Travel with the Dead

Mausoleums of Pere Lachaise, Paris, France © Mpk1970 | Dreamstime

It’s apparent that we the living have a fascination with them the dead. We watch countless zombie movies and TV shows (The Walking Dead, anybody?), share ghost stories around campfires, and often ponder what really lies beyond the grave. And if you’re one of those folks yearning to investigate the dead and their deaths a little more closely while traveling, then you’d be wise to check out these spots where you can begin your six-feet-under descent.

The Catacombs of Paris

This is where all of Paris’ dead have congregated for your convenience. In the days when plagues ran rampant, innocent people died by the thousands. Years later, the cemeteries were overflowing with remains. Thus, in 1786, King Louis XVI decreed a former stone quarry in the heart of Paris be converted into a massive ossuary to store all these old bones. And today, tourists can still explore the long, underground maze of dark and narrow passages with bones and skulls arranged in a macabre fashion.

The Dead Sea

Sitting proudly as the lowest point on earth in any landmass (417 meters below sea level, to be exact), the Dead Sea has the highest concentration of salt in the world, thus preventing any life from existing in its waters. Just imagine all of the things that have died there, and then go swimming in/with their remains. The high salinity content actually has healing properties, and the water may provide tremendous relief to many ailing, living visitors.

New Orleans Cemetery Tours

In a city that celebrates death and a life well lived with jazz funerals, it’s obvious New Orleanians have a unique relationship with their dead. But, unlike most cities, they’ve learned the hard way, many moons ago, just why they shouldn’t bury their dead underground in a land prone to flooding. Thus, over the centuries, dozens of different cemeteries have pierced up from the soil and into the land of the living, which you can now tour regularly.

Save Our Cemeteries, seems to have the most respectful approach to offering tours, and they are also focused on the preservation of these historic sites, such as St. Louis Cemetery #1 — where Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, allegedly lies to this day.

Mexico City’s El Día de Muertos Celebration (The Day of the Dead, November 1-2)

While many folks conflate Halloween with El Día de los Muertos simply because they happen to occur right next to one another and share some similar imagery, from pre-Columbian times the indigenous peoples of Mexico considered death as the passage to a new life. And this special ritual is the time they have set aside for their living to remember their beloved, departed relatives. Celebrations take place annually in the small, rural village of Mixquic (located in the Tlahuac Delegation of Mexico City), as well as all over the country, and they include parades and processions, traditional music, sugar skull masks and candlelight vigils.