The Haserot Angel

"The Angel of Death Victorious" also known as the "Haserot Angel" in Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, 10/15/2021 Keri Kilgo (Atlas Obscura User)

Cleveland’s Lakeview Cemetery contains over 100,000 graves, including those of presidents and business moguls. However, its most striking grave marker may be the unsettling statue known as Haserot’s Angel.

Actually named “The Angel of Death Victorious,” the stoic angel is seated on the marble gravestone of canning entrepreneur Francis Haserot and his family. The life-size bronze holds an extinguished torch upside-down, a symbol of life extinguished. Her wings are outstretched and she gazes straight ahead.

The statue’s most striking feature, however, is how death’s guardian appears to be weeping black tears, which pour from her eyes and drip down her neck. These “tears” formed over time, an effect of the aging bronze combined with the impressive sculpting work of the piece itself. As a result, she is often referred to as the Weeping Angel.

Although Lake View Cemetery stretches over 280 acres, many visitors take the time to go searching for this melancholy sentinel. Even though she is undeniably unnerving, she is also undeniably beautiful.

Know Before You Go

The angel is located in Section 9 on Lot 14. Maps are available at the gate, main office, and the Garfield Monument. It's easy to miss, just off the road and ensconced under some trees; the closest landmark is the Hanna Mausoleum which is marked on the map in Section 9.

Lake View's gates are open every day of the year during the following hours: November 1 - March 31 from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. April 1 - October 31 from 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.