Above-Ground Graves & Ghosts: The City of the Dead’s Halloween Influence

In most places, cemeteries are quiet places of mourning. In New Orleans, they’re architectural wonders, haunted landmarks, and—when October rolls around—fashion inspiration.

Welcome to the City of the Dead, where tombs are stacked like stone row houses, saints and sinners rest side by side, and spirits stroll casually through the fog. Our above-ground cemeteries aren’t just resting places—they’re a foundational part of our city’s mystique. And when the Krewe of BOO! hits the streets, that cemetery symbolism rises from the grave in full haunted glory.

Let’s crack open the crypt (gently) and explore how New Orleans’ burial traditions help shape the spooky spectacle of Halloween season.

🪦 Why Above-Ground? It’s Not Just the Vibes (But Also… the Vibes)

With New Orleans sitting just below sea level, digging six feet under often meant one thing: your dearly departed didn’t stay very departed. The solution? Above-ground tombs, influenced by Spanish and French customs, designed to withstand the swamp and still deliver a sense of sacred grandeur.

The result is an eerie, elegant, and unmistakably New Orleans aesthetic—rows of marble crypts, cracked statues, iron gates, and Spanish moss that drips like ghostly lace. It’s hauntingly beautiful. And a natural muse for Halloween designers.

🕯️ Cemeteries as Symbols: Death with a Dash of Drama

In New Orleans, death isn’t just an end—it’s a celebration, a transformation, a story with sequins. Our cemeteries reflect that. They’re not cold or forgotten—they’re artful, ornate, and very much alive in the public imagination.

Skulls, angels, and fleur-de-lis carvings adorn the crypts, each one telling a tale. These elements inspire the Krewe of BOO! floats and costumes: skeleton kings, tombstone tiaras, mausoleum-themed monsters, and fog-filled displays that bring the graveyard glam to life.

👻 The Ghosts That Never Left

Many of the city’s cemeteries are allegedly still occupied… by more than bones. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is home to Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, whose spirit is said to grant favors (or mischief) to those who pay their respects. Lafayette Cemetery, with its twisted oak trees and crumbling crypts, is a favorite haunt of vampire lore and ghost tours alike.

This supernatural lore is woven into the DNA of Krewe of BOO!—from fog machines and flickering lanterns to full-on spectral performers who glide down the parade route like marble angels come to life.

🧛 From Tomb to Runway: Cemetery Chic

The fashion? Iconic. Paradegoers pull from cemetery aesthetics with black lace, veils, bone jewelry, and dramatic Victorian mourning garb—often accessorized with LED lights and glitter, of course. The result? A walking tribute to the City of the Dead that slays in more ways than one.

🎭 Krewe of BOO! Aesthetics: Grave but Glamorous

Our floats don’t just spook—they honor. Many designs channel the elegance of our cemeteries, with wrought iron gates, weeping angels, crypt façades, and spectral silhouettes. Some floats even glow like haunted tombs under moonlight, rolling through the French Quarter like ghostly processions of the afterlife with a brass band soundtrack.

💀 We Don’t Fear the Dead—We Parade with Them

New Orleans doesn’t shy away from mortality—we celebrate it. We toast to the ancestors, we throw parties in cemeteries (literally), and we let the spirits dance among us each Halloween. That’s why Krewe of BOO! embraces the graveyard aesthetic: because in this city, death is just another reason to get dressed up.

So next time you spot a crypt-shaped float or a skull-clad reveler at Krewe of BOO!, remember: It’s not just spooky flair. It’s tradition. It’s tribute. It’s totally New Orleans.

🕯️ May the tombs inspire you and the spirits never RSVP "no." See you in the streets—between the living and the legendary.