A 13-year-old girl was shocked to find her grandfather’s gravestone being used as a prop in a haunted house at a theme park in Germany.
The gravestone had been sold to the Geiselwind Theme Park instead of being properly disposed of at the end of the cemetery plot lease.
The theme park owner, who is now on trial charged with the vilification of the memory of the deceased, has apologised to the widow and the family.
A 13-year-old girl was shocked to find her grandfather’s gravestone being used as a prop in a haunted house (pictured) at a theme park in Germany
The gravestone (pictured) had been sold to the Geiselwind Theme Park instead of being properly disposed of at the end of the cemetery plot lease
In August last year, the girl noticed the gravestone of her grandfather who died in 1996 and sent a picture of it to her grandmother.
The 62-year-old widow said: ‘I could not believe it until my daughter sent me a picture of the tombstone.’
She said her granddaughter had been left distraught by the discovery and had been unable to stop crying.
She had not known her grandfather but had reportedly felt very connected to him through family stories and from regularly visiting his grave.
The widow said that she too had struggled to cope with the incident which had brought back painful memories of her late husband’s death.
In Germany, cemetery plots are generally rented for a limited period of 20 or 30 years because of the shortage of space and high cost of burial fees.
In August last year, the girl noticed the gravestone of her grandfather who died in 1996 and sent a picture of it to her grandmother. Pictured: The theme park
The widow had paid a stonemason around £115 for the proper disposal of the gravestone once that period had ended in December 2016.
She says the stonemason sold the gravestone to the theme park and feels that the memory of her husband has been publicly ‘thrown in the dirt’.
During the trial, the widow called the use of the gravestone ‘an enormous disgrace’.
According to the prosecution, the theme park owner bought eight engraved gravestones from a stonemason and promised to make the inscriptions unrecognisable, which in the end did not happen.
The theme park owner said: ‘I’m of course very sorry about it. I did not want to hurt anyone.’
If found guilty, he faces a fine or imprisonment of up to two years. The trial continues.
The widow had paid a stonemason around £115 for the proper disposal of the gravestone once that period had ended in December 2016. Pictured: The theme park