Legend: A man began receiving messages from his girlfriend via Facebook more than a year after she died in an accident.

LEGEND

Example: [Collected via e-mail, July 2014]

I received a link to a site from a guy saying his dead girlfriend is contacting him through Facebook. It is a compelling story, but seems to be just that … a story. Any insights?

My girlfriend died on the 7th of August, 2012. She was involved in a three car collision driving home from work when someone ran a red light. She passed away within minutes on the scene.

We had been dating for five years at that point. She wasnÂ’t big on the idea of marriage (it felt archaic, she said, gave her a weird vibe), but if she had been, I would have married her within three months of our relationship. She was vibrant; the kind of girl that would choose dare every time. She was happiest when camping, but a total technophile too. She always smelled like cinnamon.

That being said, she wasnÂ’t perfect. She always said something along the lines of, Â“If I kark it first, donÂ’t just say good things about me. IÂ’ve never liked that. If you donÂ’t pay me out, youÂ’re doing me a disservice. IÂ’ve got so many flaws, and thatÂ’s just part of me.Â” So, this is for Em: the music she said she liked and the music she actually liked were very different. Her idea of affection was a side-hug. She had really long toes, like a chimpanzee.

I know thatÂ’s tangential, but I donÂ’t feel right discussing her without you having an idea of what she was like.

Onto the meat. Em had been dead for approaching thirteen months when she first messaged me.

[Rest of story here.]

