What it's like to run San Diego's cemetery on Halloween
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David Noriega shows off his cemetery. GIF: Claire Trageser/Axios
San Diego's very own gravekeeper loves his job because, as you might expect, it's very quiet.
The big picture: While David Noriega prefers his professional title, area manager of the city-owned Mt. Hope Cemetery, he is in fact the keeper of about 80,000 departed and their resting places.
- They include famous San Diegans Kate Sessions, the Marstons, the Hortons, the Whaleys, Raymond Chandler and Kate Morgan (who's said to haunt the Hotel del Coronado).
Now, as the spookiest night of the year approaches, he and his staff are getting ready.
- Visitors descend on the cemetery every Halloween, Noriega told Axios.
- Staff were finding candles and "voodoo stuff" the next morning, so now they hire extra security to patrol, he said.
- "To make sure nobody lights up something or vandalizes the cemetery," he said.
Staff say they see ghosts the rest of the year, too, including a young child who runs through the grass near the back.
- Noriega said it's more likely a coyote.
State of play: By the end of the year, the cemetery will probably be full, Noriega said.
- The city has a plan to add 10 acres near Market and 36th streets, potentially adding about 5,000 burial sites.
- But for now, the city is limiting "pre-needs," meaning people who want to buy a plot before they've died.
- "We do have a lot of cremation spaces available still, so we give that family that option," he said.
Follow the money: Burial at Mt. Hope costs $4,000, or $5,000 for two people buried on top of each other.
- A cremation burial site costs $1,000.
Mt. Hope regularly draws people visiting loved ones or just taking a walk to explore.
- One woman had visited every single day for seven years, Noriega said.
- "People grieve differently," he said.
Flashback: The 110-acre cemetery dates back to 1869.
- It's the only active city-owned cemetery in the county.
Fun fact: You can't get a traditional standing headstone at Mt. Hope anymore. The cemetery switched to flat markers in the 1970s because they make mowing and maintenance easier.
- Now there's a special machine just for clearing grass off the flat grave markers.
- A worker goes headstone by headstone with this trimmer for quick and easy cleanup.
Noriega started at Mt. Hope as a grounds maintenance worker in 2001 and worked his way up to running the cemetery.
- He has a calm demeanor and clearly takes his job very seriously, always making sure grieving families and visitors are treated with respect.
- Whether he's driving the grounds in a van or sitting in his office, he appreciates the stillness and quiet.
Except maybe on Halloween.