Alaskan Spirit Houses

For the Spirit

Caring for the dead in many cultures includes caring for the spirit that inhabited the body. Alaskan spirit houses are a common way for Alaskans to offer protection for those who have passed on. These colorful graveyard houses are seen as a form of shelter for the spirits and are designed to look similar to a dollhouse. This spirit box tradition at burial sites can be linked to both Russian Orthodox and Native American beliefs.

Where Can They Be Found?

A graveyard in Eklutna, Alaska has more than 100 burial sites that contain these special small lodgings. This historical gravesite has become so popular that it has even been labeled as a part of Eklutna Historical Park. Located about 25 miles from Anchorage, Alaska; home, more than 800 years ago, to Native American villages. The region now has both a Native American heritage and that of Russian Orthodox missionaries who first came in 1830.

The St. Nicholas Cemetery - built around the late 1830’s  and reconstructed around 1970 – is home to many graveyard houses that have been in use 150+ years.

Cremation Was Once Observed

Before burying the dead beneath the ground which was a common practice in Russian Orthodox culture, remains were cremated. Above ground spirit houses or boxes grew in popularity. Many believe they  provide warmth, comfort and protection.

Related:

Stone Folklore

Corpse Roads Folklore

Special Pathways for the Dead

Cemetery folklore would not be complete without corpse road superstitions. 

These pathways are supposed to ensure safe transportation of corpses from distant places to the cemeteries, churches or chapels where they will be interred. Also known as funeral pathways, burial roads, coffin roads, lych ways and corpse ways, they originated during medieval times.

The routes specifically connected churches to the burials sites owned by the churches. Over time, due to the rise in non-church burial grounds, many corpse roads were not kept up. Falling to disuse, they disappeared. In some areas funeral pathways still exist,but they are abandoned.

Winding Roadway Superstitions. 

It was believed that the spirits of the deceased always moved along special routes over various landscapes to reach the cemetery. Many thought they preferred straight paths because they were easy to navigate.

Superstition had it that non-linear roads (that zig-zagged like a maze or labyrinth) could hinder the movement of spirits. The winding nature of the pathway could help to deter them from reaching the graveyard.

On the other hand,  for those who wanted the spirits to follow the dead, not linger with the living, it was also believed that  a straight path that connected two places (free of walls, buildings and structures) would make it easier for the spirits to find the graveyard. To make sure they did not come back to haunt the family members of the deceased, different routes would be used for the return back to the church after the buriial.

It’s also interesting to note that the corpse roads in many cases did not cover farm land as it was thought that the spirits could hinder good crop yields. And yet, in other places the funeral pathways were bridges or stepping stones over water that reflected the idea that spirits could not travel across water.

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Alaskan Spirit Houses