It seems that my last post about the really creepy talking tombstone generated massive waves of fear and confusion among readers.

All across the internet, babies were crying and women were weeping and grown men were dropping to their knees and shouting at the Heavens.  Even my editor reported being “weirded out” by the idea of a tombstone with a built-in video screen.

So, given all the brouhaha, I decided to do a little digging.

My first option was to call the number provided at www.talking-tombstone.com and speak with Mr. Robert Barrows.  The only problem was that I couldn’t bring myself to call him.

For some reason, I kept remembering scenes from The Ring — that horror movie in which people watch a cursed video tape and are then killed by some undead anorexic girl who crawls out of their television set.  Call me crazy, but as I was dialing the number, I had a flash of my friends and family kneeling next to my very own Talking Tombstone — a cool breeze blowing autumn leaves, the music of Rob Zombie playing from somewhere, a dark stranger watching from the distance — everyone crying and remembering how I died on the phone after hearing some strange hissing sounds.

Given that possible outcome, I decided to do some internet research instead.  Here is what Wikipedia had to say on the subject.

And, according to this related site, the Talking Tombstone or Video Enhanced Gravemaker (it seems to have two names) “will have a tremendous impact on our society and the funerary industry.”

People will be able to “go into a graveyard, click on a remote control device, and listen to anything the person might have wanted to say before they died.”

According to the site:

1. The invention will change a major aspect of civilization. Cemeteries will come alive with stories told through video-tombstones.
2. It will change the way we look at life and death and it will even change the way history is told.
3. When people start recording their own obituaries for playback in video-tombstones, it will force them to examine their lives in ways they may not have even considered before.
4. It will also create two new industries:
   1) Manufacturing video-tombstones
   2) Producing videos for use in video-tombstones

Hmmm.

I had hoped that this post would shed light on the subject and leave us all feeling a little bit better.  But, at this point, I have to admit feeling somewhat more panicked and creeped out than before.

Well, if you don’t hear from me again, assume the worst.

But feel free to head out to the cemetery, where I will no doubt be offering up one final video blog about the latest advances in IVVR technology.