# EMails From The Dead? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715 "2015-08-24T13:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/21 "2015-08-24T19:53:05Z")
Y’know. I guess if a ghost can slam doors and possess clown dolls and toss tennis balls through your ceiling and rearrange your furniture and live inside your TV, there’s no reason they couldn’t log into your computer, log into their old email account and reply with something typically, frustratingly cryptic. Not sure what cleans ectoplasm off your keyboard, though. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/22 "2015-08-24T19:54:59Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I just got ten emails from a dead colleague. Happens from time to time (when a bottish creature hacks a forgotten email account somewhere). See, this is the problem. Even when ghost communication by email works, the recipient doesn’t believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/23 "2015-08-24T20:00:37Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > See, this is the problem. Even when ghost communication by email works, the recipient doesn’t believe it. Well, I doubt that a gay colleague would have sent me links to a hot-babe site, so it was at best an impostor spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/24 "2015-08-24T20:01:11Z")
A little more information is needed. What you’re asking is, has there been planetwide experimentation along the lines of emailing dead people. To see whether they email back. Whether the dead people email back. Whether you can EMAIL DEAD PEOPLE. And whether they will EMAIL YOU BACK. Is this correct? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/25 "2015-08-24T20:07:04Z")
Of course. But they have to use dead operating systems and dead email clients, and they’re hard to come by. Even if they find one with a working Eudora, OS/2 and Amiga machines can’t get on the net, so frustrated ghosts can only keep bashing the Any key into eternity. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/26 "2015-08-24T20:17:38Z")
I keep emailing Marilyn Monroe for nudes but she hasn’t responded yet. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/27 "2015-08-24T20:40:33Z")
Bobby Weir e-mailed me threatening to file stalking charges once !!! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/28 "2015-08-24T20:54:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > On a related note, I don’t know why people expect ghosts to be dressed. Shouldn’t ghosts be naked? For a very long time, Jews and Christians buried people naked but wrapped in shrouds. Ghosts were depicted as either corpses wrapped in shrouds or as animated shrouds. Now a days, most Jews and Christians are buried in formal wear. But ghosts are often depicted as in white sheets of unspecified origin. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/29 "2015-08-24T21:00:10Z")
This is in General Questions, so I’ll factually answer the OP: Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/30 "2015-08-24T21:35:25Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Not sure what cleans ectoplasm off your keyboard, though. That only happens if the ghosts send dirty emails with nudes. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/31 "2015-08-24T21:43:48Z")
The dead, unsurprisingly, are dead. That’s why they’re called that. But don’t worry, you can still frighten and annoy the living after you’re long dead. [Deathswitch](http://www.wired.com/2014/11/talking-to-the-dead/) will take care of that for you. > [@](#): > > In 2006 he launched a real-life startup, Deathswitch, to provide the service. Subscribers are prompted periodically via email to make sure they’re still alive. When they fail to respond, Deathswitch starts firing off their predrafted notes to loved ones. The company now has thousands of users and effectively runs itself. Among the perks of a premium Deathswitch account is the ability to schedule emails for delivery far in the future: to wish your wife a happy 50th wedding anniversary, for example, 30 years after you left her a widow. Oh, I’m sure she’d be thrilled. “Hi honey, wish you were here. And I guess you soon will be. This dank and gloomy crypt needs a woman’s touch.” Anyway that’s the closest you’ll get to emails from the dead. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/32 "2015-08-24T22:26:30Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > That only happens if the ghosts send dirty emails with nudes. I’m not _suuure_ that’s ectoplasm. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/33 "2015-08-24T23:01:59Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > For a very long time, Jews and Christians buried people naked but wrapped in shrouds. Ghosts were depicted as either corpses wrapped in shrouds or as animated shrouds. Now a days, most Jews and Christians are buried in formal wear. But ghosts are often depicted as in white sheets of unspecified origin. But what difference does it make what you’re buried with? The general assumption seems to be that a ghost is just a spiritual manifestation of a dead person - their physical remains are still back in the coffin. An actual physical resurrection would be something like a mummy, a vampire, or a zombie. But if ghosts are just a spiritual manifestation, then what are they wearing? The ghosts of their clothing? This implies that inanimate objects have the same immortal souls as human beings have. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/34 "2015-08-24T23:12:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But if ghosts are just a spiritual manifestation, then what are they wearing? The ghosts of their clothing? This implies that inanimate objects have the same immortal souls as human beings have. In keeping with the GQ nature of this thread (i.e., none), then the fact (note - not a fact) is that ghosts are a manifestation of how the person saw themselves, and would therefore be expected to be wearing clothes (except for nudists, I guess). More information (or more accurately, guesses by people more [del]crackpot[/del] spiritual than me) [here](http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghosthuntinggeninfo/a/aa042708.htm). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/35 "2015-08-24T23:50:02Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > There’s no TCP/IP in heaven, let alone POP or IMAP. It’s just too insecure. Damn straight! That’s why God made the right choice with [OSI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model). ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/36 "2015-08-24T23:57:59Z")
The dead are way past text, and instagram, and tweeting, and geotagging is useless for them. They use aethernet. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/37 "2015-08-25T00:17:24Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > The dead are way past text, and instagram, and tweeting, and geotagging is useless for them. They use aethernet. Winner declared. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/38 "2015-08-25T01:20:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What do you mean “we”? You might have a lot more room here in the 21st century but I’m pretty sure I’ll be back in the 12th. > > It’s the hidden one percent - the people that actually understand how our modern technology works. The other ninety-nine percent of us are just using the stuff they build with no real idea how it works. Nonsense. You’ll be fine. There’s certainly no need for everybody to be a polymathic scientist / engineer / savant. What there is a need for, IMO, is for folks to reject the silly superstitions, tribalism, blinkered faith, and emoting-mislabeled-as-thinking which were the hallmark of the Dark Ages. Those are the character shortcomings that prevent a crowded, heavily armed, and deeply interconnected planet of 7 billion version 2.0 chimps from getting along safely. Your debunking of **Ralph** ’s silly question was spot-on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/39 "2015-08-25T01:43:23Z")
Let’s suppose that the dead can poke at a computer electromagnetically. They then have something like the capabilities of a kernel-level debugger: read/write access to physical memory, CPU registers, and so on. I use a kernel debugger pretty much every day and have been for over a decade. But I have no idea how to send an email via one, despite having complete low-level control over the computer. I could, given a bit of time, read emails. But writing one? Not going to happen. There are just too many intermediate steps for sending one. I guess I could overwrite someone’s email with spooky words, but that seems lame to me. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715/40 "2015-08-25T02:08:12Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Damn straight! That’s why God made the right choice with [OSI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model). It’s Windows in hell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-from-the-dead/728715.md?page=3)