[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Grave Goods: The Meaning of Coins, Seashells & Other Items Left at Historic Cemeteries. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy stuff after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.] Do coins mean specific things on military graves? A modern urban legend that began making the rounds of the internet in 2009 claims that when coins are seen on military headstones, the different denominations mean specific things. I wanted it to be true, but… In recent years,…
Tag: #atozchallenge
[The following is an adapted excerpt from my book, Understanding Cemetery Symbols. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy stuff after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.] How to Identify US Veterans’ Graves Today I’ll show you how to quickly identify 3 different types of official American military markers for soldier’s gravesites. To see more examples and learn some surprising history, check out the video I made, too: Here’s a video for Identifying US Veterans Graves: #1 Civil War Type Markers The first official US…
Do you read Flash Fiction? Flash Fiction is a term referring to bite-sized stories ranging from 5 to 1500 words in length. They’re fun to read when you’re not in the mood to commit to a novel-length book, but you’d like a break from the real world. What’s a Drabble? A Drabble is a 100-word-long Flash Fiction story. A 200-word-long story is called a Double Drabble. Like any genre, not all Flash Fiction is created equal. When done right, the storyteller reels you in, surprises you with a sudden twist, and/or makes you care so much about the characters you…
April A to Z Challenge 2020: It’s that time of year! Every April, bloggers around the world make posts for each letter of the alphabet. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to make friends online. Here’s my post for today: [The following is an adapted excerpt from my travel guide to haunted places, a book called Paranormal Texas. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy stuff after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.] What are “White Bronze” monuments? From 1874 to 1914, the…
[The following is an adapted excerpt from my travel guide to haunted places, a book called Paranormal Texas. I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy stuff after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.] XP is Ancient Greek shorthand for “Christ” When you see an XP symbol on a headstone it is a Christian symbol. Since Christ’s name starts with the letters X and P when spelled in Greek, XP (pronounced KEE-roe) is often used as shorthand for “Christ.” That’s where Xmas comes from In fact, that’s…
Check out my brand new book: Guess what? I’ve got a brand new book about historic cemeteries coming out on Sunday! It’s called Grave Goods. Here’s a one-minute book trailer I made for it: What are Grave Goods? Grave goods are items left at a gravesite or buried with the deceased. Flowers are the most common modern-day example. You’ve probably seen a bouquet at a gravesite, but people actually leave a whole bunch of different things on graves. I’ve seen everything from fire hydrants to clown noses! And, yes, I’ve got photos of those things – and more. 50+ Full-page…