Ghost Biting

A chilling tale of a supernatural encounter where an old man confronts a ghostly visitor in mourning attire.

Shen Linsheng said: His friend, an old man named Mou, was taking a nap on a summer afternoon. In the midst of a hazy state of half-sleep, he saw a woman lift the door curtain and walk in. The woman had her head wrapped in white cloth and was dressed in mourning attire. She walked straight into the inner room. The old man guessed that it was his neighbor’s wife coming to visit his own wife. However, he had second thoughts – why would this woman suddenly come into someone else’s house dressed in mourning attire? As he was filled with doubt and fear, the woman had already come out. Upon closer inspection, the woman appeared to be in her thirties, with a swollen yellowish face, tightly furrowed brows, and a terrifying demeanor. She paced back and forth without leaving and slowly approached the old man’s sleeping bed. The old man pretended to be asleep and secretly watched what she would do. Before long, the woman lifted her dress and climbed onto the bed, pressing down on the old man’s stomach as if she weighed thousands of pounds. Although the old man knew everything clearly in his heart, when he tried to raise his hand, it felt as if it were tied down; when he tried to move his legs, they seemed paralyzed. He urgently opened his mouth to call for help but was unable to produce a sound. The woman used her mouth to sniff the old man’s face, from his cheekbones, nose, eyebrows, to his forehead, almost sniffing all over. The old man felt her mouth was as cold as ice, sending chills straight into his bones. In his distress and anxiety, the old man came up with a plan and waited for her to sniff the lower part of his face, intending to bite her then. After a while, the woman indeed sniffed near his cheek, and the old man seized the opportunity to bite her at the cheekbone. His teeth sank into her flesh. The woman screamed in pain as she struggled. The old man refused to let go and bit down harder. He felt blood continuously flowing down from her cheek, soaking the pillow. In the midst of the struggle, the old man suddenly heard his wife’s voice in the courtyard, so he urgently cried out that there was a ghost. He released his grip just as the woman floated away lightly. When the old man’s wife entered the room, she saw nothing unusual and laughed at him for having a bad dream and talking nonsense. The old man recounted the strange incident in detail, mentioning the bloodstains as evidence. They both examined the bed and found that it was soaked with blood, as if the house had leaked rainwater. When the old man bent down to smell it, it was extremely foul-smelling, causing him to vomit profusely. Even several days later, he still had a lingering stench in his mouth.

《咬鬼》

沈麟生云：其友某翁者，夏月昼寝，矇眬间，见一女子搴帘入，以白布裹首，缞服麻裙，向内室去。疑邻妇访内人者，又转念，何遽以凶服入人家？正自皇惑，女子已出。细审之，年可三十馀，颜色黄肿，眉目蹙蹙然，神情可畏。又逡巡不去，渐逼卧榻。遂伪睡以观其变。无何，女子摄衣登床，压腹上，觉如百钧重。心虽了了，而举其手，手如缚；举其足，足如痿也。急欲号救，而苦不能声。女子以喙嗅翁面，颧鼻眉额殆遍。觉喙冷如冰，气寒透骨。翁窘急中，思得计，待嗅至颐颊，当即因而啮之。未几，果及颐。翁乘势力龁其颧，齿没于肉。女负痛身离，且挣且啼。翁龁益力。但觉血液交颐，湿流枕畔。相持正苦，庭外忽闻夫人声，急呼有鬼，一缓颊而女子已飘忽遁去。夫人奔入，无所见，笑其魇梦之诬。翁述其异，且言有血证焉。相与检视，如屋漏之水，流枕浃席。伏而嗅之，腥臭异常。翁乃大吐。过数日，口中尚有馀臭云。