Haunted Houses

There once lived a man in Seoul called Yi Chang, who frequently told as an experience of his own the following story: He was poor and had no home of his own, so he lived much in quarters loaned him by others. When hard pressed he even went into haunted houses and lived there. Once, after failing to find a place, he heard of one such house in Ink Town (one of the wards of Seoul), at the foot of South Mountain, which had been haunted for generations and was now left vacant. Chang investigated the matter, and finally decided to take possession.

むかし、ソウルにイ・チャンという男が住んでいて、自分自身の経験として次の話をよく語った。イは貧しく自分の家がなかったので、人に貸してもらった住まいで暮らすことが多かった。困り果てると、化け物屋敷にさえ入り込んで住んだ。あるとき住まいが見つからずにいると、南山のふもとの墨の町(ソウルの坊のひとつ)に、代々化け物が出て今は空き家になっている家があると聞いた。チャンはそのことを調べて、とうとうそこに住もうと決めた。

First, to find whether it was really haunted or not, he called his elder brothers, Hugh and Haw, and five or six of his relatives, and had them help clean it out and sleep there. The house had one upper room that was fast locked. Looking through a chink, there was seen to be in the room a tablet chair and a stand for it; also there was an old harp without any strings, a pair of worn shoes, and some sticks and bits of wood. Nothing else was in the room. Dust lay thick, as though it had gathered through long years of time.

まず、ほんとうに化け物が出るのかどうか確かめるために、チャンは兄のヒューとホー、それに身内の五、六人を呼んで、掃除を手伝ってもらい、そこで寝てもらった。その家には二階の部屋がひとつあって、しっかり鍵がかかっていた。すきまからのぞくと、部屋には位牌の椅子とその台があり、また弦のない古い琴と、すり切れた靴が一足と、棒や木切れがいくつかあった。部屋にはほかに何もなかった。塵が長い年月をかけて積もったかのように厚く積もっていた。

The company, after drinking wine, sat round the table and played at games, watching the night through. When it was late, towards midnight, they suddenly heard the sound of harps and a great multitude of voices, though the words were mixed and unintelligible. It was as though many people were gathered and carousing at a feast. The company then consulted as to what they should do. One drew a sword and struck a hole through the partition that looked into the tower. Instantly there appeared from the other side a sharp blade thrust out towards them. It was blue in colour. In fear and consternation they desisted from further interference with the place. But the sound of the harp and the revelry kept up till the morning. The company broke up at daylight, withdrew from the place, and never again dared to enter.

一同は酒を飲んでから、卓を囲んで遊びをしながら夜通し見張った。夜も更けて真夜中近くになると、突然琴の音と大勢の声が聞こえたが、言葉は入りまじってわからなかった。それは大勢の人が集まって宴で騒いでいるかのようだった。そこで一同はどうするか相談した。一人が刀を抜いて、楼を見通す仕切りに突き刺して穴をあけた。するとたちまち向こう側から、一同のほうへ鋭い刃が突き出てきた。それは青い色をしていた。恐れうろたえて、一同はそれ以上その場所にかかわるのをやめた。けれども琴の音と宴の騒ぎは朝まで続いた。一同は夜が明けると解散してその場所から引き上げ、二度と入る勇気はなかった。

In the South Ward there was another haunted house, of which Chang desired possession, so he called his friends and brothers once more to make the experiment and see whether it was really haunted or not. On entering, they found two dogs within the enclosure, one black and one tan, lying upon the open verandah, one at each end. Their eyes were fiery red, and though the company shouted at them they did not move. They neither barked nor bit. But when midnight came these two animals got up and went down into the court, and began baying at the inky sky in a way most ominous. They went jumping back and forth. At that time, too, there came some one round the corner of the house dressed in ceremonial robes. The two dogs met him with great delight, jumping up before and behind in their joy at his coming. He ascended to the verandah, and sat down. Immediately five or six multi-coloured demons appeared and bowed before him, in front of the open space. The man then led the demons and the dogs two or three times round the house. They rushed up into the verandah and jumped down again into the court; backwards and forwards they came and went, till at last all of them mysteriously disappeared. The devils went into a hole underneath the floor, while the dogs went up to their quarters and lay down.

南部にも別の化け物屋敷があって、チャンはそこに住みたがったので、もう一度友や兄弟を呼んで、ほんとうに化け物が出るのかどうか試してみた。入ってみると、囲いのなかに犬が二匹、黒いのと茶色いのがいて、開いた縁側の両端に一匹ずつ寝そべっていた。その目は燃えるように赤く、一同が怒鳴っても動かなかった。吠えもせず噛みつきもしなかった。けれども真夜中になると、この二匹は起き上がって中庭に下り、墨を流したような空に向かってこの上なく不吉なやり方で遠吠えしはじめた。二匹は跳ねて行ったり来たりした。そのときまた、礼服をまとった誰かが家の角を回ってやって来た。二匹の犬はたいそう喜んでその者を迎え、その者が来たのを喜んで前やうしろに跳びはねた。その者は縁側に上がって腰を下ろした。するとたちまち五、六匹の色とりどりの鬼が現れて、空き地の前でその者にお辞儀をした。それからその者は鬼と犬を率いて家のまわりを二、三度回った。それらは縁側に駆け上がってはまた中庭に跳び下り、行ったり来たりして、とうとうみな不思議に消えてしまった。鬼たちは床下の穴に入り、犬たちは自分の場所へ上がって寝そべった。

The company from the inner room had seen this. When daylight came they examined the place, looked through the chinks of the floor, but saw only an old, worn-out sieve and a few discarded brooms. They went behind the house and found another old broom poked into the chimney. They ordered a servant to gather them up and have them burned. The dogs lay as they were all day long, and neither ate nor moved. Some of the party wished to kill the brutes, but were afraid, so fearsome was their appearance.

奥の部屋にいた一同はこれを見ていた。夜が明けると一同はその場所を調べ、床のすきまからのぞいたが、古いすり切れたふるいと捨てられたほうきが何本かあるだけだった。家の裏へ回ると、煙突に突っ込まれたもう一本の古いほうきが見つかった。一同は召し使いにそれを集めさせて焼かせた。犬たちは一日じゅうそのまま寝そべっていて、食べもせず動きもしなかった。一行のなかにはその獣を殺そうと言う者もいたが、その姿があまりに恐ろしいので、怖くてできなかった。

This night again they remained, desiring to see if the same phenomena would appear. Again at midnight the two dogs got down into the court and began barking up at the sky. The man in ceremonial robes again came, and the devils, just as the day before.

その夜も一同はとどまって、同じことが起こるかどうか見ようとした。また真夜中になると二匹の犬が中庭に下りて空に向かって吠えはじめた。礼服の男もまた来て、鬼たちも前の日と同じように来た。

The company, in fear and disgust, left the following morning, and did not try it again.

一同は恐れと嫌悪で次の朝そこを去り、二度と試さなかった。

A friend, hearing this of Chang, went and asked about it from Hugh and Haw, and they confirmed the story.

一人の友がチャンからこの話を聞いて、ヒューとホーに尋ねに行くと、二人はその話が本当だと認めた。

There is still another tale of a graduate who was out of house and home and went into a haunted dwelling in Ink Town, which was said to have had the tower where the mysterious sounds were heard. They opened the door, broke out the window, took out the old harp, the spirit chair, the shoes and sticks, and had them burned. Before the fire had finished its work, one of the servants fell down and died. The graduate, seeing this, in fear and dismay put out the fire, restored the things and left the house.

さらにもうひとつ、家も住まいも失った一人の及第者が、不思議な音が聞こえたという楼のある墨の町の化け物屋敷に入った話がある。一行は戸を開け、窓を打ち破り、古い琴と霊の椅子と靴と棒を取り出して焼かせた。火がすっかり燃え尽きないうちに、召し使いの一人が倒れて死んだ。及第者はこれを見ると、恐れうろたえて火を消し、品々をもとに戻して家を去った。

Again there was another homeless man who tried it. In the night a woman in a blue skirt came down from the loft, and acted in a peculiar and uncanny way. The man, seeing this, picked up his belongings and left.

またもう一人、家のない男がそれを試した。夜中、青いスカートの女が屋根裏から下りてきて、奇妙で気味の悪いふるまいをした。男はこれを見ると、持ち物をまとめて去った。

Again, in South Kettle Town, there were a number of woodmen who in the early morning were passing behind the haunted house, when they found an old woman sitting weeping under a tree. They thinking her an evil bogey, one man came up behind and gave her a thrust with his sickle. The witch rushed off into the house, her height appearing to be only about one cubit and a span.

また、南の釜の町では、何人かの木こりが朝早く化け物屋敷の裏を通りかかると、一人の老婆が木の下に座って泣いているのを見つけた。木こりたちはそれを悪い化け物だと思い、一人がうしろから寄って鎌で突いた。その魔女は家のなかへ駆け込んだが、その背丈はたった一尺と一掌ほどに見えた。

Im Bang.

任埅(イム・バン)