Death lore Texas rituals, superstitions, and legends of the hereafter (University of North Texas Press, 2008)
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references and index
Introduction. The lore of death / Kenneth L. Untiedt -- "Final" resting places. Life and death in Old Bexar / David LaRo -- The past at rest : two historic Austin cemeteries / L. Patrick Hughes -- Eden Cemetery / Margaret A. Cox -- Buried in Texas : any and every which way / Henry Wolff, Jr. -- There's something about old country graveyards / Jim H. Ainsworth -- Who is digging on my grave? The Corps of Engineers? / Charles B. Martin -- Getting there : rituals, ceremonies, and the process of dying. Most people in Texas don't die / Mildren Boren Sentell -- Oakhill Cemetery / Sue M. Friday -- A most unusual upbringing / A.C. Sanders -- Funereal humor / Kenneth W. Davis -- A family secret / Herbert H. Sanders -- Death behind the walls : rituals, folktales, and true stories / Ruth Massingill -- Origins and celebrations of El Dia de los Muertos / J. Rhett Rushing -- From the gallows : a confession and apology -- Superstitions, strange stories, and voices from the "other side." The spirit that walked toward Hornsby's Bend / Charlie Oden -- A grave mistake / Jennifer O. Curtis -- Larger than life, even in death / Robert J. (Jack) Duncan -- Messages from the spiritual world / Mary Margaret Dougherty Campbell -- Chipita Rodriguez : the only woman hanged in Texas during the Civil War / Carolyn Arrington -- Oscar : the friendly ghost / Edward R. Raasch -- Thoughts, musings, and pure speculation. Graveyard meanderin', or, Things of life learned among the dead / Leslie LaRo -- The walking dead : the role of the corpse in western myths / David H. Zimmerman -- The yellow flower of death / Hortense Warner Ward -- Grandmother's uncle / Brenda Black White -- A gift of time / Karen Clark Ristine -- Super reality / Faye Leeper
Death provides us with some of our very best folklore. Some fear it, some embrace it, and most have pretty firm ideas about what happens when we die. Although some people may not want to discuss dying, it happens to all of us--and there's no way to get around it. This publication of the Texas Folklore Society examines the lore of death and whatever happens afterward. The first chapter examines places where people are buried, either permanently or temporarily. Chapter two features articles about how people die and the rituals associated with funerals and burials. The third chapter explores some of the stranger stories about what happens after we're gone, and the last chapter offers some philosophical musings about death in general, as well as our connection to those who have gone before