September 25, 2024 – (SAUGERTIES, NY) — 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-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 allow users to upload custom memorials with videos, music, or other media honoring their own loved ones. In addition, Gravesider will create augmented reality walking tours of specific cemeteries to form educational thematic “trails” — casting costumed actors in reenactments of notable celebrities, historical figures, and unsung heroes
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 of possible markers to scan when they visit the cemeteries who have joined the app.
Although focused on death, don’t expect Gravesider to be only a somber experience. The app hopes to nurture a positive community primarily interested in genealogy and history but will also pay homage to the spiritual, paranormal, and metaphysical side of death in their online store — offering tickets to local events, psychic readings, tarot decks, death-inspired music, mourning jewelry and art for sale, to be as inclusive as possible.
Gravesider is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo to raise $30,000 to complete the app’s development. Depending on the level, investors will reap rewards including T-shirts, stickers and tote bags, a death-inspired music Spotify playlist, the “Death Deck” game which facilitates serious conversations in a fun way, tarot decks, the new book “Memento Mori” from Joanna Ebenstein – founder of Morbid Anatomy, gift certificates to “A Weeping Widow Antiques and Oddities” for mourning jewelry, a digital spiritual journal from author and coach Jackie Kenner, individual and group readings from psychic medium Jocelyn Mackenzie and invites to Gravesider’s special events.
Ms. Sanders founded EscapeMaker, an Emmy-Award-winning local travel marketing service, celebrating its 24th anniversary in business, and has recently specialized in creating AR tours. Ms. Sanders, got the idea for the Gravesider app during the pandemic when her clients wanted to offer more socially distanced programming. “People travel to learn their ancestral history and AR is a new model for sustainable tourism. “As a taphophile (one who loves cemeteries), I also noticed that women, African American, indigenous and immigrant stories are largely untold in history books. I believe everybody has a story. Let’s ensure their stories live on,” comments Sanders.
“Everyone deals with death differently and our culture all too often dismisses the grieving process entirely, says Sanders. “We invite people to not only join our Gravesider community to honor, remember, cry, grieve, laugh, and share stories about those they loved, at their own pace, but to also learn about those they never knew. Our ancestors may be gone, but thanks to augmented reality, they will never be forgotten.”
For those who want to support the crowdfunder, Gravesider’s Indiegogo at //igg.me/at/gravesider runs Wednesday, September 25th through Tuesday, October 22nd — with a goal to launch by next year.
FOR MORE INFO: CONTACT: 877-997-2726 / gravesiderapp@gmail.com
FB: @gravesider / YT: @gravesider IG & Threads: @grvsidr / X: @grvsidr / //www.gravesider.com
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