Mourners are being rented for funerals.
Some people are hiring professional mourners for their loved one’s funeral.
Rent-a-Mourner in Essex, England charges around 68 dollars an hour for their services, which include a non-professional actor who cries during the funeral service.
The mourner is given information regarding the life of the deceased so they can interact with funeral goers without raising suspicion.
Employees of Rent-a-Mourner are not necessarily required to cry but are there to make the deceased appear to have been more popular.
The market for professional mourners has shown a 50 percent increase each year that Rent-a-Mourner has been open.
Although the hiring of professional mourners is relatively new in England, it is a common practice in parts of Asia.
In Taiwan, it is a cultural tradition for some to hire a filial daughter and mourn the loss of a parent by crying and wailing in an elaborate performance.
As part of Taiwanese culture, having a large crowd and an event type of funeral featuring performances, and a show of emotion honors the deceased.
People have been known to even go so far as to hire strippers for funerary entertainment.
What do you think? Is it ok to hire people to attend a funeral?