TalkDeath 2021 Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt!

This Halloween, join us for our second annual TalkDeath Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt!

On Sunday October 31st, we invite our community from around the globe to visit your favorite local cemetery at 2PM EST/11AM PST for our second annual Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt! This activity is meant to be a safe, spooky, and family-friendly way to celebrate our favorite holiday and become more engaged with our local cemetery history. We have some incredible prizes by some of our favorite death positive artisans and TalkDeath swag that we will ship to the top 4 winners. You really won’t want to miss it.

TalkDeath 2021 Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt!

How it works:

• 💀 Visit your favorite local cemetery (the more historic the better!)
• 💀 Wait for the clues to drop on Instagram and here on the TalkDeath website at 2PM EST/11AM PST
• 💀 We will drop a total of 15 clues. You need to find 8!
• 💀 Scour the cemetery looking for monuments that match the clues (think symbolism, names, dates, etc.)
• 💀 First 4 people to DM us on Instagram with ALL 8 of their findings (at the same time), win!
• 💀 We invite all our readers from around the globe to participate in this spooky activity!🚨 PSA 🚨

• Please remember to respect social distancing and all cemetery rules. Stay away from any fresh graves and respect the grave markers. If the cemetery is closed then don’t go! NO TRESPASSING! If you are in a larger group PLEASE WEAR A MASK!

THE CLUES:

Halloween Cemetery Scavenger Hunt Prizes

First prize:

1. Mockingbird Lane: coffin nail necklace
2. Handmade Memento Mori Tombstone Candle by Graveyard Wanders
3. Handmade Mini Coffin Candles by Graveyard Wanders
4. Original Illustration from Laurie Conley
5. Magnets from Epoch Preservation
6. Button and Stickers from Death Companion, Desiree Celeste
7. T-Shirt, Stickers and Enamel Pin from TalkDeath
8. Swag from Life Forest (not pictured)

Second prize:

1. Handmade “Pumpkin Carving” Candle from Burke & Hare Co
2. Original Print from Bill Crisafi
3. Print, Set of Bookplates, Bookmark and Pencil from The Creeping Museum
4. Magnets from Epoch Preservation
5. Button and Stickers from Death Companion, Desiree Celeste
6. T-Shirt, Stickers and Enamel Pin from TalkDeath
7. Swag from Life Forest (not pictured)

Third prize:

1. Tote Bag and Sticker Night Spirit Studio
2. Enamel Pin, Set of Bookplates, Postcard and Sticker from The Creeping Museum
3. Original Illustration from Laurie Conley
4. Magnet from Epoch Preservation
5. Sticker from Death Companion, Desiree Celeste
6. T-Shirt, Stickers and Enamel Pin from TalkDeath
7. Swag from Life Forest (not pictured)

Fourth Prize:

1. “Death Embraced: New Orleans Tombs and Burials Customs” Book by Mary LaCoste
2. Magnet from Epoch Preservation
3. Sticker from Death Companion, Desiree Celeste
4. T-Shirt, Stickers and Enamel Pin from TalkDeath
5. Swag from Life Forest (not pictured)

Death Positive Artisans 

Laurie A. Conley

Laurie A. Conley is a pen and ink illustrator who makes what she calls “gently spooky” art (what a resonant descriptor). Her works often feature Grim Reapers, ghosts, and skeletons doing a myriad of activities; some of our favorites being Death hanging out with spirits that they have escorted to the other side.

Burke & Hare Co.

Burke & Hare Co. make candles and fragrances that take inspiration from their love of all things dark and dreary (sound familiar?). Heavily influenced by their obsession with goth music, graveyards, and Morticia Addams, some of their recent collections have included scents like “Cemetery Gates” and “Howling Woods.” They tend to sell out very quickly, so get yours whenever you can to set the spooky vibes!

The Creeping Museum 

The Creeping Museum is a volunteer-run non profit in Portland, Oregon whose mission is to “mend the world with art” by helping artists use their work to give back to their communities. They focus on folklore, museums, and ghost stories and also make their own beautiful pennants, papercuts, prints, and other goods. (Please excuse us while we cover our laptops in their stickers.)

Mockingbird Lane Artistries

Mockingbird Lane Artistries is a one-woman show that alchemizes ancient stones with modern solder methods to make uniquely spooky pieces like coffin-nail necklaces and headstone earrings. We love the way she brings a touch of death into daily life!

Graveyard Wanders

Graveyard Wanders is a small-batch candlemaker in Montréal, Québec whose absolutely gorgeous candles draw upon death imagery and rituals like headstones, eternal candles, and gothic arches. They would make a great centerpiece in any DFF’s home!

Night Spirit Studio

Night Spirit Studio is the work of a 9,000 year old vampire who has been crafting, sewing, stitching and creating art for over 20 years (it’s always great to take up a new hobby, no matter how long you’ve been around). Their gothic cross stitch patterns are such a treat, drawing upon TalkDeath favorites like history, death rituals, mourning, cryptids, skulls, bones, and gothic culture.

Epoch Preservation

Epoch Preservation is a stone conversation business in northern Massachusetts run by TD Day in the Life interviewee Rachel Meyer and Joshua Gerloff. They work in some of the earliest established burying grounds in the state. They were kind enough to donate magnets made from extra materials mixed while repairing gravestones in Salem and Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Desiree Celeste

Desiree Celeste is a death companion, educator, and trans advocate in Denver, Colorado. (Check out their recent article we published here!) Their offerings include making deathcare more inclusive and equitable for everyone, as well as amazing buttons and stickers that encourage everyone to talk about death and grief, a mission we unsurprisingly wholeheartedly get behind.

Life Forest^®

Life Forest^® is a conservation cemetery in Hillsborough, New Hampshire that provides private burial plots for cremated or composted remains, where memorial trees are planted to serve as the headstone. Each woodland burial plot is marked by a carefully planted memorial tree, under which they bury the ashes of your loved one. Burial plot locations are recorded by exact GPS coordinates on the deed of the land so that friends, family, and future generations can always visit your memorial tree.