As my pre-birthday celebration continued I had no idea what to expect next. Dave has a real talent for scheduling vacations to emphasize the funnest places to visit ever. Once again Dave was totally secretive on the day’s destination and I truly had no idea where we were going. All I did know was that is was very cold out.

As we got to the location hints started to appear that apparently went right over my head. I honestly had no clue as to where we were going until Dave came right out and said “They’re coming to get you Barbara!” I knew exactly where we were going and was just so thrilled!

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is one of my all-time favorite horror movies and to be visiting the actual cemetery used in the film was something I never thought I would encounter in person. To this day I can still watch this movie over and over again (especially the version hosted by horror host Zomboo) and enjoy it just as much as I did the first time I saw it. The low-budget film making is what makes this movie succeed as it truly comes across as a documentary making it all the more realistic and creepy.

As we approached the entrance, the road leading up to the actual cemetery, it was like stepping back in time as everything looked just as it did when the movie was originally made. I felt the excitement increasing in my stomach and the fact that there was absolutely no traffic at all just added to the creepyness of the location.

The next step, upon entering the world-famous cemetery, was to find the locations actually used. Ever the prepared trip planner, Dave had detailed instructions on where to go and it was only minutes when we found what we were looking for. The first location was where Barbara and her brother pay tribute to their father. Interestingly enough we were at this cemetery the day after daylight savings time, just as it was in the film!

The stone with the name BLAIR was featured at the beginning of the film as Barbara places their flowers on the stone to the right of the marker. From the amount of foot prints in the fresh-fallen snow it was obvious that we weren’t the first visitors to this place this early morning.

The KRAMER monument was our next location, which was actually just a few feet from the BLAIR stone. It was at this point that Dave revealed to me his diabolical plan. He actually bought a blonde wig and wanted me to wear it, imitating Barbara’s terror as she is chased by the first on-screen ghoul. Dave loves these creative shots and I tend to over think them so it actually worked out better that he gave me no head’s up. I wonder how many other people did the same thing?

Our final location was the chapel. This was literally across the road from the previous two locations and though it has been renovated, it still looked very close to how it looked in the film. It really was amazing that almost 50 years later we could still visit such an iconic place!

We left the cemetery and headed into Pittsburgh. After a day at the Carnegie Museum (see Dave’s Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Pitstops for that story HERE) we drove about 15 minutes away to the final stop on my birthday weekend! And to say that it was “odd” would be a gross understatement!

Coming up…The Terror of Trundle Manor!

~David Albaugh