Reading: The Haunted House

A still image from Bong Joon-ho's movie "Parasite"

 - a man returned home from war after two years to find that his wife had moved to a neighboring estate

- he asked her why she had moved, and she responded that their original home was haunted and unfit to live in

- the man thought this was nonsense and insisted on moving back in 

- that night, the man was woken by hearing the name of his dead grandmother being whispered over and over

- the next night he was woken by being smacked on the head

- the man still refused to leave and decided to "catch" the mischievous spirit

- the next night he pretended to fall asleep and grabbed the shadowy figure when it came close to the bed

- it was not a ghost, but their servant girl!

- the man and his wife demanded an explanation

- the servant girl explained that she had tricked them into thinking the home was haunted so that she could live there for free with her husband

- they fired her :(

This story reminded me of the movie Parasite that came out earlier this year. If you haven't seen that movie, you should. It was the first foreign language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It's about a poor family who siphons resources from their employers, who are insanely privileged and awful people. That's an oversimplification, to say the least, but it's what reminded me of this story. Honestly I was impressed by the servant girl's scheme! 

Story Source: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, translated by Walter K. Kelly (1855).