Combining diverse interests can yield something truly special, as demonstrated by digital librarian Rosie Grant. She has ingeniously merged her passions for cemeteries, social media, and baking into a unique project that honors those who have passed away.
Grant runs the @ghostlyarchive TikTok account, where she shares video tours of graveyards, reveals intriguing cemetery facts, and delves into historical stories. During a visit to Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, she discovered a gravestone featuring a recipe for “spritz cookies” on Naomi Odessa Miller-Dawson’s grave.
Curious about the spritz cookies, Grant set out to bake them, guided by her followers. She describes the results as a delightful hybrid of sugar and shortbread cookies, with a buttery flavor that was “to die for.”
This discovery led Grant to explore more gravestone recipes through news articles, tweets, and the Find a Grave website. She has since recreated “12 or 13” recipes, including fudge from Utah, blueberry pie from Washington, and snickerdoodles from California. Grant has even ventured into savory recipes, producing notable cheese dip and “the best meatloaf.”
Occasionally, Grant returns the baked goods to the graves that inspired the recipes, such as with Miller-Dawson’s spritz cookies.
In 2021, while studying library science at the University of Maryland, Grant was assigned to create a TikTok account to learn about social networks. At the same time, she was interning at the Congressional Cemetery’s historical archives. A professor suggested combining these interests, leading to the creation of @ghostlyarchive. The channel quickly gained popularity, amassing over 100,000 followers and millions of views within a year. Grant attributes much of the channel’s success to the “death-positive community” of #GraveTok, which celebrates and discusses death in a more open and celebratory manner.
Grant explains that gravestone recipes offer a comforting way to connect with the deceased. “Food provides comfort during mourning,” she told Today. “These recipes allow a more tangible, sensory way to remember someone. Eating a cherished recipe brings you closer to the person who made it.”
Viewers often engage by sharing what recipe they’d choose for their gravestone or reminiscing about how their loved ones made certain dishes. This interaction fosters a nostalgic connection, enriching the experience for both Grant and her audience.
Grant acknowledges her fears about mortality and finds that discussing death through her recipes has made these conversations lighter. “It’s made me more comfortable with the idea of mortality,” she told NPR. “Talking about what our final resting place might be and how we want to be celebrated has become easier.”
While death is challenging to face, Grant’s innovative approach shows that memories can endure in sweet, meaningful ways. If you encounter a gravestone recipe and wish to share it with Grant, you can reach out to her on Instagram or TikTok.