Let’s get philosophical here: We’re all going to die sooner or later. We will pass on, get called to a better place, and rest in peace. There will, however, always be those who look at it in a different light. While some can’t imagine finding humor is such a morbid subject, these jokers will be gleefully kicking the bucket.
These people would have you laugh at their funeral. Whether it be self-deprecation or classic-style puns, they managed to get one last chuckle on their way out. Even the Reaper can’t be quite as Grim when he has a look at these hilarious headstones!
A Universal Truth
Nobody likes a know-it-all, but this is a pretty undeniable statement. We all know that we won’t live forever! It’s funny because you can just hear the tone it’s said in. Was it something George said a lot in life or was his death a result of a risky activity that he had his doubts about?
The rest of the text is a little strange though. It’s usually the family members commissioning the headstone that gets a mention. Either this guy was overshadowed by his ancestors, or he died very young. In which case, what happened to the two generations in between?
The Skidaderones
This is such a wonderful epitaph! There’s no bigger sign of affection than cute nicknames for the people that you love, and it looks like Daddy did his family proud. If you read to the end, you find out that he had a whole language all to himself!
The tone is lighthearted, but when you realize that no less than twenty-one people loved him so much that they wanted to be mentioned on his headstone, then you start getting quite a lump in your throat!
Clever Guy
Do you think that’s a one-way mirror? You certainly get the sense that this clever person enjoys getting the upper hand in a situation, and we can imagine them enjoying watching their grieving friends read this! They’re certainly not wrong. We don’t know what’s out there for those that have moved on.
We’re sure that this makes those that know this person chuckle as it reminds them of conversations they’ve had together. It certainly takes the edge off of a sad event. Maybe we’ll compare notes when it’s our turn!
Half Baked
We really hope that it was John that chose these words for his headstone! It definitely ranks high on the list for hilarity, but if this was someone else’s idea of fun, John is probably still turning in his grave. It must have been a hard enough name to live with, let alone to die with.
It is funny, though. Not rising – ’cause he’s dead, right? Oh, and his name – like in bread! We bet he used that his whole life as an excuse not to stand and greet people. He must have been a funny guy, to want to give people one last laugh as he went.
Life in (con)Text
Someone doesn’t quite seem to have got the hang of how to use emojis here. We’re not very sure if they were looking forward to the end game or if it was just another thing in a series of unfortunate events. Mind you, if life was that bad, then we hope they’re happy now!
Maybe it’s a last-ditch attempt to cheer their loving relatives and friends up. No matter how bad it gets, there’s always death to relieve you at the finish. Yes? Nope. To us, that’s rather like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and realizing it’s the train…
Upload in Progress
There are those that go to work, do their stuff, come home, and forget about it. And then, there are those that take it to the grave with them. We know a few people nowadays that would probably want to be buried with their phones!
This computer looks to be a few years old now, though. Maybe this is the final resting place of a pioneer in the industry, and it’s a monument to his achievments in life. Or a hacker! Evidently, it wasn’t they guy that came up with flat screens…
True Love?
This statue is mysterious, poignant, somewhat baffling, and, if the stories are to be believed, super creepy. So, more weird than funny. This is the grave of Fernand Arbelot, French musician, actor, and architect. Legend has it that he wanted to gaze upon the face of his wife for eternity.
So far, so sad and beautiful. But legend also tells us that he killed said wife, then committed suicide. Now, the statue is hard to look at! Nevermind, it’s found in the Parisian Père Lachaise graveyard, where dozens of the rich and famous can be found. There are plenty more unique monuments to marvel at!
Stating the Obvious
Once again, it’s stating the obvious that makes us laugh. As far as we know, they don’t equip coffins with flashlights, so we guess it is indeed dark down there. It is slightly macabre, though. How does he know? Is he not really dead??
Of course, it might be a spiritual thing. But surely that’s just as bad? Anywhere dark and in a downward direction from here doesn’t sound like somewhere we would want to end up. Gosh, now we’ve thought about it, we’re actually pretty depressed!
Do Not Disturb
Good old Joan. This is a short epitaph that makes us first smile and then think. Was she a sleepyhead? Did she fake it to get out of socializing? Or – and hear us out here – maybe she’s making an existential announcement on the futility of talking to the dead.
People love to visit the graveside of a loved one and chat about their problems, big events, or even just day to day stuff. Joan has been laid to her eternal rest. Either she doesn’t want to be bothered, or she didn’t believe that she would be able to hear it.
Take Heed
It probably raises a nod and a chuckle when read, but if you stop to think about it, like many of these dark jokes, it takes you to an morbid place.
Of course, it’s funny because who would want to enter a grave? You must keep clear, or you’re not getting out again, even if you’re still breathing! Or… If it’s one way and you mustn’t enter, then does that make it an exit rather than an entrance? In that case, we’re out of here!!
On Point
This grave belongs to Vaslav Nijinsky, a ballet dancer. The character en situ is Petrushka, whom Vaslav portrayed in the ballet of the same name. The little statue might look like he’s supposed to be funny at first glance, but this is a double tale of woe.
Vaslav spent the last thirty years of his life in an asylum, diagnosed with schizophrenia. He was buried in London, then disinterred and brought to Montmartre, France. Petrushka was a lovesick puppet who ended up haunting his maker, whom he blamed for not getting the girl. Très drôle!
Uncle Walter
Well, we wish that we had known Uncle Walter! He sounds like he was a lot of fun in life. This is a lovely little poem that really shows how much affection was held for this guy. We think that it makes anyone visiting him laugh out loud every time, making them remember the good times they had with him.
Anyone that loves to spend is usually a good friend to have, and it seems obvious that Walter loved his socializing and romancing. We just hope that there was enough money left to pay for this fun headstone!
Classified
Hehe, now this is funny. Dead quiet, geddit? At first, we’re thinking that it must be a landlord or maybe someone in real estate that’s pushing up the daisies here. After all, it’s just so ironically awesome. It states all the facts while focusing on the good points. It’s perfect.
But then we think again and the light dawns. Wait… Shouldn’t this plot be off the market? If someone’s down there, we don’t think they need a housemate! Maybe this is an empty plot in a graveyard with a brave sense of humor?
A Cheerful Spirit
We can’t think of much to say to this one, we have to admit. It’s certainly got a happy theme, and if laughter is contagious, then we’re in fits after looking at that picture. We’re pleased that this person is so happy to be six feet under.
It’s definitely unique. Not many people pass on with quite so much enthusiasm! Maybe we’re looking at the grave of an enthusiastic but inept gardener. They’re just so pleased that they finally got something to grow! In that case, erm, congratulations?
Phone Call From Heaven
This is pretty awesome. It does make us laugh, but it’s also rather sweet. It’s the picture that does it for us. The look on Kim’s face is marvelous. From her expression, Jesus really is on the other end of that phone line!
It looks like Kim was a pretty happy person to be around, and this epitaph captures a lot about how she must have been in life. Faithful, fun, and friendly. We certainly love her for giving us a giggle as we pass by her grave.
The Soul Lives on
Here we have another famous grave from Père Lachaise. This one belongs to the man who wrote Bruges-La-Morte, a ridiculously romantic, sad tale of a widower who could not leave his wife in his past. The tale is an inspiration to many poets and composers.
This tomb features the man himself, cast in bronze, breaking out of his eternal resting place. The man who brought to life a whole city (Bruges) holds up a rose to the winds. Death cannot hold his spirit down.
Eternally Sitting
This is the Bored Angel of Hope Cemetery in Vermont, USA. It’s an intensely personal piece, having been carved by a local sculptor for the grave of his parents. She is sitting with a classic bored air, with her trumpet held loosely on her lap.
The grace and fluidity of this statue are breathtaking, and a beautiful tribute to the couple that she guards. We do wonder what she’s thinking, though. Maybe it’s the best memory that a small boy has of his long-suffering mother, always there looking out for him, holding on to the toy she’s just confiscated!
Lines of Communication
At first glance, this is a creepy idea! But there’s actually a super sweet story behind this marker. It’s in memorandum to the guy that patented the first Ouija board. Elijah Bond was originally buried in an unmarked grave, but his hordes of fans clubbed together to find him and give him this awesome tribute.
Ouija boards are a way of communicating with those passed on, and it brings a smile to anyone’s face to think of the happiness that this guy brought to so many. We wonder if they bring a planchette when they visit so he can acknowledge their thanks?
Death and Taxes
There’s some macabre humor going on here! This joke has layers like onions. Let’s start at the beginning and ask his parents, really?? Did you think that through? We can’t decide if it’s better as a pun or a coincidence.
Next, introductions. Would he simply say his name as he offered his hand? We bet he had a glint in his eye every time. And lastly, who came up with the tagline? We know there’s Noah Scape from death, but we hope he felt free enough to enjoy life!
Knock, Knock
So, this is a joke that’s not funny, and that’s where the laugh lies. This guy was obviously a very well-loved father, and what defines such a man better than a Dad Joke? They’re usually much more likely to elicit a groan than a chuckle, but this one is probably going to make you cry.
This headstone is one that catches attention, because knock, knock, who doesn’t love a joke? Then it takes a bittersweet twist, reminding us of all the happy times we spent with our fathers. Now we’ve got to go talk to our own dads, wherever they may be…
Sitting Pretty
There’s not a lot that we can think of to say to this stone armchair! Presumably, this was a favorite piece of furniture in the Duncan house. It’s certainly a great way to evoke fond memories for their visitors. We’re not sure that we could make ourselves actually sit on it, though…
This chair does raise some questions. Where is it now? Did a family member inherit it, or is it actually here, encased in concrete? Is it a modern version of a pyramid, designed so that the Duncans can take it with them to the afterlife? If so, who sits on whose lap??
Such Ambition!
We love a bit of optimism, and this person seems to have been of the glass-half-full kind of persuasion. Of course, being buried with all your worldly goods would have saved on inheritance tax, but who can afford a plot that big nowadays?
Opting for a classy simple stone, with just the inscription perfectly summarizing their outlook on life, works much better for us. When we visit, we can always enjoy a rueful grin as we contemplate how much easier this is to maintain than a pyramid, curses and all, would have been!
Well, She Did Say…
So, is this a funny one, or did her feet actually kill her? As a passerby, it would raise a chuckle or two with us, especially if we happened to be trying to navigate the grass in stilettos! What if she was hit by a bus as she tried to massage some life into her cramping toes??
OK, that’s probably not what happened. It’s not a bitter accusation from a grieving husband. At all. It’s a fond play on one of her idiosyncrasies that makes her mourners grin through their tears. We hope.
Dang Indeed
Oh. Well, day-ang! It’s a pretty great word to sum up life, the universe, and everything, really. On its own, on a headstone, it could summon up a plethora of emotions. Dang, that happened. Dang, those prawns did taste odd. Dang, didn’t see that car!
Our smiles fade when we read further down, however. It looks like parents Hung and Titi outlived their son Craig. Ace, as his friends called him, only lived to see twenty. Their places are all ready for them to be back with their boy. Dang, now we’re crying!
Heartfelt Poetry
Awwww, there’s nothing like a bit of sentiment between a husband and wife. But wait a minute, this isn’t a cutesy poem full of love and sweet sorrow. In fact, it sounds like this grieving widower is actually a bit… relieved?
We’re going to try to believe that this is part of an in-joke. Probably, it was a fluffy bone of affectionate contention between them that she nagged too much, or was a chatterbox. One thing’s for sure, however it was meant, it does make us snort with laughter when we pass!
And, That’s A Wrap!
We love this headstone, even though we’re pretty sure that it’s a Halloween decoration and not actually someone’s last words. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was, though? This is a song that crowds chant at sports events, that groups sing together on the road home from an awesome trip.
It evokes feelings of a job well done, a life well-lived, and friends well made. Someone that can go to their grave knowing they’ve lived life to the full. Plus, everyone could sing it at the funeral to cheer themselves up!
No Hot Water!
It’s not outright funny, but anyone that’s lived with even one person that likes to take care of themselves knows, it’s certainly true to life. With three simple lines, a whole life is revealed, filled with chaos, high drama, and above all, love.
We reckon that this must have been a pretty dedicated parent. Not content with berating the girls when alive, they had to get one last dig in after death. Still, the pride and love running through the words is evident. I’m sure it made four women giggle, at least!
Parallel Parked
Well, we can all relate to this one. Parking can be a nightmare these days. We wonder if Georgetown in particular is famous for its lack of space. This is an epitaph likely to raise a smile on the face of anyone that walks by.
This must have been a standing joke in the Ivison household. Maybe it’s a sought-after spot in the graveyeard, too. This couple must have really loved their town to mention it in this way, and not to have left for somewhere easier to navigate!
A Sweet Ride
This one is more likely to make you gasp than laugh. It’s a replica of a BMW M3 convertible. It’s made of one single slab of granite, and it weighs about a ton. The family splashed out $74,000 to get it made and shipped to London from China.
It has caused some controversy among the locals. “It could open the floodgates for anything to be built in a cemetery,” one resident said. “When I walked past it the other day, though, I have to admit it did make me smile.” There you go, then.
Double Trouble
The question is, how stupid? This is an adorable love story, we hope, and matching gravestones is super sweet. Nevertheless, after we’ve finished laughing, we want to know just what it is that made them want to be remembered eternally like this.
What, at first glance, is an added romantic touch, becomes a little worrying on second thoughts. They died on the same day. So we have to assume that there was an Incident. So again, how stupid were they?
Guardian Angel
This is the sweetest thing we’ve seen in a cemetery. Raggedy Ann must have been very special to this young lady to have had the entire headstone shaped in her image! Pam died very young at 19 years old, so perhaps Ann is comforting her in her grave.
The love that we all felt towards our childhood friends and guardians was all-encompassing. In many cases, they were the guardians that kept us safe from the monster in the closet or under the bed. We guess Raggedy Ann is fulfilling that role for Pam wherever she is now.
They’re Not Wrong…
We would consider that the fact that it’s a tombstone kinda negates the need to write ‘dead’ on it. But, we do appreciate that some people like to have things spelled out for them. Isn’t it a bit sad that whoever commissioned this marker didn’t feel the need for any more comment than that?
We’re opting to look at this as a mini stairway to Heaven. You can only tread those steps if you’ve passed over. Mourners can gaze up and smile a sad smile knowing that their loved one is looking down on them. Right?
Plain and Simple
Well, this guy isn’t wrong, we suppose. Brevity is the soul of wit, and we can’t help but grin when we read this short but succinct summary of the situation at hand. We guess that this was probably a person of few words, with a bit of a dry outlook on life.
It looks like they weren’t looking forward to a great afterlife, though. This is a sardonic statement, and we hope that he said it with a wry grin rather than a true depression. That would rather suck the funny out of it.
A Sixth Sense
You can always trust a teenager to have an attitude, and Micah is no different. It’s tragic that he dies at just 16, but he certainly seems to have kept his sense of humor about the whole thing. Do we think he was a fan of the film?
Did he like to use the phrase in life? It sounds like something a teenager would say! Or is he trying to tell us that he’s surrounded by the intellectually challenged wherever he is now? Maybe he’s just laughing at us laughing while reading this inscription!
Sent on…
Uh-oh! Can anyone of us say that they’ve never received any of these chain messages, either by text (in the oooooold days, lol), email, or nowadays, on social media? More importantly, have any of us ever ignored the fateful message?
It seems that someone did and paid the price. We’re not sure that there are too many people out there that really believe that the worst will happen as predicted, but, guys… what if it’s real??
It’s Just Business
What can we say? This statement just about sums life up for most of us. We do love a relatable joke, and this one will have us giggling into our geraniums and telling ourselves, it’s funny ’cause it’s true!
Somehow, we can imagine this hustler striding up to Death and offering him a nice, firm handshake while he tries to bargain himself out of his predicament. Looks like Death put the lid on it this time…
Life Goes on
And now for something completely different… This gravestone is not in the least bit funny, especially if you notice that the plot contains a young father and three children under the age of eight when they died. What does raise a smile is the way that Nature has handled the situation.
This is a beautiful example of how mankind and the natural world are interlinked. The tree will carry on no matter what we put in its way, but at the same time, the careful folds of the trunk are holding the marker together. This family has it’s very own guardian giant.
The Ultimate Guilt Trip
This one walks the line between humor and something darker if you ask us. We appreciate that if you and your family have been suffering for an extended period with a terminal illness, then humor is one of the few things available to keep you sane.
Nevertheless, this rather smug epitaph is a bit of a guilt trip for those who you’ve left behind. Maybe, if you knew the person involved and were part of the ongoing joke, then it lightens the mood a little when you come to visit. But if you’re just passing, the tone is a bit off-putting.
Game on
We have so many questions about this amazing headstone. Presumably, it was Sharol and Leon’s overriding passion in life to play pool. Or at least, some sort of pool-based game. Why are there three white balls? Why is one off the table?
Do you think it’s a metaphor for life? Game over before you get to pot the black? Also, why is the table on its side? It looks like it has real holes, it would have been super cool to have it the right way up so visitors could play a commemorative game. 12/10 for interesting tombstone theming!
One Last Time
Leslie Nielsen was a comedy legend. His specialty was spoofs, and he is known for movies such as Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and the TV series Police Squad! He was a master of the art of slapstick, both professionally and personally.
His friends tell us that one of his favorite practical jokes involved his hand-controlled fart machine. Farting is often called letting it rip, but the phrase is also used for just letting go, doing something with abandon and enthusiasm. Maybe Leslie has saved his best jokes for last!
Left or Right?
Wow. nothing brings people together like politics, right? Oh, wait, maybe not. It’s good to see a belief staunchly held, but we think that maybe telling those no-good right-wingers to get off your plot from a different plane of existence might be taking it a bit far?
Having said that, at least this couple was united in their political leanings. It might have been a brief engagement otherwise! Also, they must have had a lot of friends if they didn’t mind chasing off a portion of their would-be mourners. Lucky them!
