Videos from the grave
Words Gabriela Lee

As if hauntings and ghosts weren't enough to scare children, Robert Barrows of Burlington, California, is now filing a patent application for video gravestones. He plans to have a hollow headstone fitted with an LCD touch screen, as well as a computer or a microchip that stores a video message, thus enabling the deceased to literally "speak" from the grave.

These pre-recorded clips would draw their electricity from the graveyard's lighting system, and to avoid sound distortions from the other graves, people can listen to the soundtrack on wireless headphones. This innovation will allow the deceased to leave messages for their loved ones even after their death, or confess to their indiscretions when they were alive. Their last will and testament could also be recorded on the gravestone. They could also choose to make their video monument as grand as possible - from a standard flat-screen TV to plasma screens for mausoleums.

This is a natural evolution from the marble sculptures and ornate decorations that usually adorn tombstones. "Cemeteries are places where people try to outdo each other, display their wealth and power. This would certainly be a new way to do that," says Gary Collison, professor of American studies at Pennsylvania State University in Pittsburgh.