In the white moonlight, where the willow waves,
He halfway gallops among the graves—
A tiny ghost in the gloom and gleam,
Content to dwell where the dead men dream,

From Frank Lebby Stanton’s “The Graveyard Rabbit.”

(Taken from the Graveyard Rabbits home page here.)

The Graveyard Rabbits is an association dedicated to the academic promotion of the historical importance of cemeteries, grave markers, and the family history to be learned from a study of burial customs, burying grounds, and tombstones; and the social promotion of the study of cemeteries, the preservation of cemeteries, and the transcription of genealogical/historical information written in cemeteries.

The Association Of Graveyard Rabbits was founded by Terry Thornton (Mississippi) with assistance from footnoteMaven (Washington) and Bob Franks (Mississippi). The Association Of Graveyard Rabbits is authored by Terry Thornton of The GYRabbit of The Hill Country. It features a weekly article with links to all of the articles written by the membership and a weekly feature devoted to the introduction of one of the members. Members are in contact with each other through their blogs, through a frequent Graveyard Rabbit e-Letter, and through interaction at the Graveyard Rabbit Group at Facebook. Additional publications planned include an e-Quarterly and an e-Annual.

The Association publication is implementing an articles and links library created with the contributions of its members. Discussions are ongoing about a Cemetery of the Year Award sponsored by The Association of Graveyard Rabbits.

WHY THE ASSOCIATION OF GRAVEYARD RABBITS?
The Association was named for Frank Lebby Stanton’s poem, The Graveyard Rabbit. Although the poem is about superstitions associated with graveyard rabbits, Stanton also establishes that such rabbits have a charmingly intimate knowledge of graveyards and a loving association with the dead. These traits are the motivation of the human beings interested in this group.