connecticut.
Deathwives @ Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, CO
Deathwives is a Death Doula and a Green Funeral Director changing how we do death in America – through education, sharing our grief, and building community.
Iowa Death Collective @ Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, IA
Iowa Death Collective is a community for death care workers and death positive Iowans.
Jill Schock of Death Doula LA @ Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles, CA
Jill Schock is a Theologian, Rogue Chaplain, and Death Doula in Los Angeles who believes in empowering her clients to step away from the impositions, traditions and negative stigma around death, and embrace personal choice and style as the chapter of life comes to an end.
Lacee Barr of Lees and Associates @ Royal Oak Burial Ground in Victoria, BC
Lacee is a landscape architect with Lees and Associates, with a particular practice and interest in the history and environmental impacts of cemeteries, as well as the social attitudes towards interment spaces and death architecture.
PDX Queer Death Collective @ Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland, OR
PDX Queer Death Collective is a movement to end the exclusion and exploitation of queer and other marginalized communities by and within the funeral industrial complex.
Queer Grief Club @ Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland, OR
Queer Grief Club, run by Jaime Thrower who is a queer death doula, end-of-life educator, and grief guide in Portland, OR.
Rian Lussier of Keeper Memorials @ Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, QC
Rian is a death care worker, end of life planner, writer and researcher based in Montreal, where she is also the Memorial Services Manager for Keeper Memorials.
Morbid Curiosity – A Game About Death
This game will challenge you to explore the greatest mystery of all – death. Using skillfully crafted questions players weave between trivia, culture, science, history, and personal experience. Be as lighthearted or deadly serious as you like. Morbid Curiosity, and its younger sibling Memento Mori, create an evening of laughter, story telling, and maybe a tear or two.
Parrish Platz of Colorado makes creepy cool pieces out of concrete. From doll-face planters, to ghosts and aliens, they make wonderfully spooky concrete decor for your home and garden.
A southern swamp witch based in the woods of the northern USA, I specialize in pen and ink drawings. I stain each piece with coffee and create prints of my originals on recycled paper. I am heavily influenced by nature, death and the liminal spaces that exist between the worlds of the conscious and subconscious. I work to express ideas and feelings that are often difficult to verbalize or for which there is no language. My aim is to evoke a sense of nostalgia and reflection upon the strange dream that is the human experience.
A hospice social worker and author widow team up to create a surprisingly fun and lively party game about death. The Death Deck has everything you need for a fun and memorable night of lively conversations with friends or family.
Death Project Manager’s Mortality Workbook
Short on time? Process information better in printed form? Want to focus on the essentials? Go the DIY route with the Death Project Manager zine! The Mortality Workbook has 40+ pages to organize your contacts, collect your documents, reflect on your values, and create a plan in case of emergency.
Astral Eye Apothecary
In 2014, Kara founded Astral Eye, initially a collection of ritual artworks that has since evolved into a meaningful journey of self-discovery, ancestral healing, and exploration of her lineage. Rooted in traditional witchcraft, spirit work, and ancestral practices, Kara’s creations promote inclusivity within the community while acknowledging societal injustices. With 20+ years of experience in witchcraft, Kara serves as a Psychopomp, working closely with spirits and ancestors in every reading and ritual, crafting each provision by hand to honor you, your space, and the spirits of the land.
Boyce Studio is modern minimal, handmade urns that double as sculptural decorative planters. Cremains are housed in the bottom of the urn and a plant sits on top, creating a living element to complement your keepsake. All urns are expertly made by hand using sustainable, local materials.
Shrine Jewelry Cremated Remains Pendant
Shrine Jewelry is inspired by nature, symbolizing the power and mystery of the stars, moon, and galaxies. Brienna’s goal is to give customers access to meaningful pieces that were created thoughtfully, allowing them to look beautiful while feeling connected to nature and the universe around them. In Shrine Jewelry you will see a collection inspired by the wisdom of the cosmos – encapsulating its inherent beauty in every piece.
The Deathwives are a female-founded collective working to widen the narrative around death and dying. They teach others about the history and practices of deathwork and seek to honor sacred traditions, remove stigmas around death, empower collective grieving, and create a safe space for community, connection, and support.
Trans Doe Task Force finds and researches cases of LGBTQ+ missing and murdered persons, especially focusing on unidentified individuals who may have been transgender. TDTF advises and educates the public, media, and forensic professionals about the needs of and differences between Trans Doe cases and other Doe cases. The TDTF can also assist law enforcement departments, medical examiners, and forensic anthropologists with getting their cases worked on by forensic genetic genealogists and has a Trans-led forensic genetic genealogy team in house.
Prim and Grim is a macabre shop and artisan that sells creepy chic adornments and decor. From killer plants, classy-macabre décor, jewelry, and gifts – you’ll always find something for the Wednesday Addams in your life.
Jazmin of Violet June Co. has been making self-care and healing products since 2017. Everything is made with love and intention for your intentional use. Their products are created, handcrafted, designed, and photographed with care.
Stay tuned for updates on our website and Instagram, and let us know which cemetery you’ll be at this year!
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