The Earthly Realm

St Louis Cemetery- New Orleans

One of the spooky but hauntingly alluring spots in NOLA ........the larger family crypts are called oven crypts because of their resemblance to bread ovens.......a coffin is slid inside at the top level and the combination of heat and humidity acts as a sort of slow form of cremation.......In a year or so the indiviuals bones are pushed to the back of the tomb where they fall through an opening and onto the bones of their relatives who died before them so everyone lies jumbled together........these crypt cemeteries which were popular in France became a necessity in New Orleans because of the amount of rain the city gets coupled with its poor water table which makes under ground burial a dicey proposition

stlouiscemeteryneworleans