The Highgate Cemetery: Myths, Magic and Legends - Part I

The Highgate cemetery is a burial site located in the north side of London, England, in the Highgate district. It was registered in the Register of Parks and Gardens (National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens) as a monument of first instance.

The Cemetery is divided into two parts, the East and West, and there are about 170,000 people buried in about 53,000 graves.

It is a place known both for its legends related to the world of the paranormal, and for being in fact a real nature reserve.

The burial sites in the city centre of London began to be overcrowded and, due to the exponential increase of the population, the council could no longer cope with the enormous demand, thus becoming potentially an outbreak of diseases. They decided to decentralise the burial sites, building seven large monumental cemeteries outside the historic centre, called "Magnificent Seven", the Highgate cemetery is one of these.

The typical Victorian gothic style of the tombstones, mausoleums and crypts contained in this cemetery, and the thick and rich vegetation typical of this territory contribute to give it a dark atmosphere and an enchanting appearance for the lovers of the genre, it really seems to be in a fairy place.

Over the years, the cemetery became, in addition to a burial place, a sort of monumental garden, where people loved to walk in their free time, maybe on Sunday, after the church. They set even a tearoom on a terrace! It goes without saying that families of the Victorian aristocracy competed to win a plot of land to bury their beloved ones in this fashionable place. We can still find the tombs of famous people like Karl Marx, Douglas Adams and the family of Charles Dickens.

To further strengthen the dark charm and the gloomy beauty of this enchanted corner of London, there are some mysterious facts related to this place.

THE LOVER OF ROSSETTI

In 1862 the poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti buried his muse and lover Elizabeth Siddal right in Highgate Cemetery.

Elizabeth posed as a model of many Pre-Raphaelithes artists such as John Everett Millais, later becoming the official model of Rossetti, as well as her lover. Despite being a tenacious and strong woman, her health was however frail. While she was laying in a bathtub to make Millais' Ophelia, the cold caused her a very strong bronchitis which further damaged her health.

Hier life, moreover, was tormented by the relationship with Rossetti himself, since the painter's family did not approve of their relationship and he, for this reason, continued to postpone the wedding.

Once married, in 1860, she gave birth to a son who was born dead. She fell into a heavy depression from which she never recovered. The husband found her dead in her bed, after she had taken too much laudanum, a medicine she took to treat depression.

John Everett Millais, Ophelia.

Suicide at the time was immoral and, above all, illegal so it would have sparked a huge scandal on Rossetti's family, which is why the artist burned the farewell letter she wrote before committing suicide, to cover it all up. The doctor wrote on the report that it was "accidental death" and Rossetti could bury her in consecrated ground.

Elizabeth Siddal

Together with Siddal, the artist buried the only copy of the book of poems dedicated to his muse; he laid the manuscript between her long red hair and made her tumble.

Seven years later, the artist, destroyed by alcoholism and his addictions to drugs, became obsessed with that book and wanted to publish it, so much that he obtained the permission to unearth his beloved one. 

They decided to do the excavation during the night not to arouse scandal, but when they opened the tomb they remained stunned: the body of Elizabeth had remained practically unchanged, despite years had passed, and her red hair had grown a lot.

Rossetti recovered the manuscript, which he published shortly after along with his other works, but due to some erotic content, the work wasn’t well received by the critics.

The case, however, didn’t remain in the dark and the news spread throughout London, people began to tell strange stories on the cemetery of Highgate, claiming that there was something supernatural hidden.

(Click Here to read the Part II) 

♄Unornya

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