19 Prom Stories That'll Make You Relieved You Never Went (2024)

As another prom season comes and goes, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their wildest stories from the dance. Here's what they had to say:

1. "I've always been a terrible dancer, but I decided to dance on prom night and not care what anyone thought. The next day everyone asked how much I'd been drinking. Sadly, I was stone sober."

Brett Roedel / © Hulu / Courtesy Everett Collection

—axj66

2. "I once got into a car accident the day of prom. I still went to prom. My date made me go because he rented a tux and didn't want to waste his money."

—Aleah, Oregon

3. "I was on a double date with my bestie Lori and her date who drove. I knew my date didn't have a lot of money (neither of us did), so when we went out to dinner I played it safe and ordered the same thing he did. I had never had scallops before. They were good. We're at the prom an hour later and I feel a little queasy. It didn't pass. We got our pics taken. You have never seen such a pasty, shiny, sweaty face in a prom pic!"

4. "I asked my friend's friend/neighbor to prom after hanging out with him and getting to know him for a few months during my senior year of high school. He said he couldn't because he was going on a family vacation. I said it was fine and that was that. Prom day comes and my friend, who is also friends with this kid, has us all at her house for pics. Who shows up with another girl from my grade?"

"I don't directly call him out because I was so shocked, but the girl he showed up with was a friend of mine and had NO IDEA I asked him and got rejected. She was furious but we still went to prom in the same limo. I was so embarrassed. It was later revealed that my being overweight was too much for him to deal with and he didn't want to be seen with me. The girl he took ended up not even looking at him all night and all the girls in the room stayed with me and danced. It was super hurtful and I still remember that sinking feeling, even now in my 30s."

—theicebox720

5. "Our school principal found three used condoms on the floor during clean up after prom my freshman year. At least they were using protection?"

6. "This is more embarrassing than wild. At my senior prom, I won prom queen while my high school boyfriend did not win king. The person who won prom king was someone on the football team, who also was attending prom with his girlfriend. I was a band/theater kid and my class was over 600 people, so we had no clue who each other was. I think this was the only time I ever interacted with him. Anyway, the DJ then insisted that the prom queen and king should slow dance alone on the dance floor in front of everyone. Since we were strangers we just stood there, and after 45 seconds of Ed Sheeran, the DJ finally let other people join the dance floor."

"The prom king and I split ways and went to our significant others. Later on that night, I went to the bathroom and ran into three drunk girls. One of them was throwing up. They congratulated me, but the girl throwing up told me how embarrassing the whole scene was."

—sfallen1s

7. "Not wild like a Carrie prom or anything, but now that I am middle-aged and a high school teacher, it is WILD that my mother let me have a 22-year-old prom date when I was 16."

8. "I brought straws to prom because I didn't want drinks to mess up my lipstick. When the teachers checked purses at the door, they grilled me over the paper straws I brought. I told them the reason and they eventually dropped it. A few hours later, I realized why they were being so harsh on me. They thought I was going to use the straws to snort drugs at prom. FML."

—sfallen1s

9. "One of our strictest teachers bought a large bottle of alcohol, then began to try to dance with one of the students drunkenly. They were fired."

10. "One half of our school's 'cutest couple' dumped his longtime girlfriend to ask me to prom, despite my repeatedly telling him in no uncertain terms to leave me the hell alone. He was a creep. I did end up having a great prom night at a friend's prom, where Mr. 'cutest couple' was guaranteed not to be."

—losfrangeles

11. "My daughter and her longtime boyfriend broke up a couple of months before her senior prom and she didn't want to go. She changed her mind a week before, so we bought her a ticket, went dress shopping, the works. She had an awesome high school experience up until then. She cheered, was an honor student, and had lots of friends, so I expected even though it wasn't going the way she'd pictured, she'd still have a blast. The day of, she got ready: hair, nails, tan, and a gorgeous dress. She was stunning."

12. "WORST NIGHT: I was so excited. He bought tickets and neither of us were really 'dance' people, so our going was kind of a thing. I got a beautiful floor-length gown, his sister did my hair and makeup, and he looked handsome. It was great up until we walked in. He made eye contact with his ex. They danced all night and he left with her. He didn't say a word to me all night once we got there."

"I had to ask one of his friends for a ride back into town. It was a small town so events were always an hour away. It was the most awkward ride home ever. I never spoke to the douche canoe again. He was my first boyfriend and we pretended like neither existed after that night. Ah, high school."

—whaaale_whale_whale

13. "He ended our situationship after prom because he wasn't over his ex-girlfriend. Thanks for leading me on buddy, it's not like I had a huge crush on you or whatever."

14. "I hadn't intended on going to my prom. I was pretty much a loner/outsider with no girlfriend. Some girls approached me about taking a girl who had just broken up with her boyfriend. I had to rush around to get an outfit, arrange a pre-prom dinner, and my mom asked one of my cousins if I could use his brand new Chevy Cutlass."

"We got to prom, descended the staircase, and she saw her old boyfriend. She ran down the stairs into his arms with EVERYONE watching and laughing. She then disappeared into the ladies room and despite my having seen her, her friends insisted she wasn't in there. I quietly slipped out and drove around in that Cutlass for the rest of the night."

—Anonymous, Washington D.C.

15. "My daughter's prom horror story. She had already been to her prom with her boyfriend. They had fun and everything was great. Her boyfriend's prom is two weeks later. They are getting ready to leave for dinner reservations when they get on his souped-up four-wheeler. He's going too fast and throws her off the golf cart."

16. "It was my junior prom. I had been going steady with a guy for two years and we were headed toward marriage after high school. My mom insisted on sewing my prom dress. It had a high collar, long sleeves, many buttoned cuffs, and was floor length. I was so hot and miserable. The only skin to get air was my head and hands. I realized years later what she was up to!"

—DP, Michigan

17. "I had the wildest senior prom for a class of 42 people. First, a couple on their way to prom hit a deer and showed up all bloody after they dislodged it from under the car. Next, the Baptist preacher's daughter was wearing a halter-style dress and her boyfriend accidentally broke the clasp at the neck so she flashed everyone. Finally, a guy threw an afterparty at his girlfriend's house. The girlfriend was the 26-year-old former math teacher who resigned the previous December. We all are looking forward to discussing everything at our 10-year reunion."

18. "The prom king was in our prom group. The prom itself was fine. There was a limo, pictures, dinner, and dancing. We decided to hang out after at our friend's dad's land in the middle of nowhere. We had a bonfire going but the real reason for going to the land was these massive swings that my friend's dad hung up when they were little. You get at least 50 to 60 feet in the air. Well, my prom date and the prom king decided to use the two swings at the same time."

"It was like a horror film. The flashlights we had died right as they took off. One came on just in time to see them collide, head to front teeth. Long story short: my prom date knocked out the prom king's front tooth the night of prom. He now has a fake front tooth. Let's just say, his mother was not thrilled with us."

—Hannah, Alabama

19. And finally, "A friend and I were hanging out trying to figure out our plans for the evening. I remembered the next town over was having their prom that night so I asked him if he wanted to go. He was like, 'What if we get caught?' and I said, 'What are they gonna do, arrest us?' I was a senior so I had a stash of prom dresses ready. I also had this cool turquoise and black tuxedo jacket I picked up at a vintage store for my 'date.'"

What's your wildest prom story? Share it in the comments!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.