For many cultures, the funeral is the last goodbye.

It's the final chance we have to say what needs said, or do what needs done, in order

to honor the ones we've lost.

But while the methods and purpose behind these rituals can vary drastically from one culture

to the next, one thing is common among the vast majority.

The burial.

We bury our dead.

We've done it for an incredibly long time, and we've gotten very good at it.

Every year archaeologists open new tombs that date back millennia, each one teaching

us something new about the cultures that time has caused us to forget, and central to each

of these discoveries is the burial itself, the techniques, the beliefs, the ritual.

And it's not just about the dead.

The practice of honoring and burying our loved ones is just as much about our own feelings

of loss and grief, as it is about our responsibility to care for those who have passed away.

No place personifies the act of burial more than the local cemetery.

With our green lawns and neat rows of pale stones, the graveyard is unique among urban

constructions.

They are respectfully avoided by some, and obsessed over by others.

But whatever beliefs you might hold to or opinions you might have about them, graveyards

are a special place.

Stephen King explores the allure and power of the graveyard in his novel Pet Cemetery.

In his story, the cemetery is a portal between our world and another.

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