Birdie is a Necromancer, nothing ghastly, she does speak to the dead but only to help them on their way to the after life.  She gives them the coins they need to cross the River Styx and then her Reaper partner actually takes them down to the underworld.  Having the dead show up in her shop is not uncommon, having a man insisting he is not dead and unable to take the coins to move on, is a first.  It's also a first that said man cannot leave and it's up to her to find a way to help him move on and get him out of her hair at the same time.