MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

“Storytime with MrBallen | Rosie Grant”

Release Date: January 23, 2026
Host: John Allen (MrBallen)
Guest: Rosie Grant (“Ghostly Archive,” author of To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes)

Episode Overview

This episode features a captivating conversation between MrBallen and Rosie Grant, a librarian turned viral “cemetery TikToker” known for uncovering and recreating recipes engraved on gravestones. This unlikely practice leads to profound discussions on grief, mortality, traditions, and the power of food as a bridge between the living and the dead. Along the way, both guest and host share personal stories of loss, near-death experiences, family, and the mystery of what follows life.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Rosie’s Unusual Path: From Librarian to Cemetery Cookbook Author

• Rosie’s Origin Story (02:59)

  • Began as a library science student during COVID; could only find internships in a cemetery.
  • Came from a family of “ghost tour guides,” so cemeteries weren’t foreign places for her.
  • Started “Ghostly Archive” on TikTok documenting her experiences.
  • Discovered her first gravestone recipe (spritz cookies) in Brooklyn; her TikTok post went viral overnight.
  • Quote: “When I posted it on TikTok, it went, like, super viral, like, overnight. Like, NPR called me the next day.” (05:11)

• The Community Side of Gravestone Recipes (06:42)

  • Rosie’s project shifted from curiosity to active community archiving—interviewing families, geolocating markers, and compiling oral histories.
  • Recipes range across North America, with New York boasting the most.

• Becoming the Go-To Expert

  • Families started reaching out, asking Rosie to feature their loved ones’ recipes.
  • The project led to a published book: To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes.

Food, Memory, and Mortality

• Connecting with the Dead Through Food (05:44)

  • Listeners shared personal stories of making loved ones’ recipes to feel close to them.
  • This highlighted food’s power in grief and memory.
  • Quote: “It was just these really personal food stories of using food and death, and they blended together when they missed their person.” (05:48)

• Talking About Death (10:56–13:43)

  • Rosie reflects on death as a taboo subject—even in her family of “ghost tour” guides.
  • The “death positive movement,” born from hospice work, advocates open discussion about death as emotionally healthy and practical.
  • Quote: “It’s not like, ‘yay, death’, but it’s healthy if we talk about these things with loved ones... I think food to me is a much easier access point to it.” (13:05)

• Death Traditions and Changing Attitudes (31:11)

  • Rosie notes how picnicking and eating in cemeteries was historically normal, but is now seen as taboo.
  • Death rituals—including food—vary widely across cultures and eras.
  • Quote: “In the early days, food, people would picnic in cemeteries... and you would be picnicking with grandpa or someone else’s relatives. It was so normal.” (31:11)

MrBallen’s Near-Death Experience and Reflections

• Life-and-Death in Combat (13:53–20:58)

  • MrBallen shares a vivid, detailed account of nearly dying from a grenade blast in Afghanistan.
  • Describes the emotional process—primarily matter-of-fact and focused on loss for loved ones, rather than fear.
  • Quote: “I was not sad. It was shockingly matter of fact... my brain processed it as like, you are about to die—hard stop.” (16:36)
  • “I simply know death is coming... Whatever I want to do, it’s timed against how much time I think I have. But it’s not sad, it just is.” (20:35)

• Impact of Mortality Awareness

  • The experience removed his fear of death and instilled a sense of appreciation and urgency for life.
  • Led to candid discussions, even with his wife, about burial choices and legacy.

Personal Loss, Ritual, and Processing Grief

• Witnessing Family Death (33:38–36:18)

  • MrBallen describes his aunt’s passing, being present at her deathbed, and the emotional significance of that final gift.
  • Rosie discusses the roles people play in grief: “top of the cliff” (preventative) and “bottom of the cliff” (present with the suffering).
  • Quote: “I feel like people do full death doula trainings, literally just to sit next to someone while they’re there...” (35:22)

• Death in Wartime vs. Family (36:34–39:45)

  • MrBallen recalls the emotional challenge of distinguishing enemy combatant deaths from loved ones, and the universal reality of mortality—even amidst conflict.
  • The lines between “us” and “them” blur; all humans are “just like bags of blood and bone trying to make sense in the world.” (39:01)

What Comes After? Speculation and Philosophy

• Rosie’s Thoughts (26:23–28:37)

  • Raised Catholic but now agnostic; likes the idea of a soul continuing on.
  • “Whether it’s a second life or we just become particles and my dust scatters in the wind, there’s something very pleasant about that too.”
  • Considers death akin to the time before birth—non-existence without pain or awareness.

• MrBallen’s Philosophy (28:37–29:53)

  • Invokes the classic philosophical “why is there something, rather than nothing?” question.
  • Wonders if our existence either has a reason or is just a cosmic accident.

• Desire for Understanding (29:53–30:59)

  • Rosie longs for knowledge in the afterlife—hopes “there’s a spirit guide” to answer every question.

Cemeteries, Traditions, and the Future

• Rosie’s Burial Plans (23:26)

  • Plans to have a gravestone with a recipe; is already arranging a plot with her husband.
  • Discusses “aquamation,” body-to-gem transformation, “mushroom pots,” and the impermanence of memory—even cemeteries fade with time.

• Changing Perspectives (31:24–33:34)

  • Traditions around death and food vary regionally and culturally (Irish wakes, Catholic symbolism, etc.).
  • There’s value in remembering, but it’s also normal—and possibly healthy—to accept forgetting over generations.

Paranormal, Synchronicity, and the Comfort of Mysteries

• Rosie’s Psychic Experience (40:29–42:58)
  • Shares a story about visiting a psychic who seemed to channel a deceased friend during a difficult period of her life.
  • For Rosie, it was comforting and indicative of a larger mystery, even if not “proof.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Going Viral:

  • Rosie: “NPR called me the next day, and they’re like, 'What is going on with this?' And I was like, I have no idea. Like, I’ve just learned about this woman.” (05:11)

• On Grief and Food:

  • Rosie: “My mom died a few years ago, and I make her cake every year when I miss her... and it helps me feel like she’s closer to me.” (05:44)

• On Facing Death:

  • MrBallen: “As it hit my shoulder, I actually actively thought, okay, you’re about to die. There’s no escaping it.” (00:31)

• On Near-Death Acceptance:

  • MrBallen: “I was not sad. It was shockingly matter of fact... It wasn’t ‘I’m going to die.’ It was, ‘My poor mom.’” (16:36)

• On the Death Positive Movement:

  • Rosie: “It’s not like, ‘yay, death.’ It’s healthy if we talk about these things with loved ones... Food to me is a much easier access point to it.” (13:05)

• On Existential Wonder:

  • MrBallen: “Why does anything exist? ...That sort of forces you to realize that if there’s a reason for everything to exist, we’re part of it.” (28:37)

• On Grave Rituals and Memory:

  • Rosie: “Even cemeteries won’t be around for forever... Most people, like, you won’t be remembered much beyond a generation or two. And that’s okay. Engaging with it a little bit more makes it a little less scary.” (25:08)

Important Segments and Timestamps

• [02:35] – Introductions and Rosie Grant’s “recipe on gravestones” phenomenon
• [05:11] – First viral TikTok and discovery of the spritz cookie gravestone
• [10:56–13:43] – Death as taboo, the “death positive” movement, and food as the bridge
• [13:53–20:58] – MrBallen’s grenade story: near-death experience, what he thought about, and aftermath
• [23:26] – Rosie’s burial plans, “aquamation,” and reflecting on impermanence
• [31:11] – History of eating in cemeteries, food, and death traditions
• [33:38–36:18] – Story of MrBallen’s aunt's passing and thoughts on grief roles
• [36:34–39:45] – Wartime deaths vs. family deaths; shared humanity in all mortality
• [40:29–42:58] – Rosie’s story about a psychic confirming what she felt about the presence of her late friend

Overall Tone

Warm, curious, and deeply reflective. Rosie brings a gentle, archival enthusiasm for her quirky niche and for the universal human experiences of grief, ritual, and memory. MrBallen shares with candor and humility about his brushes with mortality and how they’ve shaped his outlook. They both deftly shift between lighthearted discussions (graveyard recipes) and profound questions of existence, loss, and meaning.

Final Thoughts

This episode artfully blends the macabre, the folksy, and the philosophical. For those new to Rosie Grant’s world, it’s an introduction to an extraordinary cross-section of viral culture, history, and human connection—and for fans of MrBallen, it’s one of the most personal, vulnerable interviews to date. Through gravestone cookies, combat flashbacks, and favorite cemetery traditions, both guest and host offer listeners a new way to approach (and maybe even celebrate) the inevitable: death.

For Further Exploration

• Rosie’s book: To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes
• Rosie’s TikTok: @ghostlyarchive
• Death Positive Movement
• Variations in global funerary traditions