History Main / AttendingYourOwnFuneral

* In one episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', a suspect got caught this way — he [[FakingTheDead faked his death]] but couldn't resist coming to the funeral while wearing a fake beard to listen to what people say about him and experience how thrilling the deception is. The team catches him because it's the kind of thing Castle would do and he thinks that the suspect is a bigger AttentionWhore than he is.

-->'''Lord Hackingbottmo''': I know it better than anyone else!
-->'''Guest''': But you're ''not dead''!
-->'''Lord Hackingbottmo''': ...I've got a gum boil.
-->'''Guest''': That's not enough!

* In a ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch in which the Justice League attend Green Arrow's funeral, Batman tries to give a eulogy before deciding that a funeral is useless since DeathIsCheap for superheroes, claiming that he'll be back soon enough. Everyone applauds, including Green Arrow, who was seated in the back.

* An interesting version in the series finale of ''Series/HenryDanger'', Henry fakes Kid Danger’s death in downing the blimp. He admits that attending the funeral feels weird.

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "Grandma's Dead", one of Elmyra's pet hamsters dies around the same time her grandmother visits, which makes Elmyra upset and leads everyone to believe that her grandmother really died. When Elmyra throws a funeral for her pet hamster, everyone believes it to be for her grandmother, and thus are shocked when she shows up alive and well.

** The use of first-person POV has led some people to believe the young driver wrote this himself.

* Geordi and Ensign Ro did this in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "The Next Phase" -- they also appeared to "come back from the dead", although they weren't actually dead, in the middle of their own funeral. Ro was frustrated that she'd never get to hear what Riker, with whom she had BelligerentSexualTension, would say about her.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' also had this happen to Capt. Janeway in "Coda".
** On the earlier TNG episode "The Schizoid Man", Dr. Ira Graves, the mentor to Dr. Noonien Soong, Data's creator, [[GrandTheftMe uploads himself into Data's positronic brain just before he dies]]. While in Data's body, he doesn't just attend his own funeral -- he delivers his own [[ButHeSoundsHandsome flattering]] ''eulogy''.

--->'''Cleese:''' I thought the only person worthy of eulogizing me is Steve Martin... then I thought no, he's not really good enough either.

** In the final scene of "Identity Crisis", Captain Cotter [=McCoy=] attends his own funeral in the body of Colonel Pete Butler.
** In "Skin Deep", Sid Camden faked his own death after killing Chad Warner. Two weeks later, he attends a memorial service for himself [[HolographicDisguise holographically disguised]] as Chad. He is moved by the kind words of his estranged friend Deb Clement, the only one that he had.

* At the end of the Prologue mission in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', after executing a bank robbery and escaping from the local cops, Michael de Santa and Brad Snider were both shot by a sniper. Only the third robber, Trevor Philips, managed to escape unharmed. The next scene then showed Michael's funeral. The camera then panned out to reveal a healthy-looking and still-alive Michael, watching from the sidelines in disguise. [[spoiler: It was revealed later on in the game that Michael faked his own death because he wanted to get out of the criminal life and made a deal with the FBI in exchange for witness protection. The sniper that shot him is actually an FBI agent that was involved in the deal named Dave Norton (Michael wore body armor when he was shot). Next, the body inside his grave actually contained Brad's corpse in it (Dave accidentally shot Brad lethally in the chest when he stepped in front of Michael). As for Trevor, he believed that Michael is dead and Brad got sent to prison (Dave impersonated Brad by sending 'letters from prison' to Trevor). Until the mission Fame Or Shame, that is.]]

* In ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'', Ginny says that this is what she would do if she had an invisibility cloak.

* George Sr. is able to hear his own wake in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''.

* When you wait forever for the cable guy, you get bored. When you get bored, you start staring out windows. When you start staring out windows, [[HeKnowsTooMuch you see things you shouldn't see]]. When you see things you shouldn't see, you need to vanish. When you need to vanish, you [[FakingTheDead fake your own death]]. When you fake your own death, you dye your eyebrows. And when you dye your eyebrows, you attend your own funeral as a guy named Phil Schiffly. Don't attend your own funeral as a guy named Phil Schiffly. Advertising/{{Get rid of cable}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op5uAxIkIko and upgrade to DirecTV.]] Call 1-800-DIRECTV.
* A commercial for whiskey tells the story of a man, Advertising/JohnJameson, who dived into the ocean to rescue one of his kegs and presumably died. The next scene shows his funeral with the narrator telling us "All of [[{{Oireland}} Ireland]] was in attendance, including... John Jameson." Jameson is then seen walking up the beach front holding the keg. An extended version of the commercial shows him being grabbed by a Giant Octopus while swimming for the keg, presumably putting him into badass territory.

* Although it wasn't really real, Erza in ''Manga/FairyTail'' has a dream were she had really died when she merged with the Tower of Heaven in an effort to stop it from blowing up. She watches her friends in Fairy Tail mourn at her grave, and group of council officials bestow a title upon her. Finally, Natsu crashes the funeral proceedings and vehemently denies Erza's death, which only causes the entire group to break down into tears. Either way, really dramatic. Luckily, it [[AllJustADream was only a dream]], and Natsu [[HowDareYouDieOnMe saved Erza before she could really die]].

* In ''The Death of Groo,'' ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer goes to his own funeral, expecting there to be much sadness at his demise. There isn't. Everybody at that funeral had had endless trouble from him, and they were all delighted at his "death."

** Eariler on, [[Music/SpiceGirls Emma, Melanie]], and [[SantaClaus Nick]] all enter's Geri's dream, which of all things Emma's funeral. Unlike what Melanie was subjected to, Emma isn't to scare off at all since she was badly hurt at the pitch accident.

* ''Series/CharliesAngels'' has Sabrina fake her death to smoke out whoever rigged an explosive in her water cooler; there's a funeral, which she attends, hiding in the back wearing heavy mourning gear. Of course her colleagues are all in on it, but she's touched to see Bosley summoning up genuine tears at the thought of losing her.

** "Too Many Roscoes": As was the case with Bo and Luke in the earlier episode, a wake for Rosco takes place after it is merely assumed he had drowned when his patrol car is run off the road and into a lake by a gang of bank robbers (including one that is an exact double of Rosco), and a hasty search of the lake by Bo and Luke finds no body. The wake ends when the phony Rosco is seen walking to Boss' house (where the wake takes place).
* In the third season finale of ''Series/EastboundAndDown'', Kenny Powers (who takes SmallNameBigEgo to insane heights) fakes his death on the belief that "the press will never leave me alone." The season four premiere reveals that Kenny was unable to resist bursting into the middle of his own funeral and announce he was "reborn". He is honestly surprised that the reactions included his brother punching him in the face and then ending up [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome arrested and spending time in jail for insurance fraud.]]

* On ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Chandler and Ross once got into a prank war concerning their college alumni page. Eventually Chandler posts that Ross has died. Ross decides to hold it anyway, just to see who shows up. Only two "mourners" arrive: a guy who's only there to hit on the recently "outted" Chandler, and a girl who had a crush on Ross. Ross jumps out and disgusts her for not being dead.

* On an episode of ''Series/MurphyBrown'', Murphy and Frank are on a plane that is having mechanical troubles and the passengers are told to brace for impact. A moment later they cut to their own funeral, but no one there can hear or see them. Much panic and angst ensues, until the end of the episode when it's revealed to be AllJustADream and the plane lands safely.
* In an episode of ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Earl is making up for [[FakingTheDead faking his own death]] to get out of a relationship with a clingy girl named Natalie seven years prior. Natalie is now in a relationship with a {{Jerkass}}, but she is too much of an ExtremeDoormat to care. The guy fakes his own death, having gotten the idea from Earl when he came over to apologize, and Earl (on the advice of Catalina) goes to hang with Natalie to cheer her up a bit. Natalie thinks they're getting back together, and when Earl finally can't take it anymore (and the PleaseDumpMe gambit failed miserably), he actually tells her what the problem is. And he is told by Natalie's mother that Natalie committed suicide. When Earl goes to her funeral, she grabs his hand, and reveals that she is alive, and faked ''her'' death so Earl would feel her pain. Too bad her mother wasn't in on the stunt.

* On ''Series/ShamelessUS'' Frank owes money to some gangsters and decides to fake his own death. However, the gangsters insist on attending the funeral so Frank is drugged and laid out in a casket. Fortunately for him the gangsters are fooled and do not insist on actually seeing the casket buried.
* Season 2 of ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' ends with the titular character being forced to jump off a building by the BigBad while Watson witnesses the fall. The final scene shows Watson and Mrs. Hudson at the grave, Watson quietly begging Holmes to not be dead. As he's walking away, the camera pans and shows Holmes watching from the cover of a nearby copse. Of course, the real puzzle for the audience wasn't whether or not he survived (since that's a forgone conclusion for anyone familiar with the source material), but ''how''. The season 3 premiere explained that.

* In Richard Wilson's fictional radio autobiography ''Believe It!'', Richard holds a funeral for his cat when Celia Imrie tells him he died. It turns out the cat just went missing, and returns half way through the funeral. Richard is struck by the revelation that the cat came back to see the funeral, and many years later gathers all his celebrity friends to hold a "dress rehearsal" of his own funeral. It doesn't go as well as he expected, and they eventually conclude that it doesn't work if he's there.

* At the end of the Prologue mission in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', after executing a bank robbery and escaping from the local cops, Michael de Santa and Brad Snider were both shot by a sniper. Only the third robber, Trevor Philips, managed to escape unharmed. The next scene then showed Michael's funeral. The camera then panned out to reveal a healthy-looking and still-alive Michael, watching from the sidelines in disguise. [[spoiler: It was revealed later on in the game that Michael faked his own death because he wanted to get out of the criminal life and made a deal with the FBI in exchange for witness protection. The sniper that shot him is actually a FBI agent that was involved in the deal named Dave Norton (Michael wore body armor when he was shot). Next, the body inside his grave actually contained Brad's corpse in it (Dave accidentally shot Brad lethally in the chest when he stepped in front of Michael). As for Trevor, he believed that Michael is dead and Brad got sent to prison (Dave impersonated Brad by sending 'letters from prison' to Trevor). Until the mission Fame Or Shame, that is.]]

* More like "Attending Your Own Wake": In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland Chapter 5: Rise of the Pirate God'', when Guybrush (as a ghost) goes through a rip in the Crossroads to Club 41 ''before'' going to the Manatee Mating Grounds in order to find the Voodoo Lady's locket (via another rip), Bugeye tells him to be quiet when he and W.P. Grindstump are "in the middle of a pirate wake", and Guybrush is surprised to find his own body holding a dartboard and wearing a party hat. He can look around the club and talk to Grindstump to find out what happened after Guybrush died at the hands of [=LeChuck=]. Afterwards, he can exit his own wake and continue on in his quest to get back in his own body, as before.

* In ''Webcomic/GooberGrove'', Rosco and Georgetta, having not seen Razzlyn in a couple weeks, immediately assume she's dead. They hold a funeral for her, which she ends up showing up to, unaware it's her own.

* ''WebAnimation/TheLeetWorld'' has one of sorts, where Player, having survived a grenade injury, makes the rest of the team hold a funeral for him, so he can see what it's like.

** It happens again in season 9, to Simmons this time. At first he's excited at the prospect, but he becomes rather less so when the best things his teammates can come up with are "He talked a lot," and "He liked gum."

*** Before that, after traveling back to his era on a one-way ticket and then [[HumanPopsicle freezing himself again]], he crashes his memorial service.

** In "Lisa the Tree Hugger", Lisa lives in a redwood tree to prevent it from being cut down. She sneaks away one night to spend it with the family, at the same time the tree was struck by lightning and destroyed. The entire town believe her to be dead, and hold a large funeral for her, where the Rich Texan announces that he is turning the redwood forest into an amusement park in Lisa's memory. Lisa dramatically arrives, and announces her outrage.

* This was a distinct possibility during UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace, most acutely in the course of NASA's Apollo lunar landing attempts. In the lead-up to Apollo 11, which would be the first, William Safire, a speechwriter for President UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, prepared a speech, "[[BurialInSpace In Event of Moon Disaster]]", which he would read if something resulted in the deaths of all--or some--of the crew. Some of those situations would involve the crew still being alive--such as the lunar module, ''Eagle'', not being able to launch off the surface of the Moon; or the command module, ''Columbia'', being unable to return to Earth from lunar orbit--in which case astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins (in varying combinations) would've been among those hearing their own eulogy. While Apollo 11 fortunately went well, the closest we've come to that being necessary was Apollo 13, though that crew was able to return alive.

* [[https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/3iymtr/tifu_by_picking_up_a_hitchhiker_and_then_showing/ One redditor had a post go viral]] about how he ended up attending his own funeral: a guy stole his wallet and then got killed. When they failed to identify the body, they assumed it was him based on the ID in the stolen wallet.

* In ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'': Lawrence and Holo come up with the idea of holding "living funerals" to attract more tourists during the off season, with Holo trying it out to demonstrate the concept.

* Funerals were often held for Crusaders before they left home, usually with the man in attendance.

* ''Machinima/TheLeetWorld'' has one of sorts, where Player, having survived a grenade injury, makes the rest of the team hold a funeral for him, so he can see what it's like.
* Though neither faking it nor technically needing to be resurrected, ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has this happen to Sarge, complete with Grif performing a roast for him, and Simmons campaigning for the leadership position, instead of giving him a eulogy.

A character shows up alive to his or her own funeral, whether through [[FakingTheDead deliberately faking it]], being [[ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated mistakenly declared dead]], [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]], or TimeTravel. The NotQuiteDead character may either reveal him/herself to be alive or attend the funeral in disguise and leave with no one the wiser. Or sometimes the character won't even know they've been presumed dead until they walk through the door...

Compare WhodunnitToMe. May cross over with NotNowWereTooBusyCryingOverYou. See also TheFunInFuneral, of which this could be a subtrope.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* This was a distinct possibility during UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace, most acutely in the course of NASA's Apollo lunar landing attempts. In the lead-up to Apollo 11, which would be the first, William Safire, a speechwriter for President UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, prepared a speech, "[[BurialInSpace In Event of Moon Disaster]]", which he would read if something resulted in the deaths of all--or some--of the crew. Some of those situations would involve the crew still being alive--such as the lunar module, ''Eagle'', not being able to launch off the surface of the Moon; or the command module, ''Columbia'', being unable to return to Earth from lunar orbit--in which case astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins (in varying combinations) would've been among those hearing their own eulogy. While Apollo 11 fortunately went well, the closest we've come to that being necessary was Apollo 13, though that crew was able to return alive.
* As a deliberately engineered example, in 2007, Amir Vehabovic from Bosnia faked his death, forged a death certificate and arranged for a funeral just to see who would show up to remember him. [[http://www.impactlab.com/2007/03/19/funeral-rehearsal-no-shows/ Only his mother attended the funeral]].
* Zac Pennington of ''Music/ParentheticalGirls'' has held two funerals for himself in his adult life thus far.
* [[http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35496480 Noela Rukundo]] attended her own funeral after her husband hired hitmen to kill her. [[MercifulMinion The hitmen refused to kill her and instead let her go]], telling her husband that she was dead.
* Prime Minister Keisuke Okada of Japan narrowly escaped assassination when right-wing militarists killed his brother-in-law instead of him. Okada actually attended his own funeral before the mistake was revealed. (His time as Prime Minister ended, but he lived until 1952.)
* [[https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/3iymtr/tifu_by_picking_up_a_hitchhiker_and_then_showing/ One redditor had a post go viral]] about how he ended up attending his own funeral: a guy stole his wallet and then got killed. When they failed to identify the body, they assumed it was him based on the ID in the stolen wallet.
* UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln had a dream like this before it very sadly came true. Often left out of the tale is that he claimed it was a ''recurring'' dream and he'd had it before major battles of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar like Antietam and Gettysburg.
[[/folder]]

* In one episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', a suspect got caught this way — he [[FakingTheDead faked his death]] but couldn't resist coming to the funeral.

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[[caption-width-right:350:"Brick was a great man, and I will miss him so much.\\
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* In Charles Dickens' ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', Scrooge doesn't attend his own funeral per se but the ghost of Christmas future does show him his own grave.
* In ''Privilege'', the SpinOff of the ''Literature/{{Private}}'' series, Ariana attends her own funeral. The body they cremated is actually that of Briana Leigh Covington, who she killed in order to access her money and assume her life.
* It's not his funeral but Mackenzie Calhoun of ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier'' shows up to the dedication of the new ''USS Excalibur'' which has a touching eulogy/speech about since he was presumed dead during the destruction of the last ship of the same name. It's both hilarious and touching.
* ''Literature/GestaDanorum'': One year after Amleth has been sent to England by his uncle Feng to be killed with a PleaseShootTheMessenger plot, he is presumed dead. But Amleth has foiled Feng's plan and returns to the royal palace just the day his own obsequies are being held. Later the same night, Amleth executes vengeance on Feng.
* In the ''Highlander'' spinoff novel, ''The Element Of Fire', Connor Macleod is believed to have drowned while saving the life of a ship's captain. They give Connor a funeral at sea, with his spare set of clothes wrapped around a stone serving in place of his body. After the "burial", Connor climbs up the anchor line back onto the ship.
* ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: City of the Dead'' has Zak Arranda injected with [[OurZombiesAreDifferent revival formula]] and something designed to put him into a coma that looked like death. He wakes up, unable to move, in a coffin during his own funeral -- local traditions have the dead buried almost as soon as they're declared dead -- and gets to hear his sister weeping over him. Then he's BuriedAlive, and only then regains some mobility.
* In ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', Lemony Snicket does this after he's [[ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated believed to be dead]].
* A rather gut-wrenching version happens in ''Series/NeverWipeTearsWithoutGloves''. After revealing his sexuality to his mother, Benjamin gets a visit from both his parents. His parents bring roses and cake and while they are eating it dawns on Benjamin that it's not a social call -- to his parents [[IHaveNoSon this is his funeral.]] TruthInTelevision as people who leave Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced this (including the real-life person Benjamin was based on).

* Played with in the Literature/HonorHarrington series in a way, where the titular character is believed to have died for over two years before returning, and later makes mention of having watched her state funeral on TV, and lamented by her friend Michelle 'Mike' Henke, who laments not being declared dead as she would have enjoyed watching her own funeral.
* Doc Daneeka in ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'' had qualified for flight pay simply by entering his name into the flight log. He was declared killed in action when a plane he was 'on board' was downed. He attended his own funeral, mourning that his protests that he was still alive couldn't be officially lodged because he was officially dead.
* ''Literature/EyrbyggjaSaga'': Thorodd of Froda and his men have drowned in a shipwreck, and their bodies have not been found. When his family holds a funeral feast, and all the guests have been seated, Thorodd and his companions come in, soaking wet, and sit down by the fire. While the people are afraid to go near the ghosts, they welcome them and think it is "a happy omen, because in those days it was believed that drowned people had been well received by the sea-goddess, Ran, if they came to their own funeral feast." Unfortunately, the ghosts continue their visits after the feast is over, causing the farmpeople much trouble.

* ''Series/TheWeeklyWithCharliePickering'': Annie Louey's report on funeral costs opens with her attending her own and being shocked at how badly everything has been orgainised.

* John J. Berrio's essay, "Dead at 17" was turned into a recitation and has been recorded by several acts, most notably country music singer Red Sovine (in 1977, included on one of his last albums). His version is titled, "I'm Only Seventeen."
* The narrator of "The Gunner's Dream", from the Music/PinkFloyd album ''The Final Cut'', imagines or hallucinates doing this thing.

* The final movement of Music/HectorBerlioz's ''Music/SymphonieFantastique''. According to Berlioz's program notes, the protagonist, having poisoned himself with opium,
-->...sees himself at a witches' sabbath, in the midst of a hideous gathering of shades, sorcerers and monsters of every kind who have come together for his funeral.

* In Richard Wilson's fictional radio autobiography ''Believe It!'', Richard holds a funeral for his cat when Celia Imrie tells him he died. It turns out the cat just went missing, and returns half way through the funeral. Richard is struck by the revelation that the cat came back to see the funeral, and many years later gathers all his celebrity friends to hold a "dress rehearsal" of his own funeral. It doesn't go as well as he expected, and they eventually conclude that it doesn't work if he's there.
* In the Radio 4 dramedy about cancer survivors ''Bad Salsa'', one of the characters, when her cancer comes back, starts planning an elaborate Mexican-themed funeral, and then decides to have it ''now'', because why should she have to miss it? This does not go according to plan, with the eulogies veering into how she's incredibly self-centred and refuses to think about how upset her friends are by her situation.

* More like "Attending Your Own Wake": In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland Chapter 5: Rise of the Pirate God'', when Guybrush (as a ghost) goes through a rip in the Crossroads to Club 41 ''before'' going to the Manatee Mating Grounds in order to find the Voodoo Lady's locket (via another rip), Bugeye tells him to be quiet when he and W.P. Grindstump are "in the middle of a pirate wake", and Guybrush is surprised to find his own body holding a dartboard and wearing a party hat. He can look around the club and talk to Grindstump to find out what happened after Guybrush died at the hands of [=LeChuck=]. Afterwards, he can exit his own wake and continue on in his quest to get back in his own body, as before.

* Though Serge isn't there in time for the funeral in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', Serge does visit his grave in Another World and is found there by people who know he "should" be dead.
* [[LovableCoward Italy]] does this in ''VideoGame/HetaOni''; after a hiccup in the mansion's GroundhogDayLoop, he winds up caught in the only time loop where he didn't survive, and goes to visit his own dead body before finding the way back to his own reality. It's almost forgettable compared to the things before and after it, though.

* At the end of the Prologue mission in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', after executing a bank robbery and escaping from the local cops, Michael de Santa and Brad Snider were both shot by a sniper. Only the third robber, Trevor Philips, managed to escape unharmed. The next scene then showed Michael's funeral. The camera then panned out to reveal a healthy-looking and still-alive Michael, watching from the sidelines in disguise. [[spoiler: It was revealed later on in the game that Michael faked his own death because he wanted to get out of the criminal life and made a deal with the FBI in exchange for witness protection. The sniper that shot him is actually a FBI agent that was involved in the deal named Dave Norton (Michael wore body armor when he was shot). Next, the body inside his grave actually contained Brad's corpse in it (Dave accidentally shot Brad lethally in the chest when he stepped in front of Michael). As for Trevor, he believed that Michael is dead and Brad got sent to prison (Dave impersonated Brad by sending 'letters from prison' to Trevor). Until the mission Fame Or Shame, that is.]]

* ''VisualNovel/TheFruitOfGrisaia'': Central to the resolution of [[spoiler:Michiru]]'s plot arc. After her suicidal tendencies peak, Yuuji decides to make her realize how much she actually enjoys being alive... by killing her. Actually what he did was drug her so that she was awake and conscious but completely paralyzed, lying in a coffin while her friends hold a funeral. Then he buries her. The heartfelt reactions of her friends to her supposed death, as well as the terror of being BuriedAlive, convince her that she really does want to live, and when the drug wears off [[RiseFromYourGrave she digs her way out of the grave]]. (Yuuji, expecting this outcome, hadn't buried the coffin very deeply and had left an airhole in it so she wouldn't suffocate.)

* ''WebComic/ToPreventWorldPeace'': Tiffany, does it, when invisible, as people think she died, as seen on [[http://worldpeace.emilymarthasorensen.com/worldpeace413.html page 413]].
* In ''Webcomic/GooberGrove'', Rosco and Georgetta, having not seen Razzlyn in a couple weeks, immediately assume she's dead. They hold a funeral for her, which she ends up showing up to, unaware it's her own.

* There's a rather peculiar instance in an ''Everyday Weirdness'' story called "[[http://everydayweirdness.com/e/20090204/ Procession]]."
* ''Machinima/TheLeetWorld'' has one of sorts, where Player, having survived a grenade injury, makes the rest of the team hold a funeral for him, so he can see what it's like.

* ''Website/ClickHole'''s [[http://www.clickhole.com/article/revealed-fbis-secret-file-frank-sinatra-3539 presentation]] of the FBI report on Music/FrankSinatra shows that his funeral was attended by "top members of {{the Mafia}}, NASA administrator Daniel Goldin, UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, and Frank Sinatra."
* {{Inverted}} in the ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'' episode "The Factory by the Sea," where Praxis Industries employee Jack has the unwitting but cooperative CharacterNarrator join him to bear witness to his funeral, a BurialAtSea on a jetty outside the NightmarishFactory where he works. She helps him, still living, into his coffin, and pushes it off to sea as though it were a boat, while he shuts the lid on himself.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Subverted in "Simpsons Tall Tales", where Bart and Nelson play the roles of Literature/TomSawyer and Huck Finn. After a scene implies they've been hanged, they're shown hiding while their funeral is going on, grinning widely... only for it to be revealed that it's merely their corpses about to be lowered in the coffins (apparently there was a very good embalmer on hand or something, but probably RuleOfFunny is a more apt explanation).
** In "Lisa the Tree Hugger", Lisa lives in a redwood tree to prevent it from being cut down. She sneaks away one night to spend it with the family, at the same time the tree was struck by lightning and destroyed. The entire town believe her to be dead, and hold a large funeral for her, where the Rich Texan announces that he is turning the redwood forest into an amusement park in Lisa's memory. Lisa dramatically arrives, and announces her outrage.
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': In the episode "The Late Mr. Kent", a killer plants a bomb in Clark's car because Clark was digging too deeply into one of his previous crimes and was finding evidence that the guy he framed for it was innocent. The bomb makes Clark drive off the road and into the ocean, but since he's Superman, he survives. However, Clark couldn't simply emerge from the water as there was a witness to the accident, and, well, no normal human could survive something like that, forcing Clark to swim away and make everyone think he was dead until he could come up with a plausible excuse for how he survived without revealing his identity. As Superman, he was there to watch his own funeral.

* ''WesternAnimation/StrokerAndHoop'': Stroker faked his own death, as well as his son's and C.A.R.R.'s, in order to avoid a gang of ninjas, and then secretly attended his own funeral. Though Stroker later admits that bringing his son to his own funeral was a crappy idea.
* In ''Huck And Tom's Mississippi Adventure'', Huck pretended to drown, then watched his funeral by looking through the church window after climbing a tree.
* In "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E45DeadDuck Dead Duck]]", WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck "was late for his own funeral" and regretted this. He visited his grave, though, and was deeply disappointed.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "Grandma's Dead", one of Elmyra's pet hamsters dies around the same time her grandmother visits, which makes Elmyra upset and leads everyone to believe that her grandmother really died. When Elmyra throws a funeral for her pet hamster, everyone believes it to be for her grandmother, and thus are shocked when she shows up alive and well.
* In "It Won't be Long" from ''WesternAnimation/BeatBugs'', after Buzz and Morgs rescue themselves from being trapped in a hole without the other Beat Bugs realizing it, they approach them from behind, finding them in the middle of delivering a heartfelt eulogy.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Paranoid Frandroid", Stan and Roger fake Francine's death when the CIA declare her a threat to national security. She shows up at her funeral, but Stan's co-workers assume he's dating an IdenticalStranger.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': One episode had someone else accidentally getting Meg's driver's license and then getting hit by a car. This causes everyone in Quahog to think Meg is dead. Meg goes along with this and even watches her own funeral from afar. She's disappointed when she sees not that many people showed up.