Dead Stop

The grave of The Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald lies next to a major thoroughfare for commuters between Rockville, Md., and Washington, D.C. Jess Gitner/NPR hide caption

Franky Hatton and Cletis pose in front of the gravestones of Hatton's champion coon hounds at Coon Dog Cemetery near Cherokee, Ala. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

Tiny Grindstone Island has only one official cemetery. Jackie Northam/NPR hide caption

For more than a decade, author Patricia Lim researched the 8,000 graves of the Hong Kong Cemetery, one of the city's oldest Christian cemeteries. Here, Lim stands at the grave of former Hong Kong police officer Richardson Barry Loxley Leslie. Last year, she rested on the grave while, unbeknownst to her at the time, she was having a mild heart attack. Louisa Lim/NPR hide caption

Congressional Cemetery was founded in 1807, when Washington, D.C., was a new town. The 35-acre historic burial ground is located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, overlooking the Anacostia River. Blake Lipthratt/NPR hide caption

The Boot Hill cemetery in Tombstone, Ariz., is filled with the graves of men who met their end in the Wild West. While there are many such cemeteries in the Western U.S., Tombstone's is considered the most famous. Ted Robbins/NPR hide caption

Volunteers have been collecting grave markers like these and trying to figure out where they go. Maggie Martin/NPR hide caption

Fans leave all manner of mementos at Andy Warhol's grave site, near Pittsburgh. This spring, a local Warhol impersonator wrapped the grave stone in colorful paper for an entire month. Madelyn Roehrig hide caption

A couple celebrates Dia de los Muertos at the Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas. Stacy Kendrick/Concordia Cemetery hide caption

The Gilliam Cemetery, near Sebastopol, Calif., received its first grave in 1852. Many of its older headstones have disappeared over the years. Cindy Carpien/NPR hide caption

At the Garden of Peace cemetery in Flint, Mich., Muslims are buried in accordance with traditional Islamic burial rites. Sami Yenigun/NPR hide caption

Queen Esther stands in front of Billie Holiday's gravesite in New York City. Mito Habe-Evans/NPR hide caption

Ernie K-Doe poses outside his Mother-In-Law Lounge during Jazz Fest in New Orleans in 2001. He died a few months later and was buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 2. Pat Jolly/AP hide caption

Hollywood animal trainer Frank Inn with Higgins, a shelter dog known for his starring roles in the 1960s TV series Petticoat Junction and the 1974 film Benji. Courtesy of Kathleen Copson hide caption

A spirit house in the Eklutna Cemetery in Alaska. Diana Derby hide caption

Visitors to Bill Wilson's grave in Vermont often leave sobriety chips atop his headstone, marking how long they have been continuously sober. Steve Zind/NPR hide caption

Author Dorothy Parker works at her typewriter in 1941. After her death at 73, Parker's ashes were stored in a file cabinet until being interred at NAACP headquarters in Baltimore. AP hide caption

Headstones in Ben and Jerry's "Flavor Graveyard" are dedicated to bygone favorites such as Oh Pear (1997), Makin' Whoopie Pie (2002-2003), and Urban Jumble (2000-2001). Click the enlargement for a detailed view. Ben and Jerry's hide caption