As a paranormal investigator and human being, I always take death very seriously.
By Rebecca Nidey
Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House
It is something that is very seldom welcome either to the person dying or those around them. In life there always seems to be people who greet every day with a smile and a laugh and try to elicit the same from those around them.
The saying about those who supposedly haunt us is that “as in life, still in death.” If that is so, then there have been many who approached their death as they did their lives…with humor.
On many occasions while conducting investigations, members of the paranormal group I belong to have caught EVP that indicates those present in spirit but sans body still retain their sense of humor. Of course, around Halloween we always have many requests for tours. Several years ago we led an investigation for a group of reporters for one of the local high school papers. One of our favorite places was an abandoned church that was especially active, so we chose it for the investigation.
We try to treat each session with people outside the group as a learning experience. Any equipment we are able to use in the situation we pull out and use while explaining the how’s, why’s, and possible end results. The favorite tool with most everyone is usually the recorder; with the hope of hearing a Class A EVP. We emphasize the need for quiet and respectful behavior. While our young charges were respectful, they were very, very nervous and were unable to maintain silence for long.
During one session inside the church we were recording, the kids finally broke silence with nervous giggles. Upon playing back the recording we heard a rather loud and clear “BOO!” While outside the church explaining the history of the area we tried another session. The result was a humorous admonishment of “Shhh, dead people.” Apparently those spirits did have their funny bones intact.
Those were examples of humor exhibited after death. I thought I would highlight the ways that some have expressed their amusement with life, death and the hereafter. Here are some of the final words of famous entertainers, scientists, and other celebrities from the past. Some of the humor is dry and witty, some is slapstick, but all shows that even when facing death these people had the same droll outlook on death as they had on life.
John Barrymore: “Die? I should say not, Dear Fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a conventional thing to happen to him.”
Humphrey Bogart: “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.”
St John Philby: “God, I’m bored.”
John Maynard Keynes: “I wish I’d drunk more champagne.”
Lady Nancy Astor: “Jakie, is it my birthday or am I dying?” (Surrounded by her family).
While researching some of these famous last words I found the word that best describes me; I am a Taphophile. According to several dictionaries that I checked, a taphophile is a “lover of tombstones” or a cemetery enthusiast. In previous columns, I’ve spoken before of my love of what I call “cemetery hops” to check out history and the beautiful stones resting there. To me the stones have always spoken about those buried there.
Well, apparently some people have chosen to leave a few final words of wit and whimsy on those very stones. Some of the following stories in stone are from the famous, but most are from people who have lived a quieter lifestyle much as most of us do. These words are scattered on burial monuments all over the world.
Merv Griffin: “I will not be right back after this message.”
Rodney Dangerfield: “There goes the neighborhood.”
W C Fields: “On the whole I would rather be living in Philadelphia.”
Winston Churchill: “I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.”
George Carlin: “#$%&@!&%#?!$%@?*&!@^#!*@$*$!&!%$”
And from cemeteries in various states:
“I told you I was sick.”
“She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her.”
“Here lies the father of 29. He would have had more but he ran out of time.”
“Here lies Johnny Yeast. Pardon me for not rising.”
“Once I wasn’t. Then I was. Now I ain’t again.”
“Stranger! Approach this spot with gravity! John Brown is filling his last cavity.”
“Here lies an atheist. All dressed up and no place to go.”
And on two neighboring stones:
“Remember man as you walk by. As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so shall you be. Remember this and follow me,”
“To follow you I’ll not consent until I know which way you went.”
Found on a southern tombstone in the Sandhill’s of North Carolina was this humorous sentiment from a grieving husband:
“Here lies my wife, my wife here she lies. Now she’s at peace, and so am I.”
I hope those of you reading this column will understand that this was not meant to take lightly the pain that a death can bring to those around them. The dying may, if able, express their regrets that they did not do all they dreamed of doing. Those surrounding them feel the anguish of losing someone they care about. If you read the last words listed above, both spoken and etched as a final message, you hopefully will understand that every day is a gift. By meeting death with a smile they were celebrating the life they had lived and showing those who might read those stories in stone that it is possible to “Exit Laughing.”
My challenge to all who read this column is to live and love to the fullest so that they can also celebrate as they leave and perhaps remark as Frank Sinatra did on the stone at his final resting place:
“The Best Is Yet To Come”
About the Author:
Through her work on the investigative team for the Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters, Rebecca Nidey has an understanding of the paranormal, spiritual, and metaphysical worlds and how they work together.
Rebecca has trained in the Healing Touch technique (a form of energy healing). She is a certified Psychic Medium trained by Belle Salisbury, and she is a certified Paranormal Researcher.
Rebecca is the associate editor for Bellesprit Magazine and also writes a column titled Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House. She has been a co-host of several radio programs for the Haunted Voices Radio Network and HeyZ Radio Network highlighting the Paranormal, metaphysical and literary fields.
To learn more about Rebecca or to schedule a reading you can contact her at https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.nidey.
