The PennZone

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. - PennZone -- If you've ever wandered through a cemetery and spotted an intriguing headstone, and wanted to know more about its owner, you're not alone. You may not be able to talk to dead people, but if one entrepreneur has her way, soon, they'll be able to "talk" to you.

Caylin Sanders, the Hudson Valley, New York-based founder of the new mobile app Gravesider, seeks to honor and memorialize your ancestors and other historical figures through augmented reality (AR). The content will only be visible to the public when an app user physically scans a headstone with their mobile phone.

The interactive Gravesider AR app, now in development, will create augmented reality walking tours of cemeteries to form educational thematic "trails" — casting costumed actors in re-enactments of notable figures and unsung heroes. The app will also allow users to upload custom memorials with videos or other media honoring their own loved ones.

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Gravesider is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo with 25% of their first 12k milestone raised. 50% of proceeds from the app will benefit local cemetery and landmark preservation, and all virtual memorials will be geo-mapped so users can search a directory.

The app hopes to nurture a positive death-conscious community interested in genealogy and history but will also pay homage to the spiritual, paranormal, metaphysical and spooky side of death — offering tickets to Halloween events, psychic readings, death-inspired art, jewelry, and clothing for sale.

Indiegogo investors will reap rewards including T-shirts, stickers and tote bags, a death-inspired music Spotify playlist, the new book "Memento Mori" (e-version) by Joanna Ebenstein - founder of Morbid Anatomy, the "Death Deck" game which facilitates serious death care conversations in a fun way, gift certificates for mourning jewelry, and group psychic readings.

Ms. Sanders founded EscapeMaker, an Emmy-Award-winning local travel marketing service, celebrating its 24^th anniversary in business and which has recently specialized in creating AR tours. Building on her background in theatre, she got the idea for the Gravesider app during the pandemic when her clients wanted to offer more socially distanced programming.

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As a taphophile (one who loves cemeteries), Sanders noticed that women, African American, Indigenous and immigrant stories were largely untold on headstones and in history books. "Everybody has a story. I want to ensure those stories live on," comments Sanders. "Our modern American culture all too often dismisses the grieving process entirely, says Sanders. Our ancestors may be gone, but thanks to augmented reality, they will never be forgotten."

To support, visit Gravesider's Indiegogo at https://igg.me/at/gravesider. The campaign runs through the day after Halloween, Friday, November 1st (Day of the Dead), with a goal to launch by next year.