Sun Valley, ID

Despite his legacy of loud boozing and masculine myth-making the actual grave of famed author Ernest Hemingway is a flat, unadorned slab. However that has not stopped his fans from leaving booze and flowers to this day.

Hemingway was known for his passionate living, full of drinking, hunting, womanizing, and of course, writing. When he committed suicide in 1961, following in the tragic footsteps of his brother, sister, and father, all of whom also took their own lives, one might have expected his remains to return to his beloved cats in Key West, but instead they were simply lain to rest in a small Ketchum, Idaho plot.

In his final days, Hemingway was extremely ill and increasingly paranoid, rarely leaving his home near the woods of Ketchum. After his death, it seemed in line with his stoic persona that he be buried with little fanfare. His headstone is a long rectangle set into the grass bearing simply his name and the dates of his life.

Hemingway’s fame is even greater today than it was during his life, bolstered by his blustery legend. Fans still make pilgrimage to his grave leaving behind coins, flowers, and half-drunk bottles of alcohol as tribute. There is no epitaph on the stone, but there are few people who would not already know of his enduring legacy.