If you believe the stereotypes, graveyards tend to attract certain types of people. But, I’m living proof that you don’t have to be a Goth, Satanist or body snatcher to get a kick out of places for the dead. My fascination started as a kid. On the way to school I’d often loiter in the local graveyard, mesmerized by the inscriptions on the stones. For some reason reading them felt as forbidden as sneaking a peak up a girl’s skirt. But read them I did.

Secretly dig graveyards?

Years later and this graveyard fetish is yet to disappear. If anything, it’s got worse. Now, rather than spending a few minutes dawdling, there are certain places where I can spend hours wandering around and hanging out with the long gone. If you secretly dig graveyards too, don’t feel ashamed. Instead, enjoy my four favourites. Each and every one is guaranteed to knock you dead.

Spending 3 million pounds on a mausoleum seems like a lot of cash. But then you only die once.

Dying it up

Highgate Cemetery, London, tops my list. Why? Because nobody did death like the Victorians. If you had to choose between living it up or dying it up, they’d go for the latter… apparently, the businessman Julius Beer spent the equivalent of 3 million pounds on building himself a giant mausoleum. Doubtless, Karl Marx, who’s also buried amongst the Gothic tombs would have considered this an example of capitalism’s decadence. And who could blame him.

Chilled to the bone

Next up is Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. Although not as extravagant as Highgate what it lacks in grandeur it makes up for in beauty. Few capitals cities have reserved such a large central location for their dead and even fewer have a cemetery so chilled out. Located next to a lake and a beach, the mix of Lutheran and Russian orthadox tombs makes Hietaniemi so special it’s a cemetery to die for.

Stone angel heaven

The Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires takes bronze. Like the city itself it’s glamed up and crowded. If the suns out, you’ll find yourself dazzled by the polished marble mausoleums that houses the bodies of the Argentinan upper classes, including the legendary lady of the people Eva Perón. Laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks, it’s easy to get lost in stone angel heaven.

Famous carved words

And finally, in fourth, the 44-hectare Pere Lachaise in Paris. Alledgedly the most visited cemetery in the world, Pere Lachaise reeks of history. Other than the Communards Wall, where 147 defenders of the Paris commune were shot in 1871, the place is jam packed with famous historical figures. Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Edith Piaf are just a few of the occupants you’ll stumble across. In fact, it so crowed with celebs, that after a day checking them all out, you’ll doubtless be dead on your feet.