Denver cemetery calls out those using its grounds for photoshoots: ‘It’s not for playtime’

Spooky season brings out the creativity in Coloradans: haunted houses, costume parades, a car wash that turns into a tunnel of terror. Fairmount Cemetery has one request: please don’t bring the fake blood.

The cemetery says someone appears to have held a Halloween photo shoot on its grounds and left a mess behind. “It looks like someone came and did a Halloween photo shoot and left some unfortunate fake blood behind, which is now staining the final resting space,” branch manager Karna O’Neill told FOX31. Red splatters cover a family’s private mausoleum, its steps and the walkway. Staff have tried twice to clean it up, and the stains won’t come out.

The fake blood wasn’t the only problem. When staff searched social media, they found photos of people climbing a large cross in the cemetery and a woman lying on top of a headstone. “Which is extremely dangerous and very disrespectful for the family,” O’Neill said. She said she sees this a lot in October and often has to ask people to leave. Cemetery employee Rache Huszar put it simply: “This is supposed to be in remembrance of an actual real-life person. It’s not for playtime.”

Fairmount is one of Denver’s oldest and most beautiful cemeteries, so it’s easy to see why it would look great in a moody fall photo. If you want spooky pictures, stick to the haunted houses, the Broadway Halloween Parade or your own front porch. The cemetery’s ‘resident’ neighbors deserve their peace and quiet.