I am pleased to offer here, the work of Rebecca Benjamin, noted cemetery photographer. These are real photographs. She visits cemeteries and has photographed the headstones over a period of many years. She says, "Old cemeteries are like outdoor museums or stone gardens. They have great character. The headstones and mausoleums are all that remain of the stone mason's art, and nature has weathered the stones, adding moss, age, and patina. The photos are shot in a pictoralist style, emphasizing the textures in the cemetery."

In Halloween In America, the period leading up to Halloween where the "veil" or separation between the worlds of the living and the dead becomes thinner. This thinning of the veil allows the spirits of the dead to pass over into the realm of the living more easily than at other times of the year. Hence, there are more ghost sightings during the month of October. Photographs are taken in October and what you see in the following pages, is from our new book Ghosts In The Cemetery (The cost is $19.95 plus postage ($3.50 in the US)).

The inspiration for the "feel" of Ghosts In The Cemetery is a book by Jorges Luis Borges called Labyrinths. Both books are designed to subvert, often with gentle humor, our comforting presuppositions about ourselves, our place in the universe, or the intelligibility of the material universe itself, that is, if it is in fact something other than a dream. There is no difference between fiction and fact; created reality is as real as observed reality and vice versa; any attempt on our part to describe reality is bound to be a fiction.

In most technical ghost hunting books, to prove the existence of ghosts, one must shoot on film. This is so the film can be examined to actually prove that the ghost is on the film and not just a fabrication. As these are shot on a digital camera they are not "proof" of ghosts, only photographs of cemeteries. These are offered as a tribute to the dedicated ghost hunters who brave bad weather, weird people, and exaggerated claims to capture some readings on their instruments and photographs of elusive ghosts. It is also a wake up call to those who take our old cemeteries for granted. They are beautiful places that deserve to be protected from neglect and vandalism.

The photos have been optimized to load on a web page. The originals exist in a higher quality 240 to 300 dpi "TIFF" format.

I hope to continue adding photos to these pages. For books or original, signed photographs. Individual photos are available for sale at $200.00 for (approximately) 8 x 10 inches. Each has been matted and framed. They can be ordered from Stuart Schneider, P.O. Box 64, Teaneck, NJ 07666. All photos are copyright 2000 through 2008.