I have what I consider a healthy obsession with the cemetery nearby,
Green-Wood. It's a designated National Historic Landmark, was the site of the famous "
Battle of Brooklyn" during the American Revolution, is home to famous permanent residents such as
Basquiat,
Leonard Bernstein, and
Henry Chadwick, and has been the setting for two of my short stories so far: "Atheists in the Cemetery" and "The Healer." They even have live theater, concerts, and yoga at Green-Wood. We can see the main entrance and most of the northwest hill from our apartment.
There's something very inspiring about Green-Wood: it's part urban greenspace, part enchanted forest, part necropolis. As a historical fiction writer, I love reading the epitaphs and thinking about the lives of the people who now populate Green-Wood; as a fantasy writer, I love the spooky trees, the long shadows, the hills, the really old and weather-beaten stones, the statues, the gaudy mausoleums.
In addition to writing, one of my other creative loves is photography. I studied for three years at an audition-only gifted & talented middle school, and it's never really left me. Here, for your own inspiration, are some of my favorite photos I've taken at Green-Wood. I'll post more in the coming weeks.
Use them as you wish, but please make sure to credit me, Meredith Morgenstern, and link back to this blog at http://meredithmorgenstern.blogspot.com.
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I asked my 5YO to put his hand on this
really old and faded tombstone, because I thought it
would seem extra creepy. What say you, world? |
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Speaking of creepy, check out this memorial
to some kid. My 5YO saw it and told me that
this little boy is lost. |
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| Someone decapitated the Weeping Angels! |
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She's unofficially called "The Bride," and she's famous
for those staring, creepy eyes. |
