Highgate Cemetery is located in north London, it is divided into two East and West. The cemetery was opened in 1839, as part of the plan of the "Magnificent Seven" plan, which called for the creation of seven new, modernised cemeteries on the then outskirts of London. The population of London was increasing rapidly, and the cemeteries located within the city, predominantly attached to churches, could not accommodate the growing number of burials. There was a threat of epidemics.
Highgate Cemetery soon becomes a fashionable burial ground and a a popular place to walk. The Victorian era was characterised by a particular attitude to death, and so the cemetery features a number of grave monuments and Gothic-style tombs. There are many trees, shrubs and flowers - none of them planted or grown on purpose. Here there are a variety of birds and animals, including foxes.
The main architectural sights are the Egyptian Alley and the Lebanon Circle, in the centre of which grows a huge Lebanese cedar, which gave the name of this section of the cemetery. The older part of the cemetery, where the oldest graves are located, is now only open to organised groups due to increased vandalism. The newer eastern section is open to the public. Many famous people are buried here: Karl Marx, Mary Anne Evans - better known by her pen name George Eliot, John and Elizabeth Dickens - parents of Charles Dickens, Michael Faraday, John Galsworthy, and many others.
In the mid-20th century, the story of the "Highgate vampire": a vampire was said to have appeared in the cemetery, rising from his coffin at night, and drank the blood of young girls. Unsurprisingly, numerous "vampire hunters" and fans of occult sensation fuelled interest in the story.
