Ghosts Page #2

"Ghosts" by Guy de Maupassant is a collection of short stories that delves into the themes of the supernatural and the unseen, exploring the intersection of life and death. With Maupassant's characteristic psychological depth and keen observation, the tales feature haunted individuals, eerie experiences, and the lingering presence of the past in everyday life. Each story reflects on human emotions and existential questions, showcasing Maupassant's mastery of tension and atmosphere while inviting readers to ponder the mysteries that lie beyond the veil of the ordinary.

• Short story

								

and to shut the window of the sexton's cottage carefully. Lastly, he
made arrangements as to what they were to do, in case anything
unforeseen should occur, whereupon the sergeant and the constable left
the churchyard, and lay down in a ditch at some distance from the gate,
but opposite to it.

Almost as soon as the clock struck half-past eleven, they heard steps
near the chapel, whereupon the police director and the young
Latitudinarian went to the window, in order to watch the beginning of
the exorcism, and as the chapel was in total darkness, they thought that
they should be able to see, without being seen; but matters turned out
differently from what they expected.

Suddenly, the key turned in the lock, and they barely had time to
conceal themselves behind the altar, before two men came in, one of whom
was carrying a dark lantern. One was the young man's father, an elderly
man of the middle class, who seemed very unhappy and depressed, the
other the Jesuit father K----, a tall, thin, big-boned man, with a thin,
bilious face, in which two large gray eyes shone restlessly under their
bushy, black eyebrows. He lit the tapers, which were standing on the
altar, and then began to say a Requiem Mass; while the old man knelt
on the altar steps and served him.

When it was over, the Jesuit took the book of the Gospels and the holy
water sprinkler, and went slowly out of the chapel, while the old man
followed him, with the holy water basin in one hand and a taper in the
other. Then the police director left his hiding place, and stooping
down, so as not to be seen, he crept to the chapel window, where he
cowered down carefully, and the young man followed his example. They
were now looking straight on his mother's grave.

The Jesuit, followed by the superstitious old man, walked three times
round the grave; then he remained standing before it, and by the light
of the taper, he read a few passages from the Gospel; then he dipped the
holy water sprinkler three times into the holy water basin, and
sprinkled the grave three times; then both returned to the chapel, knelt
down outside it with their faces towards the grave, and began to pray
aloud, until at last the Jesuit sprang up, in a species of wild ecstasy,
and cried out three times in a shrill voice:

"Exsurge! Exsurge! Exsurge!"[1]

[Footnote 1: Arise!]

Scarcely had the last word of the exorcism died away, when thick, blue
smoke rose out of the grave, which rapidly grew into a cloud, and began
to assume the outlines of a human body, until at last a tall, white
figure stood behind the grave, and beckoned with its hand.

"Who art thou?" the Jesuit asked solemnly, while the old man began to
cry.

"When I was alive, I was called Anna Maria B----," the ghost replied in
a hollow voice.

"Will you answer all my questions?" the priest continued.

"As far as I can."

"Have you not yet been delivered from purgatory by our prayers, and all
the masses for your soul, which we have said for you?"

"Not yet, but soon, soon I shall be."

"When?"

"As soon as that blasphemer, my son, has been punished."

"Has that not already happened? Has not your husband disinherited his
lost son, and made the Church his heir, in his place?"

"That is not enough."

"What must he do besides?"

"He must deposit his will with the Judicial Authorities, as his last
will and testament, and drive the reprobate out of his house."

"Consider well what you are saying. Must this really be?"

"It must, or otherwise I shall have to languish in purgatory much
longer," the sepulchral voice replied with a deep sigh; but the next
moment it yelled out in terror:

"Oh! Good Lord!" and the ghost began to run away as fast as it could. A
shrill whistle was heard, and then another, and the police director laid
his hand on the shoulder of the exorcisor, accompanied with the remark:

"You are in custody."

Meanwhile, the police sergeant and the policeman, who had come into the
churchyard, had caught the ghost, and dragged it forward. It was the
sexton, who had put on a flowing, white dress, and who wore a wax mask,
which bore striking resemblance to his mother, as the son declared.

When the case was heard, it was proved that the mask had been very
skillfully made from a portrait of the deceased woman. The Government
gave orders that the matter should be investigated as secretly as
possible, and left the punishment of Father K---- to the spiritual
authorities, which was a matter of course, at a time when priests were
outside the jurisdiction of the Civil Authorities; and it is needless to
say that he was very comfortable during his imprisonment, in a monastery
in a part of the country which abounded with game and trout.

The only valuable result of the amusing ghost story was, that it brought
about a reconciliation between father and son, and the former, as a
matter of fact, felt such deep respect for priests and their ghosts in
consequence of the apparition, that a short time after his wife had left
purgatory for the last time, in order to talk with him, he turned
Protestant.
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