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

Overview

Two motionless dogs, one black and one tan, occupy a deserted Seoul house. At midnight their fiery red eyes and baying precede the arrival of a ceremonially dressed figure and five or six multicolored demons. The dogs welcome the visitor, and the company circles the house, jumping between veranda and courtyard before dispersing.

Investigators find a sieve and discarded brooms where the demons disappear and burn them, but the same procession returns the following night. The objects’ destruction therefore does not end this haunting, and the text does not conclusively make the brooms the demons’ bodies. Yi Chang’s brothers Hugh and Haw are said to have confirmed the account when questioned by a friend.

Nocturnal robed figure, colored demons and red-eyed dogsTale-specific identity
01

Origins & earliest records

Korea; tale-specific historical narrative

02

Records & interpretation

Complete story and attribution read in the 1913 English witness; no independent confirmation of supernatural events.

In the literature

“five or six multi-coloured demons”
Im Bang · Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
Tale36, Haunted Houses, printed p.179 (Gutenberg marker191) · James S. Gale

The retinue bows to a ceremonial-robed figure after the dogs welcome him.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

    Im Bang; translated by James S. Gale · 1913

    Tale 36, “Haunted Houses, South Ward account”, printed pp. 178–180 (Gutenberg page labels 190–192). English translation date, not the date of the narrated event.

  2. 02

    Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies — Haunted Houses

    Im Bang · 1913

    London:J.M.Dent/NewYork:E.P.Dutton1913, actual title page. Gale preface distinguishes Im Bang old manuscript, thirteen Yi Ryuk stories from1911 reprint, and three anonymous selections. Complete selected chapter/signature read; no Korean manuscript collation. Printed pagination checked in retained1913 PDF OCR; Gutenberg body markers are printed+12, physical PDFpages printed+16. No new page-pixel claim. Gale death1937 confirmed by UniversityToronto archival finding aid.

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.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

Im Bang; James S. Gale translation, London Dent/New York Dutton, 1913. Tale 36, “Haunted Houses, South Ward account”, pp. 190–192

Complete story and author signature read from cached Gutenberg51002 HTML. Translator’s bracketed introductions and author notes distinguished from narrative. No illustration claimed.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

London:J.M.Dent/NewYork:E.P.Dutton1913, actual title page. Gale preface distinguishes Im Bang old manuscript, thirteen Yi Ryuk stories from1911 reprint, and three anonymous selections. Complete selected chapter/signature read; no Korean manuscript collation. Printed pagination checked in retained1913 PDF OCR; Gutenberg body markers are printed+12, physical PDFpages printed+16. No new page-pixel claim. Gale death1937 confirmed by UniversityToronto archival finding aid.

  1. Yi Chang and companions test another house. Two black/tan dogs with fiery red eyes remain still until midnight, then bay and greet a ceremonial-robed figure. Five or six multicoloured demons bow and circle the house with him and the dogs. Demons disappear beneath the floor, where the party later finds old sieve and brooms; they burn the objects, but the same display recurs next night. A friend reportedly checks Chang’s account with Hugh and Haw.

    Tale36, Haunted Houses, printed pp.178–180, South Ward account within fully read chapter

Objects found after the event are not explicitly identified as transformed demon bodies. The two dogs are not killed, and burning does not banish the retinue. Alleged corroboration is within the authored report, not modern independent testimony.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical primary narrative translationTale 36, “Haunted Houses, South Ward account”, printed pp. 178–180 (Gutenberg page labels 190–192) — Im Bang, Gale translationResearch 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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