Books are an essential asset for anyone interested in grave hunting. Used primarily in the field for gravesite identification, they’re also used for research and other grave-hunting needs. Below is a list of what I have in my grave hunting library. Keep in mind that what’s included in my library may not match what’s in your collection. However, the list below should give you a general idea of what grave hunting/cemetery, celebrity death/thanatology, and/or paranormal ghost hunting books are available.

I try to update the following list as often as I can. I’m crazy about books related to things that interest me. So I try to stay up to date on recently published books and books in the process of being published on grave hunting, cemeteries, paranormal ghost hunting, and things of that sort.

Also worth mentioning, to help diversify things on The Gravecast Blog. I’ve included some books on the list which I have in my library, related to celebrity death, & thanatology. I’m also going to include books related to paranormal research in the form of ghost hunting. I just have to build up a collection of ghost-hunting-related books before I start adding them to the list.

Grave Hunting Books:

1. Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die? Revised & Updated Ed by Tod Benoit

2. The Tombstone Tourist: Musicians by Scott Stanton

3. Who’s Buried in Grant’s Tomb: A Tour of Presidential Gravesites by Brian Lamb

4. Project Remember: A National Index of Gravesites of Notable Americans by Arthur S. Koykka

5. Detroit’s Mt. Elliott Cemetery by Cecile W. Jensen

6. Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery by A. Dale Northup

7. A History of Mt. Elliott Cemetery by Unknown Author

8. Hollywood Remains to Be Seen by Mark J. Masek

9. Laid to Rest in California A Guide to The Cemeteries And Grave Sites of The Rich And Famous by Patricia and Jonathan Brooks

10. Generals At Rest: The Grave Sites of the 425 Official Confederate Generals by Richard & James Owen

11. Elmwood Endures: History of a Detroit Cemetery by Michael S. Franck

12. Graveyards of Chicago: The People, History, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries by Matt Hucke & Ursula Bielski

13. A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery by Barbara Lanctot I picked this one up at the cemetery office the cemetery is in Chicago.

14. Mount Carmel & Queen of Heaven Cemeteries by Jenny Floro-Khalaf & Cynthia Savaglio

15. Detroit’s Woodmere Cemetery by Gail D. Herschenzon

16. Detroit’s Mount Olivet Cemetery by Cecile W. Jensen

17. The Stars of Hollywood Forever by Tony L. Scott

18. Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory by Allen R. Ellenberger

19. Where The Bodies Are: Final Visits to The Rich, Famous, & Interesting by Patricia Brooks

20. Stairway to Heaven: The Final Resting Places of Rock Legends by J.D. Reed & Maddy Miller

21. LA’s Graveside Companion: Where The V.I.P’s R.I.P. by Steve Goldstein

22. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of over 10,000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson

23.  Permanently New Yorkers: The Final Digs Of The Notable & Notorious by Patricia Brooks

24. Final Resting Places: Orange County’s Dead & Famous by Michael Thomas Barry

25. The Gravesites Of The Civil War Generals: Confederate, Union, & Brevetted Generals Final Resting Places by Ethan F. Bishop

26. Forever L.A.: A Field Guide to Los Angeles Area Cemeteries & Their Residents by Douglas Keister

27. Stories In Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism & Iconography by Douglas Keister

28. Forever Dixie: A Field Guide to Southern Cemeteries & Their Residents by Douglas Keister

29. Fade To Black: Graveside Memories of Hollywood Greats 1927-1950 by Michael Barry

30. Final Curtain: Deaths of Noted Movie And Television Personalities 9th Ed by Everett Jarvis & Lois Johe

31. The Official Walking Directory of Hollywood Forever by The staff I’d presume of Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. I picked up this book at the cemetery when I went on a gravecation to Los Angeles.

32. Hollywood Forever Cemetery: The Unauthorized Guide e-book by Mark Masek

33. Forest Lawn Memorial Park: The Unauthorized Guide e-book by Mark Masek

34. Distinguished Residents of Hillside Memorial Park FREE e-book by The Staff of Hillside Memorial Park

35. Stories in Stone New York: A Field Guide to New York City Area Cemeteries & Their Residents by Douglas Keister

36. The Cemetery Book: Graveyards, Catacombs, And Other Travel Haunts Around The World by Thomas Weil

37. Cleveland Cemeteries: Stones, Symbols, & Stories by Vicki Blum Vigil

38. Cemeteries of Northeast Ohio: Stones Symbols, & Stories by Vicki Blum Vigil

39. The American Resting Place: Four Hundred Years of History Through Our Cemeteries And Burial Grounds by Marilyn Yalom

40. Wish You Were Here by Loren Rhoads

41. Keystone Tombstones: Volume One by Joe Farrell

42. Keystone Tombstones Volume Two: Famous Graves Found in Pennsylvania by Joe Farrell

43. Philadelphia Area Cemeteries by Allan Heller

44. New Orleans Cemeteries: Life in the Cities of the Dead by Robert Florence

45. Preachers, Patriots & Plain Folks by Charles Chauncey Wells

46. Hollywood Cemetery’s Notable Residents by Joseph R. Herbert

47. Permanent Italians: An Illustrated, Biographical Guide to the Cemeteries of Italy By Judi Culbertson, & Tom Randall

48. Permanent Addresses: A Guide to the Resting Places of Famous Americans by Jean S. Arbeiter, & Linda D. Cirino

49. Final Curtain: Eternal Resting Places of Hundreds of Stars, Celebrities, Moguls, Misers, & Misfits By Margaret Burk & Gary Hudson

50. In The Shadow of The United States Capitol: Congressional Cemetery and The Memory of The Nation by Abby Arthur Johnson & Ronald Maberry Johnson – My Note: I think this is more a book on the history of the cemetery.

51. If The Stones Could Speak by Ryland Brown

52. Final Resting Place: The Lives and Deaths of Famous St. Louisans by Kevin Amsler

53. Epitaphs: A Dying Art by Samuel Fanous

54. Morbid Curiosity: Celebrity Tombstones Across America by Elaine McCarthy

55. Tombstone By Tombstone: Here Lies The Old West 1840-1920 Vol. One by Tom Todd

56. Tombstone By Tombstone: Here Lies The Old West Vol. Two by Tom Todd

57. Memorial Art, Ancient and Modern by Harry Augustus Bliss

58. Going Out In Style: The Architecture of Eternity 1st ed by Douglas Keister

59. 199 Cemeteries To See Before You Die by Loren Rhoads

60. Arlington National Cemetery: A Guided Tour Through History by Cynthia Parzych.

61. Here Lies Colorado: Fascinating Figures in Colorado History by Richard E. Wood

62. Cemeteries & Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture by Richard E. Meyer

63. Permanent New Yorkers: A Biographical Guide To The Cemeteries of New York by Judi Culbertson & Tom Randall

64. Permanent Londoners: An Illustrated Guide To The Cemeteries of London by Judi Culbertson & Tom Randall

65. Permanent Parisians: An Illustrated Guide To The Cemeteries of Paris by Judi Culbertson & Tom Randall

66. Permanent Californians: An Illustrated Guide To The Cemeteries of California by Judi Culbertson & Tom Randall

67. Lest We Forget: The Gravesites of The Union Civil War Generals Buried in The United States by David Callihan

68. Gravesites of Southern Musicians: A Guide to Over 300 Jazz, Blues, Country, and Rock Performers’ Burial Places by Edward Amos

69. Your Guide To Cemetery Research by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack

Paranormal Books:

1. The Ghost Hunters Field Guide: Over 1000 Haunted Places You Can Experience Rich Newman 

2. How To Hunt Ghosts: A Practical Guide by Joshua P. Warren

General Death & Thanatology Books:

1. The Hollywood Book of Death by James Parrish

2. Death Certificate Of The Rich  & Famous by Gerard H. Reinert

3. Celebrity Death Certificates Vol. 1, 2, & 3 by M.F. Steen

4. Funeral Customs by Bertram S. Puckle

5. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

6. They Went That-A-Way: How The Famous, The Infamous, and The Great Died by Malcolm Forbes w/Jeff Bloch

7. The Big Book of Celebrity Autopsies by Kevin Viani

8. The Book of The Dead: Lives of The Justly Famous and The Undeservedly Obscure by John Mitchinson & John Lloyd

9. Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever by Kathy Benjamin

10. Rest In Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses by Bess Lovejoy

11. This Will Kill You: A Guide to the Ways in Which We Go by H.P. Newquist

12. The Whole Death Catalog: A Lively Guide to the Bitter End by Harold Schechter

13. Bury My Heart at Cooperstown: Salacious, Sad, And Surreal Deaths in the History of Baseball by Frank Russo

14. R.I.P.: Here Lies the Last Words, Morbid Musings, Epitaphs, & Fond Farewells of the Famous and Not-So-Famous By Susan K. Hom.

15. Dead Presidents: An American Adventure Into The Strange Deaths And Surprising Afterlives of Our Nations Leaders by Brady Carlson

16. The Book of The Dead: The Lives of The Justly Famous and The Undeservedly Obscure by John Lloyd & John Mitchinson

17. Silent Film Necrology 2nd Edition by Eugene Michael Vazzana

Updated July 16th 2020

The book list I’ve compiled above is by all means not complete. Obtaining the books is an ongoing work in progress for my library collection. The list should give you a general idea of what’s available. So you can start your own Grave Hunting, Cemetery, Paranormal & Celebrity Death library collection geared towards your geographic region, and interests.

Josh