Tombstone tours you can dig into

Even if you don't believe in ghosts, walking through a graveyard can be a little spooky — especially in autumn as the trees lose their leaves, flowers wither away and light fades in the late afternoon.

But cemeteries can make fascinating destinations. Sometimes a few words on a tombstone can suggest a whole life story; sometimes you can find a famous name, a beautiful work of art, or landscaping worthy of a botanical garden.

"Many people find great peace and solace in visiting cemeteries even if their own relatives are not buried there," said Janet Heywood, trustee for the Association for Gravestone Studies. "Others come to cemeteries to enjoy the history and beauty of the monuments and gravestones and/or to experience the outdoors, the plantings, the landscapes of the garden cemeteries of the nation."

Here are some notable U.S. cemeteries. Some host tours about their history or landscapes, and some offer themed events around Halloween.

Boston: The Old Granary Burying Ground was established in 1660, but it is most famous for its connections to the War of Independence over a century later. Here you'll find the graves of Paul Revere, who famously rode a horse in 1775 to deliver warnings about the British Army, and Declaration of Independence signers John Hancock and Samuel Adams. www.cityofboston.gov/FreedomTrail/granary.asp.

New York: Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery dates to 1838 and was named a National Historic Landmark for its art, architecture, landscaping and history. Its scenic winding paths are lined with trees and ponds, and its stone gates house a colony of green monk parakeets.

The more than 560,000 permanent residents include Leonard Bernstein, Louis Comfort Tiffany, along with everyone from Civil War soldiers to victims of the Sept. 11th attacks.

The cemetery offers tours on a regular basis but also has Halloween events with tales of murder and mayhem on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. www.green-wood.com.

Cleveland: Perhaps the most impressive site at Lake View Cemetery on Cleveland's east side is the James A. Garfield Monument honoring the U.S. president who was assassinated in 1881. The monument includes a 180-foot tower, a marble statue, and mosaics depicting his life and death. Other memorials to famous men at Lake View include a white 65-foot obelisk marking John D. Rockefeller's grave. On Nov. 1, Lake View offers All Saints' Day tours at 3 p.m. about some of the cemetery's famous residents. www.lakeviewcemetery.com.

New Orleans: If you're visiting the famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans, you may want to bring an offering for the late voodoo queen Marie Laveau. Visitors often leave cigarettes, Mardi Gras beads, flowers, candles and even money on her white Greek Revival tomb. St. Louis Cemetery is one of New Orleans' unique "Cities of the Dead," which boast remarkable architecture, history and traditions, including above-ground tombs to ensure that the graves are not be disturbed by floods.

Get information on New Orleans cemeteries (there are several dozen) through the city's tourism office, www.neworleansonline.com, or www.nolacemeteries.com

Los Angeles: Star power is the ticket to immortality in L.A. At Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, you can pay your respects to Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Natalie Wood, Dean Martin, Frank Zappa and others.

Those spending eternity at the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills cemetery include Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Buster Keaton, Liberace and Gene Autry.

Of course the most recent celebrity burial to grab headlines took place just outside L.A., when Michael Jackson was buried in the Great Mausoleum at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale. You can wander the grounds, but Forest Lawn doesn't disclose gravesite locations.

Another graveyard, Hollywood Forever (next to Paramount Studios), is more tourist-friendly: They sell maps to the stars' graves and sometimes even show movies. Hollywood Forever's denizens include Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Cecil B. DeMille and Johnny Ramone.

For links to L.A. cemeteries, plus maps showing where Hollywood stars are buried, see www.seeing-stars.com/Buried.