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Avenue with linden in the cemetery by Ringkøbing, Jutland, Denmark.

Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island

A cemetery in Kyoto, Japan

Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, England

A cemetery is a spatially defined area where the remains of deceased people are buried or are otherwise interred. The term "cemetery" (from Greek κοιμητήριον: sleeping place) implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground. The intact or cremated remains of deceased people may be interred. The remains may be interred in a grave, commonly referred to as burial, or may be interred in a tomb, an "above-ground grave" (resembling a sarcophagus), a mausoleum, columbarium, or other edifice. In Western cultures, funeral ceremonies are often observed in cemeteries. These ceremonies or rites of passage differ according to cultural practices and religious beliefs. Modern cemeteries often include crematoria, and some grounds previously used for both, continue as crematoria as a principal use long after the interment areas have been filled.

Definition[link]

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a cemetery as a "burial-ground generally; now esp. a large public park or ground laid out expressly for the interment of the dead, and not being the ‘yard’ of any church. (Cemetery c)" and specifies that the term "...originally applied to the Roman underground cemeteries or catacombs "^[1] Cemeteries are normally distinct from churchyards, which are typically consecrated according to one denomination and are attached directly to a single place of worship.

Cemeteries through history[link]

Archaeology[link]

Prehistoric cemeteries are sometimes referred to by the term 'grave field'. They are one of the chief sources of information on ancient and prehistoric cultures, and numerous archaeological cultures are defined by their burial customs, such as the Urnfield culture of the European Bronze Age.

Early Christian history[link]

From about the 7th century, European burial was under the control of the Church and could only take place on consecrated church ground. Practices varied, but in continental Europe, bodies were usually buried in a mass grave until they had decomposed. The bones were then exhumed and stored in ossuaries, either along the arcaded bounding walls of the cemetery, or within the church under floor slabs and behind walls.

In most cultures those who were vastly rich, had important professions, were part of the nobility or were of any other high social status were usually buried in individual crypts inside or beneath the relevant place of worship with an indication of the name of the deceased, date of death and other biographical data. In Europe this was often accompanied with a depiction of their coat of arms.

Most others were buried in graveyards again divided by social status. Families of the deceased who could afford the work of a stonemason had a headstone carved and set up over the place of burial with an indication of the name of the deceased, date of death and sometimes other biographical data. Usually, the more writing and symbols carved on the headstone, the more expensive it was. As with most other human property such as houses and means of transport, richer families used to compete for the artistic value of their family headstone in comparison to others around it, sometimes adding a statue (such as a weeping angel) on the top of the grave.

Those who could not pay for a headstone at all usually had some religious symbol made from wood on the place of burial such as a Christian cross; however, this would quickly deteriorate under the rain or snow. Some families hired a blacksmith and had large crosses made from various metals put on the place of burial.

Graveyards replaced by cemeteries[link]

A Soviet military cemetery on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia.

Various conditions in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century led to the burial of the dead in graveyards being discontinued. Among the reasons for this were:

• A very sharp rise in the size of the population during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution
• Continued outbreaks of highly infectious diseases in towns and cities due to lack of public hygiene. Many graveyards in cities were located on land enclosed within the city walls.
• Limits to, and lack of, space in graveyards for new headstones and corpses.
• A growing resistance in existing churches to bury dead who had never attended their church despite being legally obliged to do so for any "parishioner".

As a consequence of these reasons, city authorities, national governments and places of worship all changed their regulations for burials. In many European states, burial in graveyards was outlawed altogether either by royal decrees or government legislation.

In some cases, skeletons were exhumed from graveyards and moved into ossuaries or catacombs. A large action of this type occurred in 18th century Paris when human remains were transferred from graveyards all over the city to the Catacombs of Paris. The bones of an estimated 6 million people are to be found there.^[2]

However, in most places across Europe (as well as in larger cities in North America) completely new places of burial were established away from heavily populated areas and outside of old towns and city centers. Many new cemeteries became municipally owned or were run by their own corporations, and thus independent from churches and their churchyards. Nevertheless, even these were still segregated by the faith of the deceased to be buried there.

Thus, cemeteries (certainly in their modern landscaped or garden cemetery form), rather than graveyards, became the principal place of burial for the deceased and continue to this day. Wadi-us-Salaam, located in Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraq, is reputed to be the largest cemetery in the world.^[3] It is estimated more than half a million corpses are interred in the cemetery each year.^[4]

Modern cemeteries[link]

The Laird's traditional Scottish graveyard at Kindrogan House, Strathardle.

The town cemetery on the plains of Calhan, Colorado.

The 1,400 square feet (130 m²) plot pictured here has the graves of nineteen members of the Hillendahl family, including one who was interred in 1854, in the Spring Branch area of Houston, Texas, United States. A descendant of the family sold all of the land around the grave site, but refused to move the actual graves.^[5]

The earliest of the spacious landscaped-style cemeteries is Père Lachaise in Paris. This embodied the idea of state- rather than church-controlled burial, a concept that spread through Europe with the Napoleonic invasions, and sometimes became adapted leading to the opening of cemeteries by private companies. The shift to municipal cemeteries or those established by private companies was usually accompanied by the establishing of spacious, landscaped, burial grounds outside of the city limits.

Cemeteries are usually a respected or protected area, and often include a crematorium for the cremation of the dead. The violation of the graves or buildings is usually considered a very serious crime, and punishments are often severe.

The style of cemeteries varies greatly internationally. For example, in the United States and many European countries, modern cemeteries usually have many tombstones placed on open spaces. In Russia, tombstones are usually placed in small fenced family lots. (This was once common practice in American cemeteries as well, and such fenced family plots are still visible in some older American cemeteries.)

Usually, there is a legal requirement to maintain records regarding the burials (or interment of ashes) within a cemetery. These burial registers usually contain (at a minimum) the name of the person buried, the date of burial and the location of the burial within the cemetery, although some burial registers contain far more information about the deceased person. Burial registers are an important resource for genealogy.

In order to physically manage the space within the cemetery (to avoid burials in existing graves) and to record locations in the burial register, most cemeteries have some systematic layout of graves in rows, generally grouped into larger sections as required. Often the cemetery displays this information in the form of a map, which is used both by the cemetery administration in managing their land use and also by friends and family members seeking to locate a particular grave within the cemetery.

Traditionally cemetery management only involves the allocation of land for burial, the digging and filling of graves, and the maintenance of the grounds and landscaping. The construction and maintenance of headstones and other grave monuments is usually the private responsibility of families of the deceased. However, increasingly, many people regard the resultant collection of individual headstones, concrete slabs and fences (some of which may be decayed or damaged) to be aesthetically unappealing, leading to new cemetery developments either standardising the shape or design of headstones or plaques, sometimes by providing a standard shaped marker as part of the service provided by the cemetery. This has led to the development of new styles of cemetery.

Contemporary styles of cemetery[link]

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (August 2011)

There are a number of different styles of cemetery in use. Many cemeteries have areas based on different styles, reflecting the diversity of cultural practices around death and how it changes over time.

Monumental cemetery[link]

Monument of c. 1910 in the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa, Italy, one of the most spectacular of a number of Italian cemeteries featuring large-scale sculpture.

Gen. John A. Wagener grave in Bethany Cemetery of St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

A monumental cemetery is the traditional style of cemetery where headstones or other monuments made of marble, granite or similar materials rise vertically above the ground (typically around 50 cm but some can be over 2 metres high). Often the entire grave is covered by a slab, commonly concrete, but it can be more expensive materials such as marble or granite, and/or has its boundaries delimited by a fence which may be made of concrete, cast iron or timber. Where a number of family members are buried together (either vertically or horizontally), the slab or boundaries may encompass a number of graves. Monumental cemeteries are often regarded as unsightly due to the random collection of monuments and headstones they contain. Also, as maintenance of the headstones is the responsibility of family members, over time many headstones are forgotten about and decay and become damaged. For cemetery authorities, monumental cemeteries are difficult to maintain. While cemeteries often have grassed areas between graves, the layout of graves makes it difficult to use modern equipment such as ride-on lawn mowers in the cemetery. Often the maintenance of grass must be done by more labour-intensive (and therefore expensive) methods. In order to reduce the labour cost, devices such as whipper-snippers are increasingly used in cemetery maintenance,^{[citation needed]} but such devices can damage the monuments and headstones. Cemetery authorities dislike the criticism they receive for the deteriorating condition of the headstones, arguing that they have no responsibility for the upkeep of headstones, and typically disregard their own maintenance practices as being one of the causes of that deterioration.^{[citation needed]}

Lawn cemetery[link]

A lawn cemetery (as the name suggests) is covered in grass. Each grave is marked with a commemorative plaque (around 30 cm x 20 cm is typical) placed horizontally at the head of the grave at ground-level. While families are normally still involved in the design and information contained on the plaque, generally the size and materials of the plaque are constrained by the cemetery authorities, who often strongly encourage (or in some cases mandate) the use of a standard design.

An old municipal cemetery in Otley, Yorkshire, England

Typically, lawn cemeteries comprise a number of graves in this lawn setting with trees and gardens on the perimeter. While aesthetic appeal to family members has been the primary driver for the development of lawn cemeteries, cemetery authorities were initially very enthusiastic about this new style of cemetery, as they appeared to be easier to maintain. By initially selecting (or grading) the land intended for a lawn cemetery to be completely flat, it allows the use of large efficient mowers (such as ride-on mowers or lawn tractors) to be used as the plaques (being horizontally set in the ground) lie below the level of the blades and are not damaged by the blades. Unfortunately, in practice, while families are often initially attracted to the uncluttered appearance of a lawn cemetery, the common practice of placing flowers (sometimes in vases) and increasingly other items (e.g. small toys on children's graves) re-introduces some clutter to the cemetery and makes it difficult to use the larger mowers. While cemetery authorities increasingly impose restrictions on the nature and type of objects that can be placed on lawn graves and actively remove prohibited items, grieving families are often unwilling to comply with these restrictions and become very upset if the items are removed. Another problem with lawn cemeteries is that over time the grass can grow over and cover the plaque to the distress of families who can no longer easily locate the grave. Grasses that propagate by an above-ground stolon (aka runner) can cover a plaque very quickly. Grasses that propagate by a below-ground rhizome tend not to cover the plaque as easily.

Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York.

A lawn beam cemetery is a recent development which seeks to solve the problems of the lawn cemetery while retaining many of its benefits. Low (10–15 cm) raised concrete slabs (beams) are placed across the cemetery. Commemorative plaques (usually standardised in terms of size and materials similar to lawn cemeteries) are placed on these beams adjacent to each grave. The graves themselves are covered with grass like a lawn cemetery. The areas between the beams are large enough that they are easy to mow with a larger mower. As the mower blades are set lower than the top of the beam and the mowers do not go over the beam, the blades cannot damage the plaques. Up on the beam, the plaques cannot be easily overgrown by grass and there is space between the plaques for families to place flowers and other objects without interfering with the mowing.

Natural cemeteries[link]

A natural cemetery or eco-cemetery or green cemetery is a new style of cemetery and is an area set aside for natural burials (with or without coffins). Natural burials are motivated by a desire to be environmentally conscious with the body rapidly decomposing and becoming part of the natural environment without incurring the environmental cost of traditional burials. Although in principle natural burial can be performed in any style of cemetery, typically the environmental motivations of those requesting natural burial tend to favor the use of a natural bushland or woodland setting for the natural burial. Because of the number of trees usually present in a natural cemetery, burials occur in whatever location and orientation best fits the natural environment as opposed to the more traditional rows or other orderly arrangements in traditional cemeteries. As a consequence, natural burial may actually be less efficient land-use than a traditional cemetery. However, because of the rapid decomposition of a natural burial, in principle the re-use of the grave site can occur earlier than in other conventional burials, which would improve the efficiency of land use. However, it remains to be seen if family members will accept the early re-use of natural burial sites, given the general community dislike of re-use of any kind of grave. Another consequence of the lack of orderly burials is the need for highly accurate surveying of the grave site for effective cemetery management, to prevent the accidental re-use of a grave site.

In keeping with the intention of "returning to nature" and the early re-use potential, natural cemeteries do not normally have conventional grave markings such as headstones. Instead, the planting of a tree or bush or placement of a rock is regarded as the more appropriate way to commemorate the deceased. However, as with other types of cemetery, the intentions of the cemetery authorities may be in conflict with the grieving practices of family and friends, for whom being able to visit the precise location of a grave and see the name of the deceased is often important. In some natural cemeteries, names can be inscribed on naturally-shaped rocks (not carved headstones) but, unless the rock is particularly large and heavy, it can easily be knocked or kicked to another nearby location.

Columbarium wall[link]

A columbarium wall at Lawnton, Queensland, showing empty niches, plaques and flower holders

Columbarium walls are a common feature of many cemeteries, reflecting the increasing use of cremation rather than burial. While cremated remains can be kept at home by families in urns or scattered in some significant or attractive place, neither of these approaches allows for a long-lasting commemorative plaque to honour the deceased nor provides a place for the wider circle of friends and family to come to mourn or "pay their respects" (the practice of honouring a deceased person by visiting their grave). Therefore, many cemeteries now provide walls (typically of brick or rendered brick construction) with a rectangular array of niches, with each niche being big enough to accommodate a person's cremated remains. Columbarium walls are a very space-efficient use of land in a cemetery compared with burials and a niche in a columbarium wall is a much cheaper alternative to a burial plot. A small plaque (about 15 cm x 10 cm) can be affixed across the front of each niche and is generally included as part of the price of a niche. As the writing on the plaques has to be fairly small to fit on the small size of the plaque, the design of columbarium walls is constrained by the ability of visitors to read the plaques. Thus, the niches are typically placed between 1 metre to 2 metres above the ground so the plaques can be easily read by an adult. Some columbarium walls have niches going close to ground level, but these niches are usually unpopular with families as it is difficult to read the plaque without bending down very low (something older people in particular find difficult or uncomfortable to do).

As with graves, the niches may be assigned by the cemetery authorities or families may choose from the unoccupied niches available. It is usually possible to purchase (or pay a deposit) to reserve the use of adjacent niches for other family members. The use of adjacent niches (vertically or horizontally) usually permits a larger plaque spanning all the niches involved, which provides more space for the writing. As with graves, there may be separate columbarium walls for different religions or for war veterans. As with lawn cemeteries, the original expectation was that people would prefer the uncluttered simplicity of a wall of plaques, but the practice of leaving flowers is very entrenched. Mourners leave flowers (and other objects) on top of columbarium walls or at the base, as close as they can to the plaque of their family member. In some cases, it is possible to squeeze a piece of wire or string under the plaque allowing a flower or small posy to be placed on the plaque itself or clips are glued onto the plaque for that purpose. Newer designs of columbarium walls take this desire to leave flowers into account by incorporating a metal clip or loop beside each plaque, typically designed to hold a single flower stem or a small posy. As the flowers decay, they simply fall to the ground and do not create a significant maintenance problem.

Family cemeteries[link]

Holland Cemetery: A rural cemetery in northeast Oklahoma

A village cemetery in Jednorozec, Poland

While uncommon today, family (or private) cemeteries were a matter of practicality during the settlement of America. If a municipal or religious cemetery had not been established, settlers would seek out a small plot of land, often in wooded areas bordering their fields, to begin a family plot. Sometimes, several families would arrange to bury their dead together. While some of these sites later grew into true cemeteries, many were forgotten after a family moved away or died out.

Today, it is not unheard of to discover groupings of tombstones, ranging from a few to a dozen or more, on undeveloped land. As late twentieth century suburban sprawl pressured the pace of development in formerly rural areas, it became increasingly common for larger exurban properties to be encumbered by "religious easements," which are legal requirements for the property owner to permit periodic maintenance of small burial plots located on the property but technically not owned with it. Often, cemeteries are relocated to accommodate building. However, if the cemetery is not relocated, descendants of people buried there may visit the cemetery.^[6]

More recent is the practice of families with large estates choosing to create private cemeteries in the form of burial sites, monuments, crypts, or mausoleums on their property; the mausoleum at Fallingwater is an example of this practice. Burial of a body at a site may protect the location from redevelopment, with such estates often being placed in the care of a trust or foundation. Presently, state regulations have made it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to start private cemeteries; many require a plan to care for the site in perpetuity. Private cemeteries are nearly always forbidden on incorporated residential zones. Many people will bury a beloved pet on the family property.

Customs and practices involving cemeteries[link]

The grave of an infant at Horton, Northamptonshire

Jewish cementary in Lodz

Flowers[link]

In Western countries, and many others, cut flowers are commonly left by visitors to graves, especially during major holidays and on birthdays or relevant anniversaries. Cemeteries usually dispose of these flowers after a few weeks in order to keep the space maintained. Flowers may often be planted on the grave as well, usually immediately in front of the gravestone. For this purpose roses are highly common.

Stones[link]

Jewish cemeteries often have multiple small, usually round, stones left on the top of the headstones. These have a prayer said as they are left. This practice is seen in the closing scene of the film Schindler's List, although in that case it is not on a Jewish grave.

Crosses[link]

War graves will commonly have small timber crosses left with a red poppy attached to its centre. These will often have messages written on the cross. More formal visits will often leave a poppy wreath. Jewish war graves are sometimes marked by a timber Star of David.

Contemporary cemetery management[link]

Traditionally cemetery management only involves the allocation of land for burial, the digging and filling of graves, and the maintenance of the grounds and landscaping. The construction and maintenance of headstones and other grave monuments is usually the private responsibility of families of the deceased. However, increasingly, many people regard the resultant collection of individual headstones, concrete slabs and fences (some of which may be decayed or damaged) to be aesthetically unappealing, leading to new cemetery developments either standardising the shape or design of headstones or plaques, sometimes by providing a standard shaped marker as part of the service provided by the cemetery.

Grave digging[link]

Cemetery authorities normally employ a full-time staff of caretakers to dig graves. The term "gravedigger" is still used in casual speech, though many cemeteries have adopted the term "caretaker", since their duties often involve maintenance of the cemetery grounds and facilities. The employment of skilled personnel for the preparation of graves is done not only to ensure the grave is dug in the correct location and at the correct depth, but also to relieve families from having to dig the grave for a recently deceased relative, and as a matter of public safety, in order to prevent inexperienced visitors from injuring themselves, to ensure unused graves are properly covered, and to avoid legal liability that would result from an injury related to an improperly dug or uncovered grave. Preparation of the grave is usually done before the mourners arrive for the burial. The cemetery caretakers fill the grave after the burial, generally after the mourners have departed. Mechanical equipment, such as backhoes, are used to reduce labour cost of digging and filling, but some hand shoveling may still be required.

In the United Kingdom the minimum depth from the surface to the highest lid is 36 inches. There must be 6 inches between each coffin, which on average is 15 inches high. If the soil is free draining and porous, only 24 inches of soil on top is required. Coffins may be interred as lesser depth or even above the grave as long as they are encased in a concrete chamber.^[7] Before 1977, double graves were dug to 8 feet and singles to 6 feet. As a single grave is now dug to 54 inches, old cemeteries contain many areas where new single graves can be dug on "old ground". This is considered a valid method of resource management and provides income to keep older cemeteries viable, thus forestalling the need for permanent closure, which would result in a reduction of their work force.

Burial registers[link]

Usually there is a legal requirement to maintain records regarding the burials (or interment of ashes) within a cemetery. These burial registers usually contain (at a minimum) the name of the person buried, the date of burial and the location of the burial within the cemetery, although some burial registers contain far more information about the deceased person. Burial registers are an important resource for genealogy.

Land use management[link]

In order to physically manage the space within the cemetery (to avoid burials in existing graves) and to record locations in the burial register, most cemeteries have some systematic layout of graves in rows, generally grouped into larger sections as required. Often the cemetery displays this information in the form of a map, which is used both by the cemetery administration in managing their land use and also by friends and family members seeking to locate a particular grave within the cemetery.

Pressures on cemetery management[link]

Cemetery authorities face a number of tensions in regard to the management of cemeteries.

One issue relates to cost. Traditionally a single payment is made at the time of burial, but the cemetery authority incurs expenses in cemetery maintenance over many decades. Many cemetery authorities find that their accumulated funds are not sufficient for the costs of long-term maintenance. This shortfall in funds for maintenance results in three main options: charge much higher prices for new burials, obtain some other kind of public subsidy, or neglect maintenance. For cemeteries without space for new burials, the options are even more limited. Public attitudes towards subsidies are highly variable. People with family buried in local cemeteries are usually quite concerned about neglect of cemetery maintenance and will usually argue in favour of public subsidy of local cemetery maintenance, whereas other people without connection to the area often argue that public spending comes from their taxes and therefore should be spent on the living in the district rather than being "wasted" on the dead.

Another issue relates to limited amount of land. In many larger towns and cities, the older cemeteries which were initially considered to be large often run out of space for new burials and there is no vacant adjacent land available to extend the cemetery or even land in the same general area to create new cemeteries. New cemeteries are generally established on the periphery of towns and cities, where large tracts of land are still available. However, people often wish to be buried in the same cemetery as other relatives, creating pressure to find more space in existing cemeteries and are not interested in being buried in new cemeteries with which there is no sense of connection to their family.

A third issue is the maintenance of monuments and headstones, which are generally the responsibility of families, but often become neglected over time. Decay and damage through vandalism or cemetery maintenance practices can render monuments and headstones either unsafe or at least unsightly. On the other hand, some families do not forget the grave but constantly visit, leaving behind flowers, plants, and other decorative items that create their own maintenance problem.

Re-use of graves[link]

Prague's Old Jewish cemetery is the last resting place for more than 100,000 people who had been buried here since the 15th century.

Jewish cemetery "Heiliger Sand" in Worms, Germany

All of these issues tend to put pressure on the re-use of grave sites within cemeteries. The re-use of graves already used for burial can cause considerable upset to family members. Although the authorities might declare that the grave is sufficiently old that there will be no human remains still present, nonetheless many people regard the re-use of graves (particularly their family's graves) as a desecration. Also re-use of a used grave involves the removal of any monuments and headstones, which may cause further distress to families (although families will typically be allowed to take away the monuments and headstones if they wish).

On the other hand, cemetery authorities are well aware that many old graves are forgotten and not visited and that their re-use will not cause distress to anyone. However, there may be some older graves in a cemetery for whom there are local and vocal descendants who will mount a public campaign against re-use. One pragmatic strategy is to publicly announce plans to re-use older graves and invite families to respond if they are willing or not. Re-use then only occurs where there are no objections allowing the "forgotten" graves to be re-used. Sometimes the cemetery authorities request a further payment to avoid re-use of a grave, but often this backfires politically.

A practical problem with regard to contacting families is that the original person who organised a burial may themselves also be dead and buried and locating living family members many decades later is virtually impossible (or at least prohibitively expensive). Therefore communication about re-use in local cemeteries tends to occur only through in local publications, which often do not reach family members living further afield who may only become aware of the re-use of the grave after the event (and after the removal and destruction of monuments and headstones).

Some cemeteries did foresee the need for re-use and included in their original terms and conditions a limited tenure on a grave site and most new cemeteries follow this practice, having seen the problems faced by older cemeteries. However, even when the cemetery has the legal right to re-use a grave, strong public opinion often forces the authorities to back down on that re-use. Also, even when cemeteries have a limited tenure provision in place, often funding shortages force them to contemplate re-use earlier than the original arrangements provided for.

Another type of grave site that must be considered for re-use are those that have never been used (but have been purchased at some time for future use). In principle it would seem easier to re-use such grave sites as there can be no claims of desecration, but often this is made more complicated by the legal rights to be buried obtained by the pre-purchase, as any limited tenure clause only takes effect after there has been a burial. Again, cemetery authorities suspect that in many cases the holders of these burial rights are probably deceased and that nobody will exercise that burial right, but again some families are aware of the burial rights they possess and do intend to exercise them as and when family members die. Again the difficulty of being unable to locate the holders of these burial rights complicates the re-use of those graves.

Cemetery excavations, like this one in Madrid, can alleviate overcrowding.

As historic cemeteries begin to reach their capacity for full burials, alternative memorialization, such as collective memorials for cremated individuals, is becoming more common. Different cultures have different attitudes to destruction of cemeteries and use of the land for construction. In some countries it is considered normal to destroy the graves, while in others the graves are traditionally respected for a century or more. In many cases, after a suitable period of time has elapsed, the headstones are removed and the now former cemetery is converted to a recreational park or construction site. A more recent trend, particularly in South American cities, involves constructing high-rise buildings to house graves.^[9]

Cemeteries in the United States may be relocated if the land is required for other reasons. For instance, many cemeteries in the southeastern United States were relocated by the Tennessee Valley Authority from areas about to be flooded by dam construction.^[10] Cemeteries may also be moved so that the land can be reused for transportation structures,^[11][12] public buildings,^[13] or even private development.^[14] Cemetery relocation is not necessarily possible in other parts of the world; in Alberta, Canada, for instance, the Cemetery Act expressly forbids the relocation of cemeteries or the mass exhumation of marked graves for any reason whatsoever.^[15] This has caused significant problems in the provision of transportation services to the southern half of the City of Calgary, as the main southbound road connecting the south end of the city with downtown threads through a series of cemeteries founded in the 1930s. The light rail transit line running to the south end eventually had to be built directly under the road.

Maintenance and mourning[link]

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (September 2010)

A roadside cemetery in Hualien, Taiwan

Cemetery authorities also face tension between the competing demands of efficient maintenance with the needs of mourners.

Labour costs in particular have risen substantially and so finding low-cost maintenance methods (meaning low-labour maintenance methods) is increasingly important. However, as discussed above, the use of large mowers and string trimmers might be efficient but often cannot be used in cemeteries because they physically are too large to fit between graves or because they can damage the monuments and headstones. In this regard, older cemeteries designed at a time of relatively low-cost labour and limited automation tend to present the greatest difficulties for maintenance.

On the other hand, newer cemeteries might be designed to be more efficiently maintained with lower labour through the increased use of equipment, e.g. lawn cemeteries where the maintenance can be performed with a ride-on mower or lawn tractor. However, efficient maintenance of newer graves is often frustrated by the actions of mourners who often place flowers and other objects on graves. These objects often require manual intervention; in some cases objects will be picked up and returned after maintenance, in other cases (e.g. dead flowers) they will be disposed of.

Again, although cemetery authorities try to prohibit the quantity and nature of objects placed on graves (a common restriction is to allow only fresh flowers, not in a vase or pot), but mourning families might ignore any such regulations and become very upset if other objects are removed. In particular, in an era in which the death of children is now relatively uncommon, some parents create quite large shrines at their child's grave, decorating them with toys, wind chimes, statues of angels and cherubs, etc. as a manifestation of their grief, adding items to the pile of objects on the grave progressively over time. Cemetery authorities have to try to deal with such situations sensitively, as strong emotions are involved. However, as well as their own maintenance problems with such "shrines", families with graves in the surrounding area often complain to cemetery authorities about the "mess", as they believe it detracts from the dignity of their family's graves. Therefore, the cemetery authorities must find a solution that satisfies both parties.

Special cemeteries[link]

• The Merry Cemetery in Săpânţa, northern Romania.
• The Cross Bones, a disused burial ground in Southwark, London for prostitutes
• The British Cemetery in Madrid, a cemetery for Protestants and Spanish suicides.
• The Manila Chinese Cemetery in the Philippines has richly decorated mausoleums.
• The Neptune Memorial Reef is a burial ground where the remains of cremated bodies are stored. Due to the location underwater, the burial ground does not take up any otherwise usable space.

Cemeteries for pets[link]

The Cimetière des Chiens in Asnières-sur-Seine in Paris is an elaborate pet cemetery believed^{[by whom?]} to be the first zoological necropolis in the world.^{[citation needed]}

Cemeteries and superstition[link]

In many countries, cemeteries are places believed to hold both superstition and legend characteristics, being used, usually at nighttimes, as an altar in supposed black magic ceremonies or similarly clandestine happenings, such as devil worshipping, grave-robbing (gold teeth and jewelry are preferred), thrilling sex encounters or drug and alcohol abuse not related to the cemetery aura (see below).

The legend of zombies, as romanticized by Wade Davis in The Serpent and the Rainbow, is not exceptional among cemetery myths, as cemeteries are believed to be places where witches and sorcerers get skulls and bones needed for their sinister rituals.

In the Afro-Brazilian urban mythos (such as Umbanda), there is a character loosely related to cemeteries and its aura: the Zé Pilintra (in fact, Zé Pilintra is more related to bohemianism and night life than with cemeteries, where the reigning entity is Exu Caveira or Exu Cemitério, similar to Voodoo Baron Samedi).

See also[link]

	Architecture portal
	Death portal
	Sociology portal

• Corpse road
• Victorian cemeteries
• Prison cemetery
• Lists of cemeteries by country

Other types of burial places[link]

• Catacomb
• Churchyard
• Columbarium
• Crypt
• Graveyard
• Mass grave
• Necropolis
• Ossuary
• Tomb
• Tumulus
• Unmarked grave
• War Grave

Regional variations of burial places and practices[link]

• Skull and crossbones (Spanish cemetery)

Specific types of burial places[link]

• Mausoleum
• Megalithic tomb
• Natural burial
• Potter's field
• Reliquary
• Sepulchre
• Shaft and chamber tomb
• Stupa
• Stone ship
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Removal of remains from cemeteries[link]

• Exhumation
• Grave robbing
• Resurrectionists

Businesses and professions for cemeteries[link]

• Funeral home
• Gravedigger
• Morgue
• Sexton
• Stonemason
• Undertaker

Public holidays and traditions in relation to cemeteries[link]

• All Souls' Day
• Day of the Dead
• Memorial Day
• National day of mourning
• Qingming Festival
• Saturday of Souls
• Bon Festival

Further aids to find cemetery locations or names of those buried[link]

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• Find A Grave
• Obituary
• Poets' Graves
• The Political Graveyard

Other topics related to places of burial[link]

• Elephant's graveyard

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Colvin, Howard. Architecture and the After-Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.
• Curl, James Stevens. Death and Architecture. Gloucestershire: Sutton, 2002.
• Etlin, Richard A. The Architecture of Death: the transformation of the cemetery in eighteenth-century Paris. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984.
• Grossman, Janet Burnett. Greek Funerary Sculpture. Catalogue of the Collection at the Getty Villa. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2001.
• Salisbury, Mike. From My Death May Life Come Forth. A Feasibility Study of the Woodland Cemetery in Canada Earthartist.com
• Worpole, Ken. Last Landscapes: the architecture of the cemetery in the West, Reaktion Books, London, 2003

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cemeteries

• Cemeteries at the Open Directory Project

Charlie Simpson
Simpson performing live in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Charles Robert Simpson
Born	(1985-06-07) 7 June 1985 (age 27)
Origin	Woodbridge, England
Genres	Post-hardcore, alternative rock, pop-rock, acoustic, indie rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboard, piano, violin, harmonica, drums
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Search and Destroy, Pledge Music, Trustkill, Gut, Deep Elm, Island
Associated acts	Fightstar, Busted
Website	www.charliesimpsonmusic.com

Charles Robert Simpson (born 7 June 1985 in Woodbridge, Suffolk),^[1] is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was the youngest member of multi BRIT Award-winning band Busted, and is the lead vocalist, guitarist and co-lyricist in alternative rock band Fightstar.^[2][3][4] Allmusic have noted that Simpson is perhaps "the only pop star to ever make a convincing transition from fresh-faced pop band to an authentic alternative rock frontman."^[5] Simpson is a multi-instrumentalist, skilled at playing the guitar, keyboard, piano and drums.^[6][7] Following three successful studio albums and subsequent tours, Fightstar initiated an extended hiatus in 2010, allowing Simpson to focus on his solo career. Working with the fan funding platform Pledge Music, Simpson released his debut EP When We Were Lions on Christmas day 2010. His debut full-length album entitled Young Pilgrim was released on 15 August 2011.

Early life and family[link]

Simpson attended Uppingham School and Framlingham College. He has two older brothers, Will and Edd  — Will was born in 1980 and is the vocalist and guitarist in Brigade and Edd was born in 1981 and is the lead singer and guitarist in an alternative band called Union Sound Set. Simpson has a very musical family dating back to Sir William Sterndale Bennett (mother's maiden name) who was a British pianist, conductor, and composer, a notable figure in the musical life of his time.^[8]

Career[link]

The three Simpson brothers (Charlie, William and Edward) are all musicians. Charlie first shot to fame with pop act Busted as a result to responding to an advertisement placed by Matt Willis and James Bourne in NME magazine in 2001.^[9] Busted consisted of Charlie on lead guitar and occasionally drums, Willis on bass guitar and Bourne on rhythm guitar, with all three providing vocals. Over a short period of two years, the trio had major success and sold over 3 million records,^[10] won two BRIT Awards,^[11] and also won Record of The Year in 2004.^[12]

However, Simpson was growing increasingly discontent with the pop star lifestyle and the music he was performing.^[13] As an avid fan of rock music, he felt unfulfilled by the commercial pop songs of Busted.^[13] He had met Alex Westaway in late 2003 and Fightstar were formed shortly afterwards. For over a year he would lead a secret "double life", as by night he would attend rehearsal sessions with his new band after completing obligated media work and concert performances with Busted.^[13] During 2004, he and Westaway wrote Fightstar's debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead, a post-hardcore record, that differed greatly to the music of Busted.^[14] The EP was recorded during November with Mark Williams in London.^[13] During this time, speculation began to grow about the frontman's future, and he finally announced he was leaving Busted to pursue his career full time with Fightstar in January 2005.^[15] In a 2009 interview Charlie explained "It was a fun thing to be doing, and I got on well with everyone I was doing it with, but on the other side, the music just wasn’t fulfilling me in any way. I have good memories of the time, because we were travelling the world and doing some amazing things, but then as far as self-fulfilment goes, Fightstar was all I wanted to do." ^[16] Initially the band were faced with much scepticism during their emergence, due to Simpson's pop background. He was often referred to as the 'Kid from Busted'. Then they began to receive positive reactions to early live shows and upon release, their debut EP was a critical success.^[17]

Simpson then funded and put together a compilation album called The Suffolk Explosion, which was released through his own label Sandwich Leg Records. It showcased a number of unsigned bands from Charlie's home county of Suffolk, including Brigade and Prego, as well as a solo acoustic track written by him called 'Carry Her'.^[18] Fightstar went on to record their debut full-length studio album with renowned rock producer, Colin Richardson. Grand Unification was released on March 13, 2006 and further proved the initial cynics wrong by receiving widespread positive reviews. In particular, Paul Brannigan of Kerrang! magazine, stated the album was "one of the best British rock albums of the past decade".^[17] Scottish music publication, The Fly also lauded the album as "one of the 21st Century’s ultimate rock debuts".^[19] Shortly afterwards the band went on to receive nominations at the Kerrang! Awards for "Best British Newcomer" and "Best British Band".^[20] After leaving Island Records due to a disagreement over the bands artistic direction,^[21] the band signed to an independent label called Institute Records which was a division of Gut Records to release their second album.^[22] One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007), peaked at #27 on the UK Album Chart,^[23] before releasing a b-sides compilation album titled, Alternate Endings (2008). The four-piece then funded and co-produced third album, Be Human (2009), which became their highest charting album after peaking at #20 in the UK.^[24]

On the 29 July 2009, he made a Myspace page for his acoustic solo work. There were three songs on the page, 'Dead Man Walking', 'Empty Guns (Demo)', and 'Carry Her'.^[25] 'Carry Her' was previously available on The Suffolk Explosion. The four members of the band are currently involved in a low-budget production called, In God We Trust, an upcoming horror film (previously known as Human Instrumentality Project). It is to be directed by Alex Gingell and Philip Koch alongside Fightstar's own Dan Haigh and Alex Westaway, who will also appear in the movie. Charlie Simpson and Omar Abidi will also feature and Fightstar will be providing the score for the film. A release date is yet to be revealed.^[26]

Solo career[link]

Fightstar announced a hiatus at the beginning of 2010, stating that they were "taking some time off" for the remainder of 2010–11 to work on separate projects before regrouping in 2012 to begin working a new record. Simpson has started working on a solo acoustic album, while Westaway and Haigh will be completing post-production on the bands film and working on some music videos.^[27]

Simpson went in to the studio in June 2010 to start recording his full-length debut album with producer Danton Supple, whose previous work includes Coldplay and The Cure. The album was funded through Pledge Music and as one of the main incentives for the campaign, fans received an EP called When We Were Lions on Christmas day 2010. The full-length album was finally finished in February 2011 and was mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios in London. The first single to be to be taken from the album was called "Down Down Down" and it had its first radio airplay on 11 April, as Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton's Record Of The Week. The single was officially released on 16 May, though it was made available to buy on iTunes straight away. The album is titled 'Young Pilgrim' and was released on 15 August 2011.^[28] The second single to be taken from the album was called Parachutes and was released on 7 August 2011. The track listing for the album has been released as it was available to pre order. Charlie announced a 4 date tour in June/July 2011. In an interview with NME(http://www.nme.com/news/charlie-simpson/63227), Charlie announced a second solo album is in the making and will be formed before a reunion with Fightstar.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

• 2010: When We Were Lions (EP)

Singles[link]

With Busted[link]

• 2002: Busted
• 2003: A Present for Everyone
• 2004: A Ticket for Everyone: Busted Live

With Fightstar[link]

• 2005: They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (EP)
• 2006: Grand Unification
• 2007: One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours
• 2008: Alternate Endings
• 2009: Be Human

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Charlie Simpson at Allmusic
• Charlie Simpson on Myspace
• Charlie Simpson on Facebook
• Charlie Simpson on Twitter

Lucio Fulci (Italian pronunciation: [ˈlutʃo ˈfultʃi]; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.^[1] He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie (1979) and The Beyond (1981), although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy.^[2] Fulci is known as the "Godfather of Gore"^[3] a title also given to Herschell Gordon Lewis.^[4]

Life and career[link]

Fulci was born in Rome on 17 June 1927. After studying medicine in college and being employed for a time as an art critic,^[5] Fulci opted for a film career first as a screenwriter, then later as a director, working initially in the comedy field. In the early to mid-1960s, Fulci directed around 18 Italian comedies, many starring the famous Italian comedy team Franco and Ciccio. Most of these early films were not distributed well (if at all) in the USA.

In 1969, he moved into the thriller arena, directing giallos (such as Lizard in a Woman's Skin and Sette note in nero) and action films (such as White Fang and Four of the Apocalypse) that were both commercially successful and controversial in their depiction of violence and religion. Some of the special effects in "Lizard" involving mutilated dogs in a vivisection room were so realistic, Fulci was dragged into court and charged with animal cruelty, until he showed the artificial canine puppets (created by Spfx maestro Carlo Rambaldi) to the judge and explained that they weren't real animals.

The first film to gain him actual notoriety in his native country, Don't Torture A Duckling, combined scathing social commentary with the director's soon-to-be-trademark graphic violence. Fulci had a Catholic upbringing and referred to himself as a Catholic.^[6] Despite this, some of his movies (such as his Beatrice Cenci and Don't Torture A Duckling) have been viewed as severely anti-Catholic.^[7] In one of his films, a priest is depicted as a homicidal child killer, and in another, a priest commits suicide by hanging himself in a cemetery and is reincarnated as a murderous demon.

In 1979, he achieved his international breakthrough with Zombie, a violent zombie film that was marketed in European territories as a sequel to George Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978). He quickly followed it up with several other tales of horror and the supernatural, many also featuring shambling, maggot-infested zombies which were all the rage at the time. His features released during the 1979 to 1983 period (most of them scripted by famed Italian screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti) were described by some critics as being among the most violent and gory films ever made. City of the Living Dead (1980), The Beyond (1981), House by the Cemetery (1981), The Black Cat (1981), and The New York Ripper (1982) were among his biggest hits, all of which featured extreme levels of on-screen blood and cruelty.

Several of Fulci's movies released in America were censored by the film distributor to ensure an R rating (such as The Beyond, which was originally released on video in edited form as Seven Doors of Death) or were released Unrated in order to avoid an X-rating (as with Zombie and House by the Cemetery) which would have greatly restricted the films' target audiences to adults. The unrated films often played worldwide in drive-ins and grindhouses to hordes of delighted teenagers and horror fanatics. Many of Fulci's horror films tend to contain "injury to the eye" sequences, in which a character's eyeball is either pierced or pulled out of its socket, usually in lingering, close-up detail.

Several of Fulci's movies were banned in Europe or were released in heavily cut versions. Of the original 72 films on the infamous Video Nasty list in the United Kingdom, three belonged to Fulci: Zombie (1979), The Beyond (1981), and House by the Cemetery (1981).^[8] After viewing Fulci's New York Ripper, not only did the British Board of Film Classification refuse the film a certificate, but every single print in the country was taken to an airport and returned to Italy by order of James Ferman; it wasn't until later that VIPCO had the courage to release the film, initially outsourcing production to a foreign source under police supervision before releasing a home-grown VHS in 2002 and a DVD in 2007.^[9]

German gore director Andreas Schnaas (left) and the late Lucio Fulci (right) at the 1994 Eurofest, London, England.

After collaborating with screenwriter Sacchetti for six years, Fulci went off on his own in 1983 to direct the movie Conquest (a Conan-like barbarian fantasy) in Mexico, failing to involve Sacchetti in the deal. The film actually wound up doing quite poorly upon its release, and afterwards, Fulci had trouble jump-starting his working relationship with Sacchetti, who by this time had gone his own way.

Fulci became deathly ill from hepatitis in 1984 (right after he finished directing Murder Rock in New York City) and had to be hospitalized for many months, eventually getting well enough to be released. Fulci spent most of 1984 hospitalized with cirrhosis, and much of 1985 recuperating at home. After 1986, with his diabetes plaguing him and the departure of screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti from Fulci's circle of friends (see "Fulci vs Sacchetti" below), Fulci was far less successful in his endeavors. Most of Fulci's films after 1984 were badly written and cheaply produced, with the possible exception of his Aenigma (1987) and Voices From Beyond (1991).

In 1988, he directed only 65% of Zombie 3 in the Philippines and had to return abruptly to Italy due to a life-threatening illness, and the film was finished by an uncredited Bruno Mattei. Fulci hated the finished product and tried unsuccessfully to get his name removed from the credits. Mattei has said in interviews that the film was Fulci's, and that he (Mattei) just added a few extra scenes to pad out the running time.

In 1989, Fulci was hired to direct a pair of made-for-Italian-TV horror movies, neither of which aired in Italy due to the high amount of gore and violence (they were however later released on DVD outside of Italy). Fulci's intended comeback films Demonia and Cat in the Brain (both produced and released in 1990) were big disappointments to his fans in terms of overall quality, and almost didn't get released. His final project, the 1991 psychological thriller Door To Silence received terrible reviews and pretty much terminated his career.^[10]

For the last decade of his life, Fulci suffered from emotional and health problems, reflected by a marked decline in the quality of his work. His wife's suicide back in 1969 and a daughter's fatal car accident several years later always weighed heavily on him, and his hyper-violent films such as The New York Ripper caused him to be branded a misogynist by the critics, although he always claimed that he loved women. Fulci suffered from severe problems with his feet during the 1980s which was caused by diabetes, but tried to hide the severity of his illness from his friends and associates so that he wouldn't be deemed unemployable.

During this time, from 1987 to 1990, Fulci began lending his name to the credits of some very low-budget horror films that he hadn't even directed, simply to make the films more distributable outside of Italy. Although he did appear to have supervised the gore effects in both The Curse and The Murder Secret, he was hardly involved with some of the other projects that nonetheless bore the Lucio Fulci Presents banner on their advertising material. (See section "Films Presented by Lucio Fulci" below). Fulci tried unsuccessfully to have his name removed from the credits of one film in particular (Gianni Martucci's Red Monks), since he swore he had had absolutely no involvement with making that film. The following year, in reciprocation for the use of his name, Fulci was permitted to use gore footage culled from these films to make his notorious Cat in the Brain, in which he played himself.

Some of Fulci's fans have retroactively argued that at his peak, Fulci's fame and popularity were on a par with that of Dario Argento, another famous Italian horror film director with whom Fulci had avoided working and whom Fulci had openly badmouthed from time to time. Fulci was most likely resentful of Argento, since Argento had always received critical acclaim and recognition in (and outside of) Italy, and Fulci had been regarded there as something of a "horror film hack". (Fulci told friends that when he died, he predicted that the Italian newspapers would all misspell his name, if they even mentioned him at all).

Fulci and Argento met in 1995 and agreed to collaborate on a horror film called Wax Mask (a remake of the 1953 Vincent Price horror classic "House of Wax", based on a story by Gaston Leroux). Argento claimed he had heard about Fulci's miserable circumstances at the time and wanted to offer him a chance for a comeback. Fulci wrote a plot synopsis and a screenplay for Argento and thought that he was slated to direct the film as well, but he died before filming could begin (due to a series of delays caused by Argento's involvement with his own film Stendhal Syndrome at the time). Being in poor health, Fulci was furious that the filming was delayed so many times, as he knew he was running out of time and wanted desperately to make one last, big-budget film before he died. The film was eventually directed by former special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti. Reportedly the screenplay was entirely reworked by screenwriter Daniele Stroppa after Fulci's death, so the finished film sadly bears little resemblance to Fulci's original screenplay. (Stroppa had co-written two of Fulci's earlier films, House of Clocks and Voices From Beyond.)

Fulci died alone at his home in Rome on the afternoon of 13 March 1996 of complications from diabetes at age 68. There was some controversy regarding his death since Fulci had been so sickly and despondent in his later years, it was thought perhaps that he had intentionally allowed himself to die by not taking his medications, but no one really knows as he was alone at the time of his death.

Fulci's films remained generally ignored or dismissed by the mainstream critical establishment, who regarded his work as pure exploitation. However, genre fans appreciated his films as being stylish exercises in extreme gore, and at least one of his splatter films, The Beyond, has "amassed a large and dedicated following".^[11] In 1998, Fulci's The Beyond was re-released to theaters by Quentin Tarantino,^[12] who has often cited the film, and Fulci himself, as a major source of inspiration. His earlier, lesser-known giallo Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) received some critical acclaim.^[13] Fulci himself highly regarded two of his films, Don't Torture A Duckling and Beatrice Cenci as his best work (the latter which he said his wife had liked the best of all his films), and he had to have considered both Zombie and The Beyond as the two films that forever catapulted him to cult film stardom.

Fulci was feted like royalty at the January 1996 Fangoria Horror Convention in New York City, just two months before his death. He told attendees that he had had no idea his films were so popular outside of his native Italy, as literally thousands of starstruck fans braved blizzard conditions all that weekend to meet him.

Fulci vs. Sacchetti[link]

Fulci and screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti share many screen credits from 1977 to 1983. Indeed, most of Fulci's most celebrated horror films were written by Sacchetti. After collaborating with Sacchetti for six years, Fulci went off on his own in 1983 to direct the movie "Conquest" (a Conan-like barbarian fantasy) in Mexico, failing to involve Sacchetti in the deal. The film was supposed to be a very big budget "A" picture, and Sacchetti allegedly resented the fact that Fulci had not thought to involve him in the project. The film actually wound up doing quite poorly upon its release, and afterwards, Fulci had trouble jump-starting his working relationship with Sacchetti, who by this time had gone his own way. Most Fulci fans agree that the films Fulci made without Sacchetti after 1983 were not nearly as good as their previous collaborative efforts.

In 1987, Fulci accused Sachetti of stealing a story idea of his (a project which they were planning to do together in 1983 after Fulci returned from Mexico). He claimed that Sachetti later allowed director Lamberto Bava to direct the project (under the title "Per Sempre/ After Death") in 1987 without Fulci's knowledge that the film was even being made. Luca M. Palmerini and Gaetano Mistretta's book Spaghetti Nightmares, publishes two full interviews, one with Fulci and one with Sacchetti, explaining the reasons for the fallout.

Fulci's version is as follows: "One day I told Dardano the plot of my Evil Comes Back (later retitled Per Sempre/ After Death), a sequel on a fantastic note to The Postman Always Rings Twice, and he proposed it to several producers with my name on it as the director. Then, one day, he registered the screenplay with his name on it! (laughs) I later found out that he'd sold the story idea to a producer named Sergio Martino, but, in view of our past friendship, I decided not to sue him. I just broke off all relations with him. He is indeed a very good scriptwriter though."

Sacchetti's version differs: "When I proposed to Lucio my original treatment for "Per Sempre/ Until Death", which was nothing more than a sequel to The Postman Always Rings Twice in which a dead man returns to life, he became really enthusiastic and had my story read by a producer friend of his who then commissioned me to write a finished script. At that time, Fulci assumed that he would direct it. Later, for various reasons, problems arose and the film was never made. Four years later, Bava used my script to make Per Sempre/ Until Death and Fulci, who wasn't working much at the time, got angry with me and started hurling these accusations. It's one thing for him to say that we were originally supposed to make the film together, but to claim that he originated the story and that I stole it from him is pure science-fiction".

Complete filmography (as director)[link]

Note - Films with Italian titles were never dubbed into English or distributed outside of Italy. Approximate English translations of the titles are provided.

• I Ladri/ The Thieves (1959)
• Ragazzi del Juke-Box/ Juke Box Kids (1959)
• Urlatori alla sbarra/ Howlers of the Dock (1960)
• Colpo gobbo all'italiana/ Getting Away With It, Italian Style (1962)
• I due della legione straniera/ The Two Legionnaires (1962)
• Le massaggiatrici/ The Masseuses (1962)
• Uno strano tipo/ A Strange Type (1963)
• Gli imbroglioni/ The Swindlers (1963)
• I maniaci / The Maniacs (1964)
• I due evasi di Sing Sing/ Two Escapees From Sing Sing (1964)
• I due pericoli pubblici/ Two Public Enemies (1964)
• 002 agenti segretissimi/ 002 Those Most Secret Agents! (1964)
• Come inguaiammo l'esercito/ How We Got The Army into Trouble (1965)
• 002 operazione Luna/ 002 Operation Moon (1965) aka Dos Cosmonautas a la Fuerza/ Two Unwilling Astronauts
• I due parà/ The Two Parachutists (1965)
• Come svaligiammo la Banca d'Italia/ How We Robbed The Bank of Italy (1966)
• Massacre Time (1966) (aka Colt Concert, aka Django the Runner, aka The Brute and the Beast, aka Tempo di Massacro) spaghetti western
• Come rubammo la bomba atomica/ How We Stole the Atomic Bomb (1967)
• Il lungo, il corto, il gatto/ The Tall, the Short, and the Cat (1967)
• Operazione San Pietro/ Operation Saint Peter's (1967)
• A Bullet for Sandoval (1969) This spaghetti western was allegedly co-directed by Julio Buchs and Lucio Fulci
• Double Face (1969) (aka Doppia Faccia) Fulci co-wrote this film's screenplay for director Riccardo Freda
• One on Top of the Other (1969) (aka Perversion Story)
• Beatrice Cenci (aka Conspiracy of Torture, 1969)
• Tepepa (1970) (aka Blood and Guns) Fulci claims he produced (but did not direct) this spaghetti western
• A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) (aka Schizoid, aka Carole)
• The Eroticist (1972) (aka The Senator Likes Women, aka All the Way...A Lady)
• Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) (aka The Long Night of Exorcism)
• White Fang (1973) (aka Croc-Blanc)
• Challenge to White Fang (1974) (aka The Return of White Fang)
• Dracula in the Provinces (1975) (aka Young Dracula, aka Il Cavaliere Costante Nicosia Demoniaco...Ovvero Dracula in Brianza)
• Four of the Apocalypse (1975) spaghetti western
• The Magistrate (1976) (aka La Pretora, aka My Sister-in-Law)
• Sette note in nero (1977) (aka Seven Notes in Black, aka Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes)
• Silver Saddle (1978) (aka They Died With Their Boots On) spaghetti western
• Zombie (1979) (released in Italy as Zombi 2; aka Zombie Flesh Eaters, aka Island of the Living Dead)
• Contraband (1980) (aka The Naples Connection, aka Luca the Smuggler, aka Vicious)
• City of the Living Dead (1980) (aka The Gates of Hell, aka Fear in the City of the Living Dead)
• The Black Cat (1981) (aka Il Gatto Nero, aka The Cat of Park Lane)
• The Beyond (1981) (aka L'Aldilà) (Censored U.S. video version was retitled Seven Doors of Death)
• The House by the Cemetery (1981) (aka Zombie Hell House, aka Freudstein)
• The New York Ripper (1982)
• Manhattan Baby (1982) (aka Evil Eye, aka Eye of the Evil Dead, aka Possessed)
• Conquest (1983) (aka Conquest of the Lost Land)
• The New Gladiators (1983) (aka Warriors of the Year 2072, aka Rome 2033 - The Fighter Centurions)
• Murder Rock (1983) (aka Murder Rock - Dancing Death, aka The Demon is Loose!)
• The Devil's Honey (1986) (aka Dangerous Obsession)
• Aenigma (1987)
• Zombie 3 (1988) (aka Zombi 3) completed by Bruno Mattei after Fulci became ill
• Touch of Death (1988) (aka When Alice Broke the Looking Glass)
• The Ghosts of Sodom (1988) (aka Sodoma's Ghost)
• The Sweet House of Horrors (1989) made for Italian TV
• The House of Clocks (1989) (aka The House of Time) made for Italian TV
• Demonia (1990) (aka Liza)
• A Cat in the Brain (1990) (aka Nightmare Concert)
• Voices From Beyond (1991) (aka Voci dal Profondo/ Voices From the Deep, aka Urlo dal Profondo/ Scream From The Deep)
• The Door to Silence (1991) (aka The Door Into Silence) Fulci's last film

Films "Presented" by Lucio Fulci[link]

• The Curse (1987) (aka The Farm) (Fulci was credited as co-producer on this H. P. Lovecraft adaptation (based on HPL's "The Colour Out of Space") which was directed by David Keith; Fulci also supervised the gore effects)

• The Murder Secret (1988) (aka Don't Be Afraid of Aunt Martha) (Fulci was credited as co-producer on this film directed by Mario Bianchi; Fulci also supervised the gore effects)

• The Red Monks (1988) (aka I Frati Rossi) (Fulci fought in vain to have his name removed from this film's credits; the film was directed by Gianni Martucci whom Fulci claimed he never even met; Fulci was credited with handling the film's special effects, which he denied having been involved with)