Tombstones tell tales

Do you still have the heebie-jeebies from watching Pet Cemetery, Poltergeist, or The Night of the Living

Dead? Horror films successfully tap into our collective subconscious fears of death, what lies beyond (or even beneath, for that matter). But really, when you visit a cemetery do you feel like a hand will appear through a menacing pall to lunge at your ankle? Jump back! You may be a coimetrophobe. Coimetrophobia is the fear of cemeteries. Symptoms include panic attacks, dizziness/vertigo, headaches, and sense of pending doom. Coimetrophobes may also fear decomposition, decay, and even getting buried alive.

On the other hand, you may be a taphophile like the upcoming speaker at Hobbs State Park. Abby Burnett, who will speak at 2 p.m. today at Hobbs State Park visitor center, visits cemeteries for fun. Instead of fearing that there is a ghoul lurking around the next head stone, or that a zombie will appear from behind the next tree dragging his leg in your direction, Burnett wonders what the people were like, or what they died from. She studies the symbolism carved on each stone, looking for clues that could lead to more information about the deceased.

In Burnett’s free presentation she will display gravestones that either hint at something, or tell outright how the person died, such as being struck by lightning, or killed by a falling tree. A stone may state “Killed by _____” and even give the murderer’s motive, but there is always more to find out.

The presentation is free. Information: (479) 7895000, friendsofhobbs.com.