Oakland Cemetery at Night

October 2017

Anyone living in Atlanta probably knows about Oakland Cemetery. It’s been there for a very long time and is the final resting place for local legends such as Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, Maynard Jackson and many other souls. Named for its abundance of towering oaks, circa-1850 Oakland Cemetery is much more than a graveyard, tourist hotspot, and spooky setting for concert and beer-related events. It’s a botanical garden, wildlife habitat, sculpture garden, and the eternal resting place of prestigious Atlantans, alongside nearly 7,000 Confederate soldiers. During the day it is a lively place to spend the afternoon among the dead but at night it gets a little more creepy. Although the sounds of Memorial Dr. help to dispel some of the darkness, the cemetery still has a certain feel about it once the lights go out and darkness descends upon the city of Atlanta.

Oakland Cemetery is closed up tight for the night to keep things out…or to keep them in.

As if on cue, lightning lights up the night sky at the main entrance to Oakland Cemetery off of Oakland Ave.

Multiple light sources cause a spooky scene with the tombstones inside Oakland Cemetery that border Oakland Ave.

Lightning lights up the night sky while roses grow near the tombstones inside Oakland Cemtery.

Ligntning lights up the tombstones at Oakland Cemetery an eerie orange and white.

The Lynch family tombstone inside Oakland Cemetery.

A large magnolia tree shades tombstones inside Oakland Cemetery.

Tombstones inside Oakland Cemetery take on an eerie iridesence from multiple light sources along Memorial Dr.

Tombstones, ancient trees and a purple and pink sky at Oakland Cemetery.

A skyscraper peeks through the trees behind tombstones at Oakland Cemetery.

A skyscraper peeks through the trees behind tombstones at Oakland Cemetery.

The Fulton Cotton Mill can be seen along the tree line surrounding the graves at Oakland Cemetery.

Tombstones cast crazy shadows at Oakland Cemetery.

Skyscrapers can be seen in the background of Oakland Cemetery.

The Elsas crypt at Oakland Cemetery overlooks Memorial Dr.