Tales from the crypt

"You finally get to tell your side of the story," said Barrows, who's still waiting to hear back from the U.S. Patent Office.

On top of getting to say "sweet things to your loved ones," Barrows said the invention will create a whole new genre of storytelling; horror stories in particular could get a whole new dimension.

Talking tombstones could turn cemeteries into "fascinating places" where visitors go from tombstone to tombstone listening to the life and times of the dead, Barrows said.

"These lives may be intertwined in ways you never thought of before," he said.

The invention could indeed revive interest in cemeteries - if it passes all technological and logistic hurdles, said Mitch Postel, director of the San Mateo County Historical Association.

"It could make people think of cemeteries as parks again," he said. "Just think of all the historical figures that are buried at Cypress Lawn. People can get a real, educational value from cemeteries."

Making trips to the graveyard used to be a family outing in the early part of the century, Postel said. Families would pack a picnic and spend the day visiting their deceased relatives, he said.

"It was an outing," Postel said.

Whether Barrows will pull off the invention is yet to be seen; he is still waiting to hear back from the U.S. patent office.

The idea is to insert a recording device into a hollowed-out tombstone. Other than that, Barrows declined to "reveal the secrets" about the technology of his invention until the patent is approved. He only said his invention will play videos in a high quality previous attempts failed to deliver.

The cost for a tombstone would vary depending on what type of technology a buyer wants, he said.

"You could hook up a super-duper flat screen, or you could put in your old black and white television," Barrows said.

A "type of encoding" in his invention would also allow the option of making the tombstones coin-operated or have technology to swipe credit cards to play the message.

Hooking cemeteries up to such technology could cause some problems. For one, Postel pointed out that the video screens could create a light, tourist-like atmosphere in a grave place.

"Would cemeteries want that kind of traffic while something very serious is happening nearby, like someone burying a family member?" Postel said.

If patented, Barrows' enterprising invention would be unleashed in conjunction with a novel he recently penned; the book is called "Cemetery of Lies" and is yet to be signed by a publisher.

"It's about secrets that are told from beyond the grave," Barrows said.

The idea for the talking tombstone came upon Barrows when he was visiting Wyatt Earp's grave in Colma. Instead of checking out the hundreds of books on Earp, it occurred to Barrows a talking video on the grave would have been great.

A true Renaissance man, Barrows is also a sculptor and works with video in advertising.

"Eureka. I came up with the video tombstone," Barrows said.

Barrows' advertising firm also recently represented a Bigfoot expedition.

Yunmi Choi can be reached by e-mail at yunmi@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.