History Main / CreepyCemetery

* [[SubvertedTrope Turned on its head]] in [[AustrianMedia Wolfgang Ambros' and Georg Danzer's 1974 Austropop song]] "''[[https://youtu.be/nFgj6vJEZrE Es lebe der Zentralfriedhof]]''" ("[[JustForPun Long Live the Central Cemetery]]") featuring the eponymous UsefulNotes/{{Vienna}} cemetery (which has the dubious honour of being one of the world's largest cemeteries by number of people buried). It begins with an appropriately creepy aesthetic, featuring a howling wind, distant Gregorian chants and muted bells. And then it quickly transfers to a [[SoundtrackDissonance schmaltzy and surprisingly wholesome pop ballad]] about the dead awakening and throwing a party to celebrate the Cemetery's first centennial. While [[DudeNotFunny somewhat controversial when first released due to its impious nature]], the song is nevertheless quite in tone with the [[GallowsHumour ghoulish, world-weary traditional Viennese sense of humour]].

** ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'': [[BigBoosHaunt Pokémon Tower]] in the infamous Lavender Town is a massive cemetery [[TheTower tower]] where people all over pay their respects to Pokémon who have passed on. Team Rocket infiltrates the tower, disturbing the restless spirits, one of them is a mother Marowak who was killed by Team Rocket Grunts.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'': [[BigBoosHaunt Pokémon Tower]] in the infamous Lavender Town is a massive cemetery [[ItsAllUpstairsFromHere tower]] where people all over pay their respects to Pokémon who have passed on. Team Rocket infiltrates the tower, disturbing the restless spirits, one of them is a mother Marowak who was killed by Team Rocket Grunts.

* ''Literature/TheSagaOfHervorAndHeidrek'': Sailing by the island of Samsø where her father has been buried, Hervor, who is intent of recovering her father's sword, tries to persuade her viking band to make landfall and rob the gravemounds. The vikings however refuse because they know that the gravemounds of Samsø are haunted so that "it was worse to be there in the daytime than it was to be out at night in other places." So Hervor disembarks alone at sunset; as she goes near the gravemounds she meets a herdsman hurrying home who refuses to answer her questions about where her father's mound is and instead advises her to turn back at once because going near the gravemounds at night is suicide. As Hervor goes on, she sees ghostly "grave-fire" burning all over the mounds, and eventually calls her father's undead ghost forth from his grave.

Little wonder, then, that so many {{Fantasy}} and {{Horror}} works like this setting. In one of ''these'' graveyards, it is AlwaysNight, or occasionally twilight. Most often the [[{{Lunacy}} moon is full]], for extra supernatural points. [[GraveClouds Clouds]] may also be present, or [[OminousFog fog]], or [[SnowMeansDeath snow]]. And, most importantly... it often turns out that the dead people there ''[[NightOfTheLivingMooks aren't really dead]]''.

* The third season of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' has a few cemetery scenes and it's mentioned a few times that Cole can't be tracked in a cemetery.

* ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}'' [=TOS=] has this in two episodes.
** "The Grave": The scary part of the episode took place in a cemetery.
** "Mr. Garrity and the Graves": The end has resurrected townsfolk rising from their graves on Boot Hill.

** Before that, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' featured the Proof of Existence, which is basically a graveyard for Nobodies.

* In the first ''Literature/loneWolf'' book, ''Flight from the Dark'', the Graveyard of the Ancients near Holmgrad is a gloomy, forbidden place. It is always shrouded in mist and cloud blocking the sun, the place is unnaturally chilly, covered in thorny graveweeds, with foul gases seeping from the open crypts and distant whispering echoing into the ears of anyone foolish enough to venture there. Worse, its underground necropolis hosts evil forces, dangerous traps and magical guardians.

* An episode of ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' takes place in a local cementery handled by the family of a boy in Doremi and Co's class, where the kids perform their {{Kimodameshi}}. It's not ''that'' creepy at first sight, but Hazuki (who really ''hates'' the supernatural) begs to disagree and [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes her terror]] is PlayedForLaughs. [[spoiler:It turns out to have a ghost... who happens to be that of the late local Buddhisst priest and the grandfather of the girls' classmate; his grandson [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye wasn't there when he passed away]] and he wants to see the kid one last time...]]

* The opening scene (and first zombie attack) in ''[[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 Night of the Living Dead]]'' takes place in one of these. Subverted somewhat in that a.) it all happens in [[DaylightHorror broad daylight]] and b.) we never actually see said zombie emerge from a grave.[[note]]Or ''any'' zombie, for that matter, since it's eventually established that only the recent, unburied dead are re-animating.[[/note]]
* The punks in ''Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'' use a cemetery as their stomping ground. This is a bad idea.
* ''Film/HocusPocus'' has a graveyard, but relies on elements from the rest of the movie to add the creepiness factor. In fact, the film establishes that the cemetery is the safest place to be as being hallowed ground, witches can't set foot on it lest they be turned to stone.
* ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives'' starts with Tommy Jarvis (with a friend) going to one to symbolically kill Jason Voorhees. The [[LightningCanDoAnything opposite]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero happens]].

* Attempted in ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace'', although it's actually a [[SoBadItsGood laughably bad]] set.
* Dr. Tesla's initial hiding place in ''Film/ReturnOfTheVampire'' is a decrepit, fog-covered graveyard outside of London. When he is revived, he moves to an abandoned church.
* The cast of ''Film/DeathScreams'' decide to head for a cemetery for the best atmosphere to tell [[GhostStory scary stories]] to each other.

%%* Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/PetSematary'' and its film adaptations have these.

* The first urban Circle Of Hell in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' is a cemetery filled with fiery tombs that hold arch-heretics and their followers. The tombs are destined to remain open until the Last Judgement, allowing the rare passerby to hear the "sorry cries" the heretics create for the rest of the eternal life many of them denied.

* When Series/{{Buffy|The Vampire Slayer}} has no other demands on her time, she stakes out the cemetery (no pun intended) because new vamps emerge from there.

* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E22AllHellBreaksLoosePartTwo "All Hells Breaks Loose, Part Two" (S02, E22)]], a HellGate is inside a crypt in a cowboy cemetery surrounded by a 100 mile Devil's Trap.
** In [[Recap/SupernaturalS05E22SwanSong "Swan Song" (S05, E22)]] The battle for Armageddon will take place in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stull,_Kansas#Stull_Cemetery Stull Cemetery]], an old boneyard just outside of Lawrence, Kansas.
* Many of ''Series/NightAndDay'''s pivotal scenes take place in the graveyard at St Vincent’s church. For extra shivers, there are underground catacombs too -- usually reserved for violent scuffles, sexual encounters, demonic episodes and monster sightings.

* [[SubvertedTrope Turned on its head]] in [[AustrianMedia Wolfgang Ambros' and Georg Danzer's 1974 Austropop song]] ''[[https://youtu.be/nFgj6vJEZrE Es lebe der Zentralfriedhof]]'' ('[[JustForPun Long Live The Central Cemetery]]') featuring the eponymous UsefulNotes/{{Vienna}} cemetery (which has the dubious honour of being one of the world's largest cemeteries by number of people buried). It begins with an appropriately creepy aesthetic, featuring a howling wind, distant Gregorian chants and muted bells. And then it quickly transfers to a [[SoundtrackDissonance schmaltzy and surprisingly wholesome pop ballad]] about the dead awakening and throwing a party to celebrate the Cemetery's first centennial. While [[DudeNotFunny somewhat controversial when first released due to its impious nature]], the song is nevertheless quite in tone with the [[GallowsHumour ghoulish, world-weary traditional Viennese sense of humour]].
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA video]] for Music/MichaelJackson's "Music/{{Thriller}}" memorably features one of these.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dfZ9BXaNyE Moon Trance]]", by Music/LindseyStirling, features a misty and dark cemetery, and she's creeped out even before the zombies come.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj41xZHA5Eg Victor and his Demons]]", by Music/FiddlersGreen, also features a creepy cemetery.

[[folder:Pinball]]
* The "Nightmare"/"Graveyard" table from ''VideoGame/PinballDreams'' takes place in one of these.
* ''Pinball/TheAddamsFamily'' has one behind the mansion. Wednesday can be seen hanging out here.

* At Ride/DisneyThemeParks:
** ''Franchise/TheHauntedMansion'' at Disneyland includes an adjacent pet cemetery alongside the entrance queue, dotted with tombstones bearing humorous epitaphs.
* At Ride/UniversalStudios:

* ''VideoGame/GhostControlInc'': Since this is a [[TheRealSpoofbusters not]]-Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} game, you will be taking jobs in haunted cemeteries.

* The cemetery in Halloween Town of ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2''.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'': [[BigBoosHaunt Pokémon Tower]] in the infamous Lavender Town is a massive cemetery [[ItsAllUpstairsFromHere tower]] where people all over pay their respects to Pokémon who have passed on. Team Rocket infiltrates the tower, disturbing the restless spirits, one of them is a mother Marowak who was killed by Team Rocket Grunts.

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'': The graveyard. It gets even creepier when lightning strikes the glowing blue tombstone near the end of it and Bogmire attacks Luigi in the area 2 boss battle.
* ''VideoGame/Shantae2002'' has one just after the swamp containing the [[BigBoosHaunt Cackle Mound]], in the area right before Shantae reaches the Zombie Caravan for the first time. The place is filled with a lot of floating ghosts and BigCreepyCrawlies climbing up and down the surrounding trees.

* ''VideoGame/TorchlightII'''s Act I is sprinkled with graves, but the one cemetery, Skull Hollow, covers a small plot over a much larger underground tomb. In Act [=III=] is Rivenskull Gorge, a vast gothic graveyard complete with HauntedCastle.

* The Gamindustri Graveyard from ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2''. Doesn't help that it has its own [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings creepy, all-seeing eye on top of a tower.]]
* ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions:'' One level has the player characters chase a Cyber-King through one. Though the cemetery itself isn't that creepy, save for all the Cybermen bursting out of the ground, or those angelic statues that seem to move when the player isn't looking at them. [[spoiler:Ultimately, it turns out the area isn't even a cemetery at all, just a hologramatic disguise. But the statues are very real.]]
* ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker2'': Baran the Gravekeeper handles one of these, and he can hire the Daughter to help him working there. He'll often tease the girl by telling her about a Skeleton Knight who supposedly haunts it. [[spoiler:If she has good enough Fighting/Magic skills, the Skeleton Knight will challenge her and she'll have to defeat him to send him to Heaven, which will net her at least 2.000 gold.]]
* Used several times in the ''VideoGame/LastHalfOfDarkness'' games. Jaja's bones in ''Shadows of the Servants'' must be dug up to acquire an item, and mausoleums (yes, plural) must be accessed to complete all the non-text games.
%& * ''VideoGame/SydneyHunterAndTheShrinesOfPeril'': [[PlayerCharacter Sydney]] travels through a cemetery to get to the titular shrine. There's even grave stones Sydney has to jump over. (Does this count? With no enemies in the game, there are no ghosts there.)

* WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack once had to battle an army of skeletal warriors in a cemetery.
* On ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', Mr. Krabs had to go into a cemetery to find a valuable hat and had to fight an army of undead fish.

* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' where the titular captain first meets [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989 Link and Princess Zelda]], they venture into Hyrule's cemetery during their adventure. The Captain notes that the cemetery is ''much'' creepier in person than in the game.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' had a pretty creepy cemetary (but with cool LED-screen tombstones).

* An episode of ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' takes place in a local cementery handled by the family of a boy in Doremi and Co's class, where the kids perform their {{Kimodameshi}}. It's not ''that'' creepy at first sight, but Hazuki (who really ''hates'' the supernatural) begs to disagree and [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes her terror]] is PlayedForLaughs. [[spoiler: It turns out to have a ghost... who happens to be that of the late local Buddhisst priest and the grandfather of the girls' classmate; his grandson [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye wasn't there when he passed away]] and he wants to see the kid one last time...]]

* Many of ''Series/NightAndDay'''s pivotal scenes take place in the graveyard at St Vincent’s church. For extra shivers, there are underground catacombs too - usually reserved for violent scuffles, sexual encounters, demonic episodes and monster sightings.

* In ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', at the end of the third level on the "Death Toll" campaign, the path leads through a cemetery into a busted up church, where an insane and paranoid man in the safe room rings the church's bell to attract zombies, supposedly to make sure that you and the other survivors in your group are not infected. [[spoiler: It turns out that he was infected himself, and he makes his transformation into a (random) Special Infected by the time that the Horde wave is over and you enter the safe room.]]

** ''Ages'' has the Yoll Graveyard, which had ghosts in it as well as the first dungeon in the game, the Spirit's Grave. In addition, the final dungeon in the game, the Ancient Tomb, is located in the same location in the past, and is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an ancient tomb]] on a mysterious island blocked by whirlpools. The Yoll Graveyard is also one of the only two places in the entire game that prevents you from time traveling, and distorts the screen if you try.
** ''Seasons'' has a graveyard on the southwest corner of Holodrum, which houses the game's seventh dungeon, the Explorer's Crypt.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'': ''Ages'' has the Yoll Graveyard, which had ghosts in it as well as the first dungeon in the game, the Spirit's Grave. In addition, the final dungeon in the game is located in the same location in the past, and is an ancient tomb blocked by whirlpools. The Yoll Graveyard is also one of the only two places in the entire game that prevents you from time traveling, and distorts the screen if you try. ''Seasons'' has a graveyard on the southwest corner of Holodrum, which houses the game's seventh dungeon, the Explorer's Crypt.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': Link can drop down into some of the graves to do things like race the ghost of an {{Undertaker}} in a creepy maze and fight [[OurZombiesAreDifferent ReDeads]]. Also, it houses the entrance to the spooky Shadow Temple, and the Well isn't too far away from the cemetery.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' has the Yoll Graveyard, which had ghosts in it as well as the first dungeon in the game. In addition, the final dungeon in the game is located in the same location in the past, and is an ancient tomb blocked by whirlpools. The Yoll Graveyard is also one of the only two places in the entire game that prevents you from time traveling, and distorts the screen if you try.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[HorrifyingTheHorror So creepy that even the vampire wants to leave.]]]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Pylons}}'': There's a small cemetery near one of the pylons that the PlayerCharacter finds creepy. He states he shouldn't play near the pylons unless he wants to end up there. [[spoiler:The next day, he discovers a freshly dug grave there.]]

* One serves as an arena in ''VideoGame/{{BearZerkers}}''. There's a coffin on the left, and a mausoleum on the right.

* ''VideoGame/SydneyHunterAndTheShrinesOfPeril'': [[PlayerCharacter Sydney]] travels through a cemetery to get to the titular shrine. There's even grave stones Sydney has to jump over.

* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' where the titular captain first meets [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda Link and Princess Zelda]], they venture into Hyrule's cemetery during their adventure. The Captain notes that the cemetery is ''much'' creepier in person than in the game.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': Link can drop down into some of the graves to do things like race the ghost of an {{Undertaker}} in a creepy maze and fight [[OurZombiesAreDifferent ReDeads]]. Also, it houses the entrance to the spooky shadow temple, and the well isn't too far away from the cemetery.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has the town's cemetery moved next door to their house, and it ends up scaring Lisa out of her mind.
** In Treehouse of Horror III, there's the Springfield [[ShoutOut Pet Cemetary]], where Bart and Lisa attempt to raise Snowball I - and end up unleashing a ZombieApocalypse.