What happens when we die? The answer depends on one’s philosophical belief system. Often, the daunting part about considering this great unknown is that we may never truly know the answer to this question.
However, when the question ‘What happens when we die?’ is refers to actual events on the physical plane — such as, what it is like to be placed in a coffin or having our physical bodies reduced to ash — humans are able to conceive and understand more fully.
This past August, we learned how this trend of understanding more intimately what happens to us when we die spurred the Shukatsu Festa funeral expo in Japan, where attendees had the opportunity to experience the entire funeral process, including coffin and clothing selections, lying in state, and having friends and family offer eulogies. As noted in many news stories at the time, Japan’s aging population paired with a severely declining birth rate has aided in driving this trend of ‘try before you die’ in the nation’s death industry.
Not to be outdone, and just in time for the Halloween holiday, a theme park in Shenzen, China has rolled out a 4D death simulation ride that gives the bravest among us a firsthand look at what awaits us on the other side of a crematory’s doors.
The Window of the World theme park ushers its guests into a front parlor that resembles a morgue. In this portion of the attraction, attendees are encouraged to walk around this realistic depiction of a body’s staging area for the hereafter. Part two of the attraction requires a bit more of a commitment to the macabre.
For those who opt for the full ride experience, they are made to lie in a large wooden coffin on a conveyor belt that transports them into the funerary furnace of the crematorium. Riders are then blasted with 100-plus degree temperatures to simulate the cremation process.
Speaking on behalf of the theme park, the Window on the World spokesman explained, “The customers can wander around the morgue first and then get to feel how it would be if they are cremated.
“People have a morbid fascination with death and the after-life and this is a good way of experiencing both.”
While the attraction draws in people of all ages, the cremation portion seems mainly to be favored by younger park visitors. “You really feel like you’re being burnt alive,” Ting Shen, 22, excitedly stated. “I feel like I died and came back.”
Less enthused about the prospect of experiencing his own cremation was 43-year-old Mum Yue Wan Ho, who brought his kids to the park that day. “I went into the morgue bit with my kids who couldn’t wait to get inside the coffin,” he stated. “But I think it’s all just a little bit too weird for me. I think I’ll wait until my time is really up before pretending it is.”
It is often said that experience is the best teacher. In this case, however, one might be more inclined to contemplate the question of ‘What happens when we die?’ in a theoretical, rather than experiential, way. Planning your Accu-Care professional cremation provides answers to questions about the cremation process and gives your family peace of mind in knowing your final wishes have been clearly spelled out. Contact the compassionate staff at Accu-Care Cremation & Funeralss today: (844) 550-7897.