31 Days of Halloween - Day 5

We all know that performing rubbings of old graves is frowned upon for reasons of preservation, and with the ease of digital photography, no longer really necessary. There is something to be said for the big sheets of paper covered in crayon reproductions of old head stones at actual size proportions.

These photos were taken a few years ago at the  Heritage Museums and Gardens in Sandwich, MA, during an exhibit on regional headstones. My ability to fully appreciate the exhibit, as well as to fully photograph it was hampered by the fact that I was serving as chaperone to a pair of 3rd grade classes on a field trip. Sadly, the exhibit was ending its run and I was unable to revisit it on my own before it left.

One of the highlights was a station that had four life-size different metal engravings of actual headstones laid flat so that kids could create their own rubbings. Tucked away somewhere I have a collection of these I did myself. Once I find them, I'll have to get them framed. In the mean time, here are a handful of photos of some of the rubbings on display at this exhibit which could serve as inspiration for artificial graves for your own home yard haunt.