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Overview
A wealthy father refuses to let his two daughters marry, although each wishes to accept a suitor: one the son of the royal khalifah, the other the son of the qadi. The young women meet the men at night in a garden near the house. When their father discovers a meeting, he cuts his daughters’ throats the next morning, buries them in the garden and leaves on pilgrimage. The haunting grows from these particular deaths and graves, rather than an unexplained house-spirit or a living fairy’s disguise.
Later the two suitors arrange to visit the garden with a young man who plays the lute and rebab. Only the musician arrives, and he continues playing alone. At midnight two lamps appear and the sisters emerge from the earth beneath them. They identify themselves as the garden owner’s daughters, explain how they were killed and call the musician their brother for that night. They direct him to money their father buried in three cooking pots. He digs up the pots, carries them away and becomes rich; the sisters return to their graves. Their aid provides a single nocturnal gift, and the tale ends with their return underground.
Origins & earliest records
René Basset, Contes populaires berbères (Paris, 1887), no. 24, Le jardin hanté, complete pp. 51–52. Preface xiii identifies the Bou Semghoun source group as accounts supplied at Frenda in 1883 by the son of the former qaïd, then interned with his father after the South Oranais uprising.
Records & interpretation
Complete French narrative checked in original facsimile DjVu pages 89–90, printed pp. 51–52. Preface xiii inspected in original pixels: contributor relationship and internment context preserved, without inventing a personal name or claiming these were recorded in Bou Semghoun itself.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Contes populaires berbères
No. 24, Le jardin hanté, pp. 51–52; Preface xiii, Frenda 1883 collection and internment context.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected narrative; original facsimile inspectedOriginal edition, The haunted gardenResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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