Dead man resurrected as hologram to host his own funeral
A dead man was resurrected by his wife in hologram form for his own funeral service, where he answered questions from his loved ones as part of an after-death Q&A session.
Bil Cronrath’s wife, Pam Cronrath, held the funeral service and had previously promised her husband a “super wake”, as per the BBC.
The 78-year-old, who lives in the agricultural community of Wenatchee, Washington, on the edge of the Cascade Mountains, was already a technology enthusiast before her husband passed away.
When Pam attended a medical conference, she was “completely impressed” with a full-body hologram of a doctor who was broadcast live across the United States. “It stayed with me,” she admitted.
Upon the passing of her husband, Pam wanted to try the technology out as a way to alleviate the grieving process; she was eventually put in contact with two companies, Proto Hologram and Hyperreal.
She had originally agreed with her husband to spend around $2,000 on the endeavour, but admitted that the cost quickly escalated until she had spent “at least 10 to 15 times” her original sum.
The hologram companies had rich clients, after all: “When you hear they’re working with Michael Jackson’s estate, and then it’s me – Pam from Wenatchee – you do wonder how it’s going to work,” she said.
Pam wrote the script for his Q&A responses herself. On the day of mourning, his hologram explained to funeral attendees, “Now, before anyone gets confused, I’m not actually here in Valhalla today. Is this going to be fun?”
Around 200 people were in attendance and engaging with the life-size hologram depicted from the waist up.
“People were aghast,” Pam recollected. “Some genuinely couldn’t understand how it was happening.”
Pam now watches the recording over and over and has admitted that she takes comfort from hearing the hologram say, “I love you”.
However, the widow has stressed that this digital resurrection certainly hasn’t replaced her life mate: “It’s like looking at photos, or old videos. It doesn’t get boring. When you’re hurting, it helps to feel like that person is still right there with you.”