Chinese Ghost Stories: The Newly Departed Spirit

The Newly Departed Spirit Meets an Old Friend

A newly departed ghost, frail and starving, was in utter misery. One day, he unexpectedly encountered an old friend who had been dead for over twenty years. To his surprise, the friend looked robust, even healthier than when alive, radiating energy and vitality. Curious, the ghost asked, "How did you manage this? I’m so hungry I can barely stand. Do you have a secret? Please, teach me!"
The friend replied with a knowing smile, "It’s simple! Whenever you see a human, act like a ghost and scare them. They’ll be so terrified that they’ll offer you food and sacrifices." The newly departed ghost was thrilled to hear this advice.

Trying to Find Food

The next day, he entered a village to the east in search of a target. He came across a devout Buddhist household, and upon entering, he saw a woman grinding wheat. Wanting to scare her, he approached the millstone and whispered in a ghostly voice, "I...am...a ghost," while mimicking the motion of pushing the millstone.

But instead of screaming in fear, the woman exclaimed joyfully, "Amitabha Buddha! Everyone, come see! The Buddha has shown mercy to us poor folks by sending a ghost to help me grind wheat. Praise the heavens and the Buddha’s kindness!"

She then brought out over a dozen bags of wheat from the storeroom and handed them to the newly deceased ghost. Satisfied, she cheerfully left to attend to other tasks. The ghost toiled away until nightfall, grinding several dozen bushels of wheat without getting so much as a single bite to eat. Exhausted and famished, he dragged his weary body back home. Feeling tricked by his friend, he went to confront him. His friend, however, encouraged him with a laugh: “Try another household tomorrow. You should be able to get some food then.”

The next day, the ghost decided to try his luck in another village to the west. This time, he approached a house where the family practiced Taoism. Outside their home, there was a large wooden mortar for hulling rice. The ghost decided to imitate the same tactic. He stepped up to the mortar, pretended to pound rice, and announced in a spooky voice, "I am a ghost!" To his dismay, the master of the house clapped his hands in delight and said, "Amazing! Yesterday, I heard there was a ghost grinding wheat in the eastern village. I never thought it’d be my turn today to have one pounding rice for me!" The master quickly brought out a large supply of grain and instructed the ghost to keep pounding.

Once again, the ghost worked from morning till night, tirelessly pounding rice. Yet, just like the day before, he wasn’t given a single morsel of food. By the time the day ended, he was utterly drained.

Are You Afraid of Ghosts?

Late at night, the ghost dragged his weary body back home, seething with anger. He confronted his old friend, saying, "When you were alive, we were the best of friends. I helped you solve countless problems, and I even took care of your funeral. Yet now, not only are you ungrateful, but why do you deliberately make a fool of me? For the past two days, I’ve followed your advice to scare people, but in the end, I’ve worked for nothing and haven’t even earned a bowl of rice to eat!" His friend tried to comfort him. "Ah, it seems you’ve had bad luck! Those families you visited were devoted Buddhists or Taoists. Naturally, they wouldn’t be frightened so easily. Tomorrow, try going to an ordinary household. I’m sure you’ll succeed there."

The next day, the ghost wandered for a long time until he came across a small, remote village. He floated through the window of a house and saw a large white dog sitting in the courtyard. Nearby, a group of women were gathered by the window, enjoying a meal. The ghost picked up the dog and walked around the courtyard, making it appear as though the dog was floating in midair. The family was terrified; they had never witnessed such a strange sight before. Panicking, they called a shaman to perform a divination. The shaman told the group of women that a foreign ghost had come to demand food. He instructed them to quickly slaughter a white dog and prepare delicious fruits and dishes to offer as a sacrifice in the courtyard to appease the ghost. Otherwise, he warned, calamity would befall them. The family followed the shaman’s instructions, and the newly deceased ghost indeed received plenty of food, feasting to his heart’s content. From that day on, he began causing mischief everywhere he went!