Indian Burial Ground: Difference between revisions

* In an issue of ''[[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|The Incredible Hulk]]'', the eponymous Hulk lands in a Wild West Ghost Town, which was 'ghosted' by the vengeful ghosts of a nearby Indian Burial Ground, who were disturbed by the greed of the gold-miners. There, he gets attacked by Pariah, an undead cowboy wielding a [[Green Rocks|Glowing Green Rock]] infused with the howling souls of a thousand angry indians.

* In one [[Donald Duck]] story, Indian Ghosts suddenly appear in Donald and the boys' house (after Donald made a huge short circuit by wiring all household appliances on one plug hole). Subverted, as the boys first think it's a case of ole' [[Indian Burial Ground]], but it turns out, that it's an ancient Indian relaxation spot, and they find the house comfortable.

** It's also something of a subversion, because it's implied that the burial ground was possessed not by the spirits of the dead natives, as in most [[Indian Burial Ground]] stories, but by a [[Wendigo]], a cannibalistic [http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/10/wendigo.jpg demon]{{Dead link}} that could possess humans. Well before the white settlers move in, the Indians have recognized the danger of the place and stopped using it.

* Despite being found in parodies of ''[[Poltergeist (film series)||Poltergeist]]'', ''Poltergeist'' itself averts this trope. When Steven tries to get answers from the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|greedy land developer]], his answer is along the lines of, "What's the problem? It's not like it was built on an Indian Burial Ground." (He's technically correct, as the subdivision in which Steven and his family reside was actually built over a regular cemetery; the curse-and-vengeance aspects of the trope still seem to apply, however.)

* In ''[[Identity (film)|Identity]]'' after a few of the cast have been picked off by the still unknown antagonist, Clea DuVall suggests that maybe this is a result of the motel being built upon an Indian burial ground, as it is detailed in a brochure she read about the area they are in.

* ''Within the Woods'', a short film that [[Sam Raimi]] made in order to secure funding for ''The [[Evil Dead]]'', has [[Bruce Campbell]] disturbing an [[Indian Burial Ground]].

* In the original film version of ''[[The Amityville Horror]]'', the house moved into by an otherwise happy family is revealed to be built on an [[Indian Burial Ground]]. As in, the Indians sent their crazy people to this land to die, though they didn't bury them. The bad spirits there cause the husband/father to grow his beard, become moody, and develop a worryingly [[Ax Crazy|close relationship with an axe]].

* A twist on this came in a novel, ''The Marshal'', about an apparent ghost who seemed to be, or think he was, Wyatt Earp in late-1970s California. His appearances, though, were always preceded by a whistling noise somehow identified as being used by Sioux warriors, and no one could find any record of Wyatt Earp ever meeting a Sioux. At the very end of the book, it was found that Earp's grave was right next to that of a Sioux -- andSioux—and something had caused the Indian's headstone to fall against Earp's.

* In ''Sacred Ground'' by [[Mercedes Lackey]], the book's villain invokes the trope by seeding a construction site with (stolen) Native American artifacts and arranging a few "accidents," causing the more superstitious workers (quite a few of whom are Native American themselves) to get spooked enough to refuse to continue working at the site. The book also plays with the trope in some other ways: messing around with Native American artifacts can bring on quite a bit of supernatural unpleasantness, and the ultimate source of the trouble that moves the book's plot is a burial site - albeit disturbed by erosion rather than the hand of man, which let out [[Sealed Evil in a Can|something very nasty the site was designed to contain]].

* The harvest festival on ''[[Parks and Recreation]]'' was built on Indian burial ground, which caused much concern with the public, especially when things start going wrong. The tribal chief doesn't believe in curses, but he does acknowledge the gullibility of the townspeople, and performs a fake ceremony to ease their minds.

* In the premiere of ''[[Boss]]'' some workers discover an [[Indian Burial Ground]] while moving a Christian cemetery located on top of it. This severely derails the mayor's plans for extending the airport onto that site and threatens to put a stop to a massive 20-year redevelopment plan for the area. The man who failed to keep the discovery from the media {{spoiler|gets his ears cut off}} as punishment.

* In [[The Waltons]] season 6 episode 4 "The Warrior", an 101 year old Cherokee man and his son arrive at Walton's Mountain, in the Appalachians of Virginia. He explains that white settlers drove the Cherokees all the way to Oklahoma, and now that he is close to the end of his life, he wants to find his family's ancestral burial ground so he can be buried there as well. Keeping in mind that the story is set in the late 1930's, the Waltons explain that all they've ever heard about the Indians that used to live in the region are prejudices that they were scalping savages on the warpath. However, the old Cherokee man is very kind and they are moved by his plight, and try to help him. However, when he finds a memorial rock with directions written in the Cherokee language on where to find the burial ground, he discovers that it is right under the Walton's barn. He insists that the Waltons tear down their barn and purify the land, because they are desecrating it. Pa Walton does not believe him and becomes angry, though in private Grandpa Walton confides to the Cherokee that also being near the end of his life, he sympathizes with his desire to make sure his he buried with his family. The old Cherokee man sets fire to the barn and is arrested. Pa Walton doesn't want to press charges, he just doesn't want him to come back, but the old man says he will keep returning until he succeeds in destroying the barn. Meanwhile, Grandpa Walton decides there's only one way to prove if what the old Cherokee says is true, so he takes a shovel and digs up the floor of the barn. Sure enough, he finds not only Indian pottery but a human skull, confirming that the barn is indeed built over a Cherokee burial ground. The Waltons are left with their original beliefs in "morally righteous white settlers versus savage indians" shattered. The old Cherokee man dies from the stress in his holding cell. Deciding that "every graveyard began with one grave", they agree to let the Cherokee man's son bury him in a different, pristine part of Walton's mountain surrounded by nature.

{{quote| '''Frankie''': The camp is built on an [[Indian Burial Ground]] and-<br />

'''Raz''': Oh my gosh! Indians buried their dead here?!<br />

'''Frankie''': Ewwww! I hope not. No, stupid, they buried their arrowheads here.<br />

* [[5 -Second Films]] has "[http://5secondfilms.com/watch/the_used_car The Used Car]":

{{quote| ''"You don't want this one. It was built on an '''indian burial ground'''. And [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|there's a stuck tape]]."''}}

{{quote| ''"Ironically, there was an Indian burial ground built on top of the hotel!"''}}

* Parodied in [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/05/24/episode-996-renovations/ this] ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|8-Bit Theater]]'', where a temple was built on top of the graveyard where graveyards, which had evil stuff built on them, were relocated.

* ''[[Goblin Hollow]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20120507215857/http://www.rhjunior.com/GH/00201.html Why Beltane claimed to want to perform a rite there].

* One episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' ("Petergeist") parodied the film ''[[Poltergeist (film series)||Poltergeist]]''. Peter builds a multiplex in the back yard, then discovers that underneath is an Indian Burial Ground.

** He then finds an ancient Indian skull and uses it as codpiece. And then uses it to pee in. You'd think building a multiplex over an [[Indian Burial Ground]] would be enough to get him haunted for life, but noooo...

* The Pet Shop in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode with the [[Evil Twin|evil twins]] from the [[Mirror Universe]] was built on an indian cemetery. Though, that wasn't enough to anger the spirits, as the owner, one night when drunk, [[Crosses the Line Twice|dug up the bodies, pissed on their bones]], and buried them back upside down.

{{quote| '''Lisa''': An ancient Indian burial ground!<br />

{{quote| '''Mr Burns''': This house has quite a long and colorful history. It was built on an ancient Indian burial ground and was the setting of satanic rituals, witch-burnings, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|five John Denver Christmas specials]].<br />

** It was also used in the main continuity when Krusty the Klown reveals that Kamp Krusty was built on an Indian Burial Ground. Subverted in that this fact is actually a sign of the camp's dismal quality, rather than actually affecting it. In The Simpsons' world, Krusty merchandise tends to be extremely shoddy and poor quality, if not outright dangerous to use.

{{quote| ''In our house, safe and sound-<br />

{{quote| '''Didi''': Looks like someone's finally taking the [[Peyton Place|Peytons']] [[Parental Bonus|place]].<br />

'''Betty''': Yep, must be nobody told them about the house being built on an ancient Indian burial ground.<br />

'''Didi''': Oh, Betty, that's just a myth.<br />

* When Dr. Doofensmirtz is about to get kicked out of his building in ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', he tries to spread this rumour to make it un-sellable. As all his endeavours, this does not work.

* When construction began on the Superdome in New Orleans, the graves of the victims of yellow fever turned up. Some claim this was it took the Saints so long to have a winning season, though, of course, the Saints were a losing team before the Superdome was even conceived.

* The prospective wind farm planned for a few miles offshore of Cape Cod has run into this among its many, many public relations problems. Its not so much the issue of a curse they're worried about, as it is living native americansAmericans protesting.