A curious Brazilian man has faked his own death to find out.
Baltazar Lemos, 60, from Curitiba, Paraná, announced his death on social media and set up a hoax funeral for his friends and family.
Lemos frequently conducts funerals, and has overseen hundreds of ceremonies commemorating the life of other people. He recounted how saddened he had been after conducting a service with just two people in attendance compared to other services where more than 500 were present.
So, just like the episode in Friends where Ross Geller held a fake funeral to see which of his old college mates would attend, Lemos pulled the hoax to see who would show up. Unfortunately for the 60-year-old Brazilian, his funeral produced similarly disastrous results to that of the fictional paleontologist.
Earlier this month, Lemos posted a seemingly innocent and cheery photo of himself on his Facebook page, sharing 'prayers and good vibes with everyone'.
However, Lemos' friends could see from the background of the image that he was at Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, suggesting that he had been admitted there.
Another post then went up a day later, announcing that he had died.
'At the beginning of this sad afternoon, Baltazar Lemos left us. More information coming soon,' the social media post read.
This left Lemos' family in shock. They had been unaware that he was ill.
His nephew rushed to the Sao Paulo hospital to ask the medical staff about him. But as he had never been admitted and was not actually dead, hospital staff had no record of him being there.
Concerned friends became distressed about his passing - including his wheelchair bound octogenarian mother - and started to pay tribute to him and his life. Many commented on the post to ask about the details of his death and the cause, but no further information was given.
The funeral and wake details for a ceremony commemorating Lemos' life were soon posted to the Facebook page.
Friends and family soon gathered to pay their respects to the Brazilian at a chapel in his hometown of Curitiba. But no sooner had the ceremony started that Lemos' voice started bellowing out from the speakers, detailing his 60 years of life.
Those in attendance were in shock and tears started pouring from many people's eyes. The mourners thought that Lemos had recorded the tape before his supposed death.
Alter doors then flung open and Lemos' friends and family were confronted by the man.
The mourners were aghast and confused, as tears continued to pour from many of those in attendance.
The hoax funeral didn't appear to have the results Lemos was expecting. As he tried to explain what had happened, and why he wanted to fake his death, the congregation who had been sorrowful over his passing were now incandescent with rage and started to accuse him of cruelty.
If it was any consolation for Lemos, more people showed up to his funeral than the two old college friends who gathered for Ross Geller's wake.
Lemos told Brazilian outlet Otempo: 'I had the idea five months ago. I wanted to make it look like I really died. People interpreted it in their own way. The truth is that I wanted to know who would come to my wake.'
He also apologised for his antics. 'I didn't tell anyone, because I hoped it would work out. I had no intention of hurting, offending, or causing any harm to anyone. I truly apologise to these people.'
Social media users quickly learned of the disastrous funeral. One wrote: 'You got what you wanted Baltazar, to draw attention. In all the groups of event photographers, people are talking about your 'death'. Everyone was mourning. What a ridiculous joke! I think you should take a picture with everyone who mourned your supposed death. I don't know you personally and I hope I don't ever meet you.'
Another of his friends told Otempo: 'I've known him since 2001. I thought the story was horrible. I spent one day sad and the other very indignant. For me, he died on the 17th [the day the fake death was announced], when I found out everything. It was in very bad taste.'
More photos below.
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