Cemetery is not the place for a ghost tour


I recently read the article in the Acorn on July 27 titled “Board working to solve past issues.” I read this news item with great interest, because before I lost my husband 21½ years ago, the Simi Valley Public Cemetery was the location my husband and myself selected as his final resting place.

I was surprised and very saddened when I read in that article that the “board also entertained the possibility of holding the Ghost Tour at the cemetery in 2019.”

I believe a cemetery should be a tranquil, sacred place to visit with the departed loved ones, a place where our loved ones can rest in peace.

I have attended the Ghost Tour in the past, and I have enjoyed them. I am a supporter of the arts and an avid supporter of history, but in my opinion, the Simi Valley Public Cemetery is not an appropriate place to stage this event.

It is not the event itself I find objectionable or the subject matter. I feel that staging this event on what I consider hallowed ground is disrespectful.

It is upsetting for me to think of the crowds of people that will come to the cemetery to be entertained by the Ghost Tour and will walk across my late husband’s grave and the graves of all those individuals laid to rest at this cemetery by their loved ones. How many people will, albeit unintentionally, disrespect the graves of those laid to rest there? These include numerous veterans who served our country, to whom we owe our greatest respect.

My hope is that the cemetery board of trustees will take into consideration the feelings of families who have loved ones buried at this sacred site before they allow this event, which will invite crowds of individuals seeking entertainment to trample what is intended to be a sacred place of reverence and respect.

Irene Bratvold
Simi Valley