Messages from beyond the grave

TOMBSTONES fitted with video screens could soon be relaying messages from beyond the grave.

The computerised headstone contains a flat screen on which video recordings from departed loved ones can be played.

American inventor Robert Barrows has filed a patent application for the idea, which would allow the deceased to relate their life stories or confess guilty secrets, New Scientist magazine reported.

To avoid a grave’s soundtrack clashing with its neighbour’s, visitors could listen through wireless headphones. The parting video could be made at the same time as a will and left with a lawyer, says Barrows.

The standard stone could be graced with a small LCD TV while a more extravagant mausoleum might be equipped with a high-definition plasma screen.

Gary Collinson, Professor of American Studies at Pennsylvania State University in Pittsburgh, said he was not surprised by the development. “Cemeteries are places where people try to out-do each other, display their wealth and power. This would certainly be a new way to do that.”