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I am convinced that it is not the fear of death, of our lives ending that haunts our sleep so much as the fear... that as far as the world is concerned, we might as well never have lived.

 - Harold Kushner

The Piety Museum of Hungary

Piety Musem of Hungary

A fascinating find in Budapest is the Piety Museum of Hungary, a museum which illuminates the Hungarian way of death throughout recent history as well as hosting exhibitions on death around the world.

The museum hosts five exhibition rooms which display such diverse items as folk art and ethnographical material, mourning clothes and regalia, historical pictures and artefacts including death masks, coffins and urns, and three magnificent vintage hearses.

Established in 1991, the museum is one of a kind in Hungary - if not the world - and is well worth a visit not only for the Hungarian traditions, but also for the multicultural displays, ranging from pictures of Tibetan sky burial to Mexican Day of the Dead altars. 





Kerepesi Cemetery

It is located in the grounds of Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest, which is one of the oldest Christian cemeteries in Hungary and one of the largest open-air statue parks in Europe. It is beautifully preserved and hosts stunning arcades, tombs and monuments, and protected green areas with interesting wildlife.

If you’re going that way or are interested, you can find more information here. on the National Graveyard Site.

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Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever.

 - Mahatma Gandhi

The Rising Cost of Funerals

The cost of funerals has increased by 71% in just eight years, according to the Cost of Dying Report 2012 by Sun Life Direct.

The report shows that the basic cost of a funeral has risen for the eighth consecutive year, and that 17% of people have struggled with the cost of funerals. 

In these austere times, it would seem that the necessities of life, food, shelter, and disposal of our dead, are the ones that increase most in price.

  

The good news is that although many of the costs of a funeral are over-inflated and even unnecessary, options do exist which can dramatically reduce the cost of the funeral. 

People are becoming increasingly aware that everything from coffin to funeral transport to flowers can be provided by the family and friends of the deceased - including the funeral ceremony itself. There is no legal requirement to use the services of a funeral director, and it is even possible to conduct burials on private land in the UK.

There are other elements of dealing with the deceased which are unnecessary, including embalming, which is more commonly termed 'hygenic treatment'. It is even possible to keep the deceased at home until the funeral, and in some cases, to dig the grave yourself. 

Family-led and DIY funerals where the relatives of the deceased deal with all aspects of organising the funeral, are becoming increasingly popular. The Natural Death Centre charity has a wealth of information on funerals, and can offer advice and help in the event of the death of a loved one. 

The government can also provide financial assistance for people on low incomes - click here for more information.

Natural Burial in the UK

Britain could be leading the way globally in natural burials according to recent research conducted by researchers at Durham and Bath Universities.

With natural, or woodland, burials, people are typically buried in woodland settings in an environmentally friendly, biodegradable coffin or shroud, and without having been embalmed.  This method of burial is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with over 260 natural burial sites now in operation.

Reasons cited for the increase in natural burial include concerns over the environmental impact of other kinds of funeral,such as cremation, the cost compared with a traditional funeral, the burden on the family of maintaining a traditional grave, and the desire to reconnect with nature.  

The findings have been published as a book, Natural Burial: Traditional-Secular Spiritualities and Funeral Innovation by Professor Davies and Dr Rumble, one that will no doubt soon be gracing the shelves of the Carfax Library!

See the full story here.

Sex Ghosts of the Palermo Catacombs

This week, the Last Tuesday Society hosted a most fascinating lecture on Sex Ghosts of the Palermo Catacombs by Dr Paul Koudounaris.

The upbeat and colourful lecture with accompanying photo slide show recounted stories of some half a dozen lascivious ghosts, showing that the dead entombed in the catacombs in Palermo do not all rest in peace.  

The stories included those of a jilted bride, whose lustful ghost is known to haunt men who stand too long in front of her remains, a phantom knicker-thief, a pervy doctor ghost who chews his victims’ pubic hair ‘like a cow chews the cud’, and the spirit of a young girl who died from severe haemorrhaging after being forced by her circus performer husband to perform bestial acts in front of a well-paying crowd.  

Dr Paul Koudounaris is an author and photographer from Los Angeles, and has recently published a beautifully presented tome, The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses.

Cadavers in the Cloisters: The Medieval Way of Death

Tonight saw the popular annual Summer Death Lecture by Brompton Cemetery guide Robert Stephenson, held in the Grade II Listed Anglican Chapel in Brompton Cemetery, where we were met at the door by the Grim Reaper himself.

The talk was an exposition on the attitudes and customs associated with death in medieval Britain, as practised by royalty and commoners alike.  Accompanied with slides, various subjects were discussed including:

       - The book of hours and the rituals surrounding death.

        - Purgatory, and visions of Hell, and people’s beliefs in how to avoid them,
          including by visiting the tombs of saints.

       - Transi, or cadaver tombs, where a sculpture of the decaying body sits on top of the tomb.

       - The dance of death, showing death as a lively creature.

The lecture examined how attitudes towards death have changed, and perhaps suggested that death in England was once much more a part of daily life than it is today.

Brompton Cemetery, consecrated by the Bishop of London in June 1840, is one of the Britain's oldest and most distinguished garden cemeteries. The cemetery was one of seven large, modern cemeteries founded by private companies in the mid-19th century (sometimes called the 'Magnificent Seven') forming a ring around the edge of London.

Robert Stephenson is a qualified City of London guide and a tour leader at Kensal Green and Brompton cemeteries.  He teaches on London and Death Studies, and is also vice-chairman of the City of London Archaeological Society.

For more information about Brompton Cemetery and their events, visit www.brompton-cemetery.org.