‘It’s like journalism, but for dead people’: Meet the Vermont woman who turned a pandemic gravestone-cleaning hobby into a social media feed

Carrying a large pump spray bottle and a small, sturdy brush, Caitlin Abrams stood before two starkly contrasting graves in a modest cemetery in western Vermont.

Overcast skies hung low over a nearby hillside in full autumn color.

Last year, Abrams had delicately cleaned the tombstone of Mary Bailey, who died in 1852 at just 21 years old.

The still-pristine white marble stone stood out compared to the neighboring grave, holding Bailey’s sister Eliza, covered in grime and moss collected over the decades.

Working in quick, gentle strokes, Abrams used her brush and sprayer to peel away dirt hiding the floral details on Eliza’s grave before moving to the next.

“Sometimes you can definitely see a difference right away,” she said.

“Other times, it’s a month later you’ll come back and go ‘oh my gosh, it’s beautiful.’” Abrams is one of the many social media creators who have found success posting videos of themselves cleaning graves.

They can attract large audiences, often including those looking for cleaning content or videos with repetitive and subtle sounds known for their calming effect.

Cleaning graves grew in popularity during the pandemic The trend was particularly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic as people searched for safe hobbies, finding connections over death during a pandemic.

It’s also sparked criticism, with some worried that strangers are capitalizing on gravesites without notifying descendants and risking damaging the sites.

Yet Abrams doesn’t solely focus on the cleaning process.

She researches and then shares the details she has found of the individual lives in her videos while filming the moss and buildup being washed away.

Abrams focuses on 18th and 19th century headstones in remote yet picturesque graveyards in Vermont, and her viewers are drawn to her deep dives into the past that also touch on the dark nature of death and spirits.

“I let them pick me,” Abrams said, referring to how she selects what graves to clean.