A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Count Robert’s careless invitation begins when he kicks a skull lying near a cemetery and jokingly asks its owner to attend his banquet. At midnight the servants encounter a frightening ghost claiming to be the guest invited that morning. The count initially denies inviting anyone else, then remembers the insult and orders every door and balcony closed. Those barriers immediately open and the ghost enters the feast.

The visitor condemns Robert for adding disturbance of the dead to his other transgressions. As the guests hide or kneel, it seizes him by the throat, strangles him and carries him away. The narrator explicitly presents the ending as a warning against mocking the dead. The guest is tied to the kicked skull but receives no personal name, identifiable former profession or detailed skeletal anatomy. Crane discusses Don Juan parallels in an attached note, without making this particular count or ghost identical to every figure in those versions.

Returns after insult or theftHuman speechEnters domestic space
01

Origins & earliest records

Crane, Italian Popular Tales (1885), LXXI: The Gentleman Who Kicked a Skull, pp. 236–237; identified source: Bernoni, Venetian legends, p. 19.

02

Records & interpretation

The complete located selected account and its framing identify the supernatural visitor’s actions and ending. Oral narration, editorial condensation and comparative parallels are attributed to their particular witnesses.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Italian Popular Tales: LXXI: The Gentleman Who Kicked a Skull, pp. 236–237

    Thomas Frederick Crane; source: Bernoni, Venetian legends, p. 19 · 1885

    Complete located selected account and its attached framing; individual original collector’s text not separately collated here.

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.

  1. Primary literary witnessCrane 1885: LXXI: The Gentleman Who Kicked a Skull, pp. 236–237Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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