60 NOT QUITE DEAD

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MAN FAKES HIS OWN DEATH TO SEE WHO WILL ATTEND HIS FUNERAL

A Brazilian man caused outrage among his friends and family after he faked his own death out of pure curiosity, to see who would attend his funeral.

As an experienced master of ceremonies for various kinds of events, 60-year-old Baltazar Lemos had conducted hundreds of funerals, some of which had been attended by as few as two people, others by as many as 500. Recently, he had been thinking about how many of his friends and family would come to pay their respects and bid him farewell when he died, and so, he decided to fake his death and see how many people actually would come to his funeral.

On January 10, someone posted an ominous message on Baltazar Lemos’ social media, announcing that “At the beginning of this sad afternoon, Baltazar Lemos left us. More information coming soon.” A day before that, a photo, taken in front of the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, had been posted, implying that he had been admitted there. Everyone assumed the worst.

Lemos’ family was stunned by the announcement, because no one even knew he had been in the hospital. One of his nephews rushed to the hospital to ask about him, but the staff had no record of a Baltazar Lemos being there in the past few days.

As Baltazar’s online friends started sharing the tragic news of his passing, people started paying their respects in their online comments and asking about the cause of death. No explanation was given, but instead, the time and place of the wake and funeral ceremony were posted on his Facebook account.

On the 18th of January, friends and family gathered in a small chapel in his native city for what they expected to be a funeral.

At one point, they suddenly heard Baltazar’s voice telling his life story, and some of those in attendance started crying, thinking it was a recording of the deceased. Then, the chapel doors opened, and he stepped out in front of everyone.

The best way to describe people’s reactions to seeing Baltazar is confusion! Some people started crying again, and others were left with their mouths open. But, after he explained that he had faked his death to see who would attend his funeral, attendees accused him of cruelty.

One person commented online after learning the truth: “You got what you wanted, Baltazar, to draw attention to yourself. All the event photographers 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 do not ever meet you."

Baltazar Lemos’ story spread like wildfire online, and soon news media were contacting him to learn more about his motivation. He explained that he never wanted to cause people grief but that this was the only way to know who would mourn him after his future passing.

Lemos said, “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 apologize to these people.”

The man’s apologies mostly fell on deaf ears, especially after people learned that he has a wheelchair-bound mother in her eighties who could have had a heart attack at the news of his death, not to mention the grief to all his family, friends, and colleagues.

An event planner that used to work with him said, “I have known him since 2001. I thought the story was horrible. I spent one day sad and the next day very indignant. For me, he died on the day when I found out the truth. It was in very bad taste.”