21-06-2025
This Cemetery Groundskeeper Did An AMA, And People Had A LOT Of Questions, Here Are The Fascinating Things They Shared
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Recently, Reddit user odd_fisch, a cemetery groundskeeper, did a very interesting AMA on r/CemeteryPorn (they also shared the really pretty photo below!). And, unsurprisingly, a lot of people had a lot of questions. Here are the best and top-voted questions and then the answers from odd_fisch:
1."What percentage of graves get visited?" —finalgirl08
"Roughly 30% but it varies a lot depending on holidays."
2."Do you have many regulars who visit a lot? To visit particular graves, or to take in the whole place, typically?" —turtle2turtle3turtle
"A few, some people come to walk, and some who visit regularly at graves. One gentleman has been visiting every weekend for years now. We also have a lot of Pokéstops LOL."
3."How common is it for people to piss and shit on the graves of people they hated in life?" —Famous_Suspect6330
"Well, I've never seen people shit but, umm, I have seen other unsavory acts, if you're smelling what I'm stepping in…"
4."Can share any particular incident or burial which made you laugh?" —OGadminOP
"Nothing that made me really laugh. But my first week working there, prior to me living there, I was a pallbearer because there was no family in attendance so I and the other groundskeepers stepped in."
5."I volunteer in a previously abandoned cemetery. We have lots of cave-ins where caskets collapsed over time in the wooded sections. Do you experience this at yours? How do you handle it if so?" —isuzupup__
"We do have some cave-ins, and unfortunately, one of our best options is just to fill it in. Most of the graves that collapse are 150+ years old so they get few or no visitors."
6."When a headstone is broken or pushed over, who typically deals with that? Would it be you if you just happened upon it or would the family of the deceased have to ask for it to be fixed? I pick up headstones if I find them toppled or kicked over, and I always wondered who is supposed to do that since some of the ones I've picked up were seemingly like that for years, and no one picked them up. But I know I saw the groundskeepers. So I wasn't sure if it was a 'can't touch it till a report is made' type of situation or not." —Individual_Ad_6777
"Typically, it is the responsibility of the family. However, if we're able, we always fix what we can! Some are just too big to move even with four people on it."
7."Have you ever had any issues with visitors (living or ghosts, LOL)?" —DistinctBell3032
"The house I stay in is almost 200 years old — it's been used as a funeral home/office, storage, and some other stuff. Sometimes, the house feels a little spooky. But nothing unfriendly! Unfortunately, the living customers always present issues. Always complaints to be made. At the end of the day, it doesn't bother me!"
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8."How many high school metal bands have you caught trying to film music videos?" — GivemTheDDD
"Not many LOL, but we do have people come in at night for 'séances.'"
9."Any problems or accidents with the people having 'séances?'" —HanhnaH
"Problems? Yes. Accidents? No. Mainly, they tend to leave trash, candles, and other items."
10."I was in a graveyard with my daughter yesterday. We met an older gentleman who was mowing a section of the lawn/graves. He saw us walking and pointed to the stone a little ways away and said, 'That one's mine.' Being certain he wasn't a ghost, how often do families preplace a stone and do maintenance? I'm guessing his family of yesteryear is buried there. It was a tiny cemetery, under 20 rows." —fugensnot
"Preplaced stones are a great money-saving option and take a lot of stress off of your family when that time comes! It very well could've been his stone, especially if there was no death date!"
11."Is your job well compensated?" —alwayssearching2012
"It is! Room and board are provided, and although it's mostly volunteer work, anything after 20 hours is paid!"
12."Have you ever seen a ghost in your cemetery before? I think that is the question that everybody wants to know the most." — International-Sea561
"No, not in the cemetery itself, but the house is a different story. I like to think I'm safe as I take care of the place in part!"
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13."Do you ever feel afraid, especially at night, or are you pretty comfortable being there?" —Wintermoon54
"It feels more like home than any other place I've lived!"
14."Have you ever seen anyone ever accidentally fall into a grave?" —No_University6980
"No, but we joke about hiding in them pre-funerals (death jokes are a norm)."
15."What's the oldest grave there?" —Bleacherblonde
"Dates into the late 1700s, it's barely legible due to erosion, but we have a record of it!"
16."For those old sites, since no one is around anymore to help maintain them, do you guys get together and help those out a little more?" —Oy_theBrave
"Typically, yes. We knock out entire sections at a time, usually a couple of acres a day. We encourage people to come and maintain what they want to, but we knock out our stuff independently!"
17."Do you have a list of your favorite headstones? What is it about them that makes them you're favorite?" —crapatthethriftstore
"I have a few I really like. Mostly, it's because of their interesting names, or because they're funny; we have a Nimrod McGruber. Poor guy. Some of the stones have nice sayings or cool engravings as well."
18."Have you ever been involved in an exhumation?" —genzgingee
"No they are very uncommon!"
19."Do you assist with burials (like, set up those things that lower the casket)? What are the requirements to become a cemetery groundskeeper?" —CHAIFE671
"All I had to do was put in the work, and the opportunity arose for me to move to the cemetery! And we lay out burial sites and currently hire out for digging/ openings/closing. We're in the process of repairing and replacing a lot of stuff!"
20."I also work at a cemetery, primarily in the office, but I also help the grounds crew from time to time. What's the dumbest complaint you've heard about the way you keep your cemetery? For us, I'd probably say the lady who complained that our trees weren't trimmed pointy enough." —starwishes20
"Oh man, we just got one this Memorial Day, the local paper printed a piece from the VA saying we didn't allow any flags for the veterans. This simply wasn't true. We even had hundreds of them ready to be placed by anyone who wanted to! Sat them outside by the office and everything! We also placed a few around our veterans' monument near the entrance, so clearly, flags were not a problem."
21."Why do I see really old headstones with 'perpetual care' on them, yet they're cracked, toppled over, or broken? Doesn't perpetual care mean they paid so that if it ever broke, no matter how far into the future, it would be fixed? What happens when those old mausoleums start crumbling? Does anyone fix it, or will it just continue to fall apart? What if the mausoleum gets so bad that the coffin is exposed?" —Inevitable-Plenty203
"Mausoleums are typically family property. I can't speak for other cemeteries, but for us, when something like that happens, we file insurance and have stones replaced. Very old stones don't get replaced for a number of reasons — the perpetual care didn't exist at the time of the burial, likely was family responsibility, or it's simply so old that insurance won't do anything about it."
22."What do you do during a typical day?" —ImDeepState
"Mowing, trimming, stick removal, and decoration removal (plastic decorations are hazardous in many ways)."
"What's your favorite part about the job?" —Queenielauren
"The peacefulness of it! It's quiet and living there gives me a lot of pride in it."
You can read the original AMA on Reddit.
Note: Some questions responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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