There is a beautiful statue of an angel with wings in the middle of the cemetery. Although no one is sure whether it is a male or a female figure, local people consider the statue as the Angel of Death Victorius or the Weeping Angel of Lakeview Cemetery or the Haserot Angel or the Goddess of Death. Some believe that a terrible curse is associated with this statue!
The Lakeview Cemetery, which contains more than 100,000 graves including those of Presidents and business leaders, is situated at Cleveland Heights in Ohio, the US. One can find the statue of this stoic angel, made of copper, in Section Nine on Lot 14 of the cemetery.
Historians believe that American sculptor and educator Herman Matzen (July 15, 1861 - April 22, 1938) carved this copper statue in 1924 as a tribute to canning entrepreneur Francis Haserot and his family. Members of the Haserot family had run their business in Cleveland for more than four decades. Their bodies were buried at the same place in the Lakeview Cemetery after their demise. The name of the Haserot family is engraved in English letters at the bottom of the statue.
The stoic angel is placed on the marble gravestone of Francis Haserot and his family. The life-sized statue holds an extinguished torch upside-down, a symbol of life extinguished. The wings of the statue are outstretched as the figure gazes straight ahead. The most striking feature of this statue is how death's guardian appears to be weeping black tears, pouring from her eyes and dripping down her neck. These tears formed, over time, an effect of the aging bronze combined with the impressive sculpting work of the piece itself. Hence, she is often referred to as the Weeping Angel.
Some are of the opinion that the marks of tears on the face of the statue are actually the work of Matzen. Such marks are also there on the wings of the Angel of Death Victorius. Perhaps, Matzen created such marks on the statue to express the grief of losing a beloved one.
Also, there is a disagreement as to whether the statue is actually of a male or a female. Experts have claimed that the statue is basically a symbol of humanity. Through this sculpture, Matzen wanted to establish the fact that humanity is the ultimate truth, and not a specific gender identity. As he used to believe that everything is not over after death, Matzen made an attempt to convey this impression while making the statue.
According to some of the locals, there is a curse associated with this statue. They felt a strange tingling sensation while roaming in front of the Weeping Angel. Locals even believe that death is certain, if one sits on the lap of the statue. Although there are many such stories about the angel, tourists flock to the Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland every day to search for the melancholy sentinel. It is because although the Angel of Death Victorius is quite unnerving, s/he is also undeniably beautiful.
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