Visiting New Orleans Cemeteries During Spooky Season: Etiquette, Myths, and Respect

⚰️ New Orleans cemeteries are some of the most photographed, talked-about, and misunderstood places in the city—especially during spooky season. They’re beautiful. They’re atmospheric. They’re full of stories.

But they are also sacred spaces, still actively used by families and communities today.

If you’re visiting New Orleans in October, exploring its haunted history, or soaking up the city’s spooky culture around events like Zombie Run, here’s how to experience the cemeteries with curiosity and respect—without killing the vibe.

🕯️ First Things First: These Are Active Burial Grounds

It’s easy to forget—especially when cemeteries look like stone cities—but New Orleans cemeteries are not abandoned relics. Many are still in use, maintained by families, churches, and caretakers.

That means:

• people are buried there

• people visit loved ones there

• people grieve there

Treat them the way you’d want strangers to treat your family’s resting place.

☂️ Cemetery Etiquette 101 (Do This, Not That)

✅ DO:

• stay on designated paths

• speak respectfully (quiet conversation is fine)

• follow posted rules and visiting hours

• consider guided tours for historical context

• leave items exactly as you found them

🚫 DON’T:

• climb on tombs or vaults

• sit, stand, or pose on graves

• remove objects, offerings, or tokens

• litter, tag, or “leave your mark”

• treat the cemetery like a haunted house set

Pro tip: Photos are generally okay, but treat them like portraits—not props.

🧟 Common Cemetery Myths (Let’s Clear These Up)

🪦 “People were buried above ground because of flooding.”

Mostly true—but incomplete.The high water table made traditional burial difficult, but above-ground tombs were also tied to European burial traditions, climate, and evolving public health practices.

🕯️ “Graves are reused after a year and a day.”

This is sometimes true in specific family tombs, but it’s not universal—and it’s done with ritual, permission, and care. It’s not casual or careless.

👻 “Cemeteries are haunted because bodies float.”

Nope. That’s a pop-culture exaggeration. Ghost stories exist because the cemeteries are old, visually striking, and tied to generations of memory—not because of floating coffins.

🌿 Offerings, Tokens, and Why You Should Leave Them Alone

You may see coins, candles, flowers, shells, beads, or handwritten notes on tombs. These are often personal offerings left by family members, spiritual practitioners, or visitors paying respect.

Even if something looks old, weathered, or “abandoned,” don’t touch it.

It’s not a souvenir.

It’s not decoration.

It’s part of someone’s ritual.

🎭 Costumes, Halloween, and Boundaries

Yes, New Orleans loves costumes.Yes, spooky season is playful here.

But cemeteries are one place where restraint matters.

If you’re dressed up:

• keep costumes respectful

• avoid horror poses or fake scares

• don’t stage scenes on graves

Think of cemeteries as places for reflection, not performance.

Save the full undead commitment for the streets, the parties, and the Zombie Run.

🕯️ Why Respect Makes the Experience Better

Here’s the thing: treating New Orleans cemeteries with respect doesn’t make them less interesting—it makes them more powerful.

When you understand:

• who built the tombs

• why they’re designed the way they are

• how families and communities still engage with them

the place stops being “spooky scenery” and starts being what it really is: a living archive of the city.

That depth is what makes New Orleans different.

🧟 How This Connects Back to Spooky Season (and Zombie Run)

New Orleans’ love of zombies, ghosts, and Halloween spectacle works because the city also honors history and memory.

We can sprint from zombies in the streets, dance in costume, and celebrate spooky fun—while still knowing when to slow down and show respect.

That balance is the magic.

So explore. Learn. Ask questions. Take photos thoughtfully. Then lace up your shoes, add the fake blood, and take the performance back where it belongs—out in the living city.

Because in New Orleans, even spooky season has soul.