Megan Flaherty, 17-year-old New Jersey teen, apparently wants to be a funeral director when she grows up. She came up with an unusual way to arrive at her Pennsauken High School’s junior prom on Saturday by arriving in an open coffin, transported to the dance by a genuine hearse. Her prom date, Stephen Caldwell, rode in a more normal way in the hearse.

Prom date arrives in a coffin

The Star-Ledger reports that on arrival at the school, Flaherty was taken out of the back of the hearse, neatly arranged in her blue prom dress and lying with eyes closed in the open coffin.

With a huge grin on his face, Caldwell then took her hand as she elegantly stepped out of the coffin, ready for the dance. Her friends exclaimed loudly as this all happened.

Most high school students dream of their prom, picturing a beautiful dress and an elegant vehicle to arrive in, but Megan is a little, shall we say, different. According to Flaherty, she enjoys being different and said her strange entrance was mostly about having fun. There was a little method behind her madness, however, as she wants to become a funeral director when she leaves college, just like a family friend, Dennis McGee, who owns and drove the hearse to the prom. McGee was seen to be wearing a smart tuxedo and top hat for the occasion.

Hearse versus limousine is a family thing

It turned out she wasn’t the first in her family to arrive at the prom in such an unusual way. Her older brother reportedly also traveled to his prom in a hearse, but he didn’t get out of a coffin like she did. She wanted to take things a little further and her prom date was keen to participate.

However, she wasn’t prepared for all the photos that appeared on social media after the prom. Among the posts were comments such as “fresh to death” and “Drop Dead Gorgeous.” Others said it was "thinking outside the box."

Funeral directing in New Jersey teen’s future

However, not everyone found it funny and some call her actions tasteless and insensitive.

Flaherty says people judge anything people do nowadays as they “have opinions.” She went on to say that many people are a little uncomfortable when it comes to death and everything associated with it, adding that it is a natural part of life. She, herself, if quite comfortable with the whole idea and is interested in getting involved in mortuary work. She has helped McGee out at funerals and is planning to attend the funeral service program at Mercer County Community College.

While many criticized Megan’s controversial arrival at the junior prom, her mother reportedly loved it. Susan Flaherty told Inside Edition that their whole family loves to be a little theatrical, mainly due to the fact they are mummers.

They all play in a string band in the New Year’s Day Mummers Parade, which is well known for its skits and parodies. She did say that to some, death is a “touchy thing.”

Megan said when she got to the school and opened her eyes, she enjoyed watching her classmates’ reaction to her morbid arrival. She said she didn’t think they were really processing the whole thing because she is normally such a quiet person at school.