Rent-a-Mourners will cry at UK funerals, for a price

Are you anticipating a low turnout at your funeral? Fret not, say the owners of the U.K. business Rent-a-Mourner, for even mourners can be bought for a price.

The cost for a two-hour funeral or wake is almost $70 Canadian per individual, according to the company's website, plus expenses if guests must travel.

People are buying, too, according a story this week in the Telegraph. Ian Robertson, the man who founded Rent-a-Mourner by offering up 20 of his friends as fake mourners, told the media outlet that his services have been hired for 52 funerals since he opened in January 2012. He claims to have gotten the idea from similar companies in Asia.

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"We are typically invited to help increase visitors to funerals where there may be a low turnout expected," reads the website description of services.

"This can usually be a popularity issue or being new to an area, or indeed, the country."

The trend is bizarre but mostly sad, both in that people need rented mourners and in that quantity seems to outweigh quality in this case — no need for a few genuine tears when you can have a crowd of the paid-for variety.

In fact, the fake guests aren't even require to cry, according to the Telegraph. However, the website ensures your fake guests will be prompt and well-dressed. Oh, good.

They will also lie to real guests, according to the story, by learning details about the deceased and pretending to be a colleague or an acquaintance.

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Now that's keeping an eye toward appearances until the last possible moment.