The effect of the Great Rings upon Men

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

When the Witch-king's spirit was separated from his body, his clothing and armor was "empty", meaning it had before been filled by something physical. And it was only after his "death" that his voice became bodiless. But that begs the question of why the body did not remain on the earth when the spirit passed. I think that can be explained by the special status of the Nazgûl as "undead". Their bodies retained an ability to affect the "real" world, though because their time on earth had been so far extended beyond their natural span, their original bodies were mostly in the Unseen Realm.

This almost sounds like the "fading" that Elves go through where their bodies can't hold their fëar and eventually dissipate and are held like a memory.

"They eventually became housed, if it can be called that, not in actual visible and tangible hröar, but only in the memory of the fëa of its bodily form, and its desire for it; and therefore not dependent for mere existence upon the material of Arda." [Morgoth's Ring]