# Is it in poor taste to visit the graves of celebrities? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569 "2024-01-23T23:56:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/41 "2024-01-25T08:09:03Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The Jewish tradition is to be buried and a maker placed around a year later. One month. And as a rule, Jewish graves (at least the ones we have here) don’t just have a headstone or a marker, but also a full-length slab placed on top of the entire grave. > [@Boudicca90](#): > > I personally wouldn’t leave any offerings since I tend to see it more like littering the grave, which would then have to be cleaned up later. I’d rather not create a mess. I just leave a pebble, as per the custom of my people. I’ve placed pebbles on Jim Morrison’s and Elvis’s tombs. Showing respect for the dead is a huge part of Jewish culture. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/42 "2024-01-25T08:40:18Z")
There’s a big historic cemetery near where I live, now maintained as a nature reserve and park (many cemeteries are run partly or wholly to encourage wildlife). They occasionally organise “Family Fun Days” in the cemetery ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/43 "2024-01-25T08:56:06Z")
I think the idea that it’s poor taste is kinda weird. Graves with headstones are memorials after all - they are designed specifically for people to visit and remember them. And famous people, let’s face it, don’t want to be forgotten. I think visiting graveyards and reading the headstones of people who have passed, imagining the lives they lived, is actually a nice thing to do. Whether you know them or not. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/44 "2024-01-25T10:43:17Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > But a short story: I found this out during lunch one day at work. After lunch, I mentioned this fact to two of my younger co-workers. “Who’s Wernher von Braun?” they asked. I explained, and mentioned that he was the subject of a song by Tom Lehrer. “Who’s Tom Lehrer?” they said almost in unison. Well, why would they know? It’s not their department. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/45 "2024-01-25T11:31:43Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > One month. And as a rule, Jewish graves (at least the ones we have here) don’t just have a headstone or a marker, but also a full-length slab placed on top of the entire grave. One year in the US typically. I have no idea why it’s different. > **[Jewish Unveiling | A Graveside Religious Ceremony](https://www.amisraelmortuary.com/unveiling-ceremony)** > > The unveiling is a graveside religious ceremony, and Jewish unveiling is marked by stones. Learn more about what an unveiling ceremony is here. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/46 "2024-01-25T11:41:04Z")
Huh. I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/47 "2024-01-25T11:53:14Z")
News to me too. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/48 "2024-01-25T12:16:46Z")
I have no interest in “celebrities” alive or otherwise but I feel otherwise about history. If I found myself in London Westminster Abbey would be worth going to see. On my short gravel road there’s a graveyard full of people who lived here, including a number who lived in the house I now inhabit. Dates from the 1700’s to the 2000’s. I go there and clean the stones from time to time. God’s acre is a fenced in hollow ground. I do like the new ritual of women paying homage to Susan B.Anthony by sticking their ‘I voted’ decals on her grave in Rochester NY. > **[Susan B. Anthony's headstone gets plastic shield for voter stickers](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/susan-b-anthonys-headstone-gets-shield-from-voter-stickers)** > > Her headstone, in a cemetery in Rochester, New York, now has a shield to prevent further degradation to the marble from the stickers' glue and the cleaners used to remove the stickers. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/49 "2024-01-25T12:19:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There’s something peaceful and contemplative about it. Your situation is far from intrusive or disrespectful. Now, if it’s a group of teens who want to carouse and leave empty beer cans amongst the graves, that’s a different story. It all depends on who, why, and how. My brother would take me “night crawling” (alternate name for large earthworms) to get bait for fishing, and the cemetery provided a very large population of them. Trust me, we didn’t disturb anyone or touch anything grave related. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/50 "2024-01-25T12:33:26Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Plus, when visiting the over-done graves of the famous, you can find the interesting graves of non-famous people buried nearby. That was certainly the case when I visited Cave Hill in Louisville. Cave Hill is a beautiful cemetery. I used to live about ten minutes from there, and it’s still within about half an hour from me. My grandparents are buried there. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/51 "2024-01-25T12:36:27Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I do like the new ritual of women paying homage to Susan B.Anthony by sticking their ‘I voted’ decals on her grave in Rochester NY. At the voodoo priestess’s crypt in NOLA it was decided that the chalked Xs were potentially damaging. They were removed and now chalking an X will get you fined. I assume the removal of the X I placed is the reason it did not work. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/52 "2024-01-25T13:31:54Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I do like the new ritual of women paying homage to Susan B.Anthony by sticking their ‘I voted’ decals on her grave in Rochester NY. Margaret Fuller was an early women’s rights activist and journalist. She has a marker in Mt. Auburn Cemetery (not technically a grave, since her body was never found); when I was there, some people had left pencils on it. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/53 "2024-01-25T13:56:17Z")
> [@a6ka97](#): > > How about visiting the place where a celebrity (or celebrities) died? When I lived in L.A. I frequently went to see live music at the Viper Room. It was impossible for me to walk through the door without thinking of River Phoenix, even briefly. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/54 "2024-01-25T15:04:01Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > When I lived in L.A. I frequently went to see live music at the Viper Room. It was impossible for me to walk through the door without thinking of River Phoenix, even briefly. I used to pass by the spot Yitzhak Rabin was shot at least once a week. I’d always give the memorial a nod. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/55 "2024-01-25T15:24:36Z")
I read something on the web once from someone who hiked up Potosi Mountain, near Las Vegas, to the site where Carole Lombard was killed in a plane crash. I was in the Detroit area a while ago. After I got home I discovered that I drove right by the restaurant where Jimmy Hoffa was last seen alive, but I didn’t know it at the time. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/56 "2024-01-25T17:14:34Z")
I think it’s fine as long as you demonstrate the same solemnity and respect as if it were your mother’s grave. The problem is when you start to act like a tourist, take selfies in front of the headstone, yell out to your friend 50 yards away, “Hey, I found Jim Morrison!” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/57 "2024-01-25T17:38:20Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > It’s not their department. ISWYDT ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/58 "2024-01-25T19:50:04Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Security guard busted me for drinking the second beer and I had to leave. When I was visiting Pere Lachaise, we and the other tourists were requested to leave because a funeral was about to take place. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/59 "2024-01-25T19:53:19Z")
When I visited St Louis Cemetery No 1, where Marie Laveau’s tomb is located, a funeral occurred, but we were welcomed to march along with the band. It was awesome. A real celebration of life. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2024, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569/60 "2024-01-26T14:31:11Z")
There’s a ceremony a year later to signify the end of mourning, or something along those lines, correct? Maybe that’s what they were confusing it with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-in-poor-taste-to-visit-the-graves-of-celebrities/996569.md?page=4)