Explore the eerie tale of encounters with a mysterious creature in a buckwheat field, featuring supernatural events and Chinese folklore.
In Changshan County, there was an old man named An who usually enjoyed farming. One autumn, after the buckwheat he had planted ripened and was harvested, it was stacked by the side of the field. At that time, there were thieves from nearby villages who were stealing crops. Because of this, Old Man An had the laborers load the crops onto wagons and transport them to a safe location under the moonlight. After they had loaded the wagons and left, he stayed behind alone to patrol the area, resting outdoors with a long spear as a pillow. As soon as he closed his eyes, he suddenly heard someone stepping on the buckwheat roots, making a “crunch, crunch” sound. He suspected that it was the crop thief and quickly raised his head to check. He saw a giant ghost, over ten feet tall, with bright red hair and a disheveled beard, already very close to him. The old man was shocked and didn’t think about anything else; he leaped up and stabbed the ghost with all his might. The ghost let out a thunderous howl and then disappeared. Afraid that the ghost might return, the old man carried his long spear and headed home. On the way, he met the laborers who were coming towards him. He told them everything he had just seen and advised them not to go there again, but the laborers were skeptical. The next day, while everyone was drying the buckwheat in the field, they suddenly heard a noise from the sky. Old Man An shouted in fear, “The ghost is coming!” He ran for his life, and everyone followed suit. After a while, they gathered again, and the old man told everyone to prepare more bows and arrows in case the giant ghost returned. Sure enough, the ghost returned the next day. Everyone fired their arrows simultaneously, and the ghost, frightened, fled. After that, the ghost didn’t return for two or three days. After the buckwheat was harvested and stored in the granary, the field was filled with scattered straw. The old man instructed the laborers to tidy it up and stack it into straw piles. He personally climbed on top and used his feet to make it compact. The straw pile was several feet high above the ground. Suddenly, he looked into the distance and loudly exclaimed, “The ghost is coming again!” Everyone rushed to find their bows and arrows, but at that moment, the giant ghost had already pounced on the old man, knocked him down, bit off a piece of his forehead, and then escaped. The laborers climbed to the top of the straw pile to check and found that a palm-sized piece of the old man’s forehead bone had been bitten off, and he was unconscious. They quickly carried him home, but he died shortly afterward. The ghost never appeared again. It remains unknown what kind of monster it truly was.
《荍中怪》
长山安翁者，性喜操农功。秋间荍熟，刈堆陇畔。时近村有盗稼者，因命佃人乘月辇运登场。俟其装载归，而自留逻守，遂枕戈露卧。目稍瞑，忽闻有人践荍根，咋咋作响。心疑暴客，急举首，则一大鬼，高丈馀，赤发须鬡，去身已近。大怖，不遑他计，踊身暴起，狠刺之。鬼鸣如雷而逝。恐其复来，荷戈而归。迎佃人于途，告以所见，且戒勿往，众未深信。越日，曝麦于场，忽闻空际有声，翁骇曰：“鬼物来矣！”乃奔，众亦奔。移时复聚，翁命多设弓弩以俟之。翼日，果复来。数矢齐发，物惧而遁。二三日竟不复来。麦既登仓，禾 杂遝，翁命收积为垛，而亲登践实之，高至数尺。忽遥望骇曰：“鬼物至矣！”众急觅弓矢，物已奔翁，翁仆，龁其额而去。共登视，则去额骨如掌，昏不知人。负至家中，遂卒。后不复见。不知其何怪也。