Spooky goings on in a graveyard on Halloween evening as visitors descended on a Bournemouth Town Centre church for a Halloween with a difference; the launch of an app celebrating the life and works of Mary Shelley.
The interactive app, called ‘Shelley’s Heart’, was developed by Bournemouth University academics and will bring the story of Mary Shelley to life through active storytelling at St Peter’s Church.
The location-aware app will allow users to journey through the life of Mary Shelley and her peers through a multimedia story based in the graveyard at St Peter’s Church where Mary Shelley is buried.
Speaking at the launch, which took place at the church on Halloween, app creator BU’s Brad Gyori said: “Well we are exploring different paths that relate to Mary Shelley and the romantic poets; this is a new way of getting immersed in a narrative rather than sitting in front of a book and flipping pages you’re actually walking through a physical space.
“It’s a different way of putting yourself in the middle of a story; you actually feel like the characters are surrounding. I’d encourage anyone with an interest in the story, or storytelling in general, to come and engage and give this a go!”
The app has been released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein being published.
It was created in partnership with Bournemouth University, Bournemouth Borough Council and Doppelganger Productions.
The web-based app requires no downloading. It is freely available to members of the public and it is anticipated that it will also be used by schools to enhance their teaching around Frankenstein.
For access to the app, visit: https://storyplaces.bournemouth.ac.uk
