A Death Doula’s Out-of-Office Auto-Reply Email

Created
Sat, 18/04/2026 - 01:00
Updated
Sat, 18/04/2026 - 01:00

Thanks for reaching out. I’ve stepped away from my office, but I’ll respond promptly when I return. To clear up any confusion, please be advised that:

  • I don’t suffocate people with pillows.
  • Hexes cost extra.
  • I don’t know Florence + The Machine personally, although I have memorized her lyrics.
  • I can’t encourage people to applaud at a cremation. That has to happen organically.
  • I don’t have any skeletons lying around to rent out.
  • My office isn’t in a graveyard. That’s why I didn’t hear you screaming for me last night.
  • I don’t accept IOUs for payment.
  • I can’t translate what ravens and crows say to each other.
  • It’s the wrong season for a séance.
  • I can’t guarantee you a spot in heaven or your ex a spot in hell. God and I haven’t spoken since the 2024 election, and Satan no longer returns my phone calls.
  • I’m not interested in buying wolves, brooms, or black cloaks. I’ve got plenty of all three.
  • My services don’t include sneaking psychedelics into your morphine drip.
  • Your dead uncle doesn’t visit me in my dreams. Unless he’s Cillian Murphy.
  • I don’t communicate with the moon.
  • Black cats don’t come when I call them.
  • I can’t speak to the accuracy of Beetlejuice.
  • I won’t sit next to anyone’s deathbed, pretend I’m a ghost, and whisper, “Can we speed this up?”
  • I’m not going to push anyone off a balcony. That’s illegal here too.
  • Hades is outside my jurisdiction.
  • I can’t make your grandpa look like Elvis for the viewing.
  • Holy water doesn’t burn, Bibles don’t slide away when I reach for them, and spontaneous thunder and lightning don’t happen when I walk into a church. Not every time, anyway.
  • I’m not a birthing doula. I do the other thing.