The Ghost

Necip Feyzi Bey had been invited by his dear friend, Colonel Şevket Hakkı Bey, to stay for a fortnight at the mansion of the late Hajji Necmeddin Bey, former grand treasurer, located in Kozyatağı. Şevket Hakkı Bey was the son-in-law of the late treasurer. The family, known for their penchant for pleasure and indulgence, often found themselves bored in this secluded mansion, so they constantly invited guests, and the place was filled with numerous male and female visitors each day.

The guests spent their days engaged in games such as backgammon, cards, and dominoes, laughing and enjoying themselves until evening. As Necip Feyzi was not particularly fond of games, he found himself rather bored during the first few days. However, on the third day, he unexpectedly struck up a friendship with a young lady who happened to sit beside him at dinner. Şevkiye, a charming woman whose beauty eclipsed her intellect, was residing with the family of the late treasurer, her relatives, because her husband was stationed as a government officer in a distant province. Whatever Necip said, Şevkiye responded with wide-eyed astonishment, yet she readily believed everything he said. Necip greatly appreciated the naivety of this woman, and they soon found themselves engaged in a lengthy conversation.

Şevkiye was as mentally naive as she was physically voluptuous and captivating. Her shoulders, bosom, waist, and hips displayed divine proportions and alluring curves, resembling a figure sculpted from wax. Her eyes sparkled with the sweetest glances, and her lips were perpetually graced with gentle smiles. So much so that, in just two days, Necip found himself consumed by a deep hunger and an insatiable desire for this woman. He began to think, “How can I seize the moment and pounce on her?”

One morning, as Şevkiye stepped out of her room, she approached him, seemingly agitated, and said, “Oh, how frightened I was last night, Necip Bey!”

With great courtesy, Necip replied, “What frightened you, hanımefendi?”

“I thought someone had entered my room in the darkness of the night, and I nearly had a heart attack. I could almost hear them walking…”

Necip Bey, looking concerned, asked, “Do you not lock your door?”

“I do lock it, but because the weather is so warm, I leave the windows open. The balconies, as you know, are so close together that it’s quite easy to jump from one to the other… Besides, this mansion has always made me uneasy. It’s an old house, filled with so many nooks, crannies, cellars, and attics that I’ve been frightened of it since childhood. My nanny used to tell me all sorts of ghost stories about this place when I was little… Last night, I remembered those stories, and I couldn’t blink an eye until morning… I was trembling the whole time…”

Necip Bey, pleased to have finally found the solution he had been searching for over the past few days, smiled and said, “You have every right to be afraid, hanımefendi. I too have a deep fear of ghosts… They are not to be trifled with; they can strike you down in an instant… I used to be a skeptic, but I’ve seen those who have been struck by them with my own eyes…”

“Oh my God!”

“Yes, oh my God!… But I must say, not every ghost is wicked or vicious. Some can be quite pleasant, indeed, even exceptionally kind… In fact, the term ghost refers to those who return from the dead; they say they come back just as they were during their time on Earth… So, the good remain good, the flirtatious remain flirtatious, and the wicked remain wicked… Some apparently even engage in quarrels with the women they find alone…”

“What are you saying, for the love of God?!”

“Indeed, indeed… I have asked around quite a bit about this… they say that resisting them, especially shouting and making a fuss, can provoke their wrath, and in which case they might strike you… There is a tale about a man who got married. On his wedding night, before he had even lain with his bride, he undressed in his room and went to the bridal chamber, only to find that the bride had fled, leaving the room completely empty…It turns out the bride had fallen for a ghost who had visited her and eloped with it… These ghosts, they are almost like humans, you know!”

“What an indecent woman she was!… And what did the poor man do?”

“What could he do? He was so frantic that he dashed out into the street, desperately searching for his wife… Naturally, no one had seen or heard from her again… The poor woman had simply vanished!”

“Oh my God, what a terrible thing!”

“Those who disappear like this often return to play various tricks just to indulge, as a ghost, in pleasures they never experienced in life… But there’s really no reason to be afraid. As I mentioned before, if you don’t shout, cry out, or resist, they won’t harm you. The best thing you can do is simply not think about it and sleep in peace… After all, whatever is meant to happen will happen, and no amount of worry or anxiety on your part can prevent it…”

In the meantime, the conversation shifted, and they began discussing other topics.

However, that night, just as the clock struck midnight, Şevkiye Hanım was violently woken from her sleep, sensing that her window had been opened. Indeed, the window had been opened, and a shadow was creeping in. The room was so dark that it was difficult to see clearly, but she could make out the silhouette. At first, she wanted to scream, but recalling Necib Bey’s advice, she restrained herself. Trembling uncontrollably, she began to recite whatever prayers came to her mind.

The specter stood silently by the wall, not moving. After a moment, it began to approach the bed. The young woman, fearing she might go mad, pressed her hands against her chest to stifle any sound. The specter slipped under the covers, joining her in bed. Şevkiye felt frozen, utterly crushed by the weight of her terror, unable to breathe. Her heart raced wildly at the thought of what it might do. A minute passed. The specter stirred, reaching out with its arm to grasp her chest and breasts. Oh God, was this ghost truly one of those flirtatious ones that Necip Bey had mentioned? The hands, as if belonging to a living man, played with her breasts, squeezing them. Şevkiye, fearing she would be struck down if she made a sound, first tried to hold herself back. Yet, slowly, she began to feel a stirring desire awaken within her, surrendering to a delicate pleasure.

Soon, those hands ventured into more intimate, private territories, and the ghost drew closer, claiming her lips. In that moment, Şevkiye, feeling as if this contact was undeniably alive and intoxicating, surrendered herself limply to pleasure. And they found bliss together. This silent act of love, infused with her fear, felt unlike anything she had ever experienced before, leaving her in a state of unparalleled ecstasy. So profound was her sensation that when the ghost finally rose and withdrew in the early hours of the morning, she remained behind, feeling a deep sadness and a lingering sense of longing.

The young woman spent the entire day, seeking solitude, lost in thoughts as she imagined and contemplated the details and intricacies of her encounter with the ghost. As night fell, she retreated to her room early, wondering if it would come again…

She did not blink an eye until late into the night, waiting. But no one came. Just when it grew quite late and all sound faded into silence, as the woman was about to surrender to the languor of sleep, she heard a sound coming from the window. Her heart raced. Yes, the ghost was returning…

The ghost entered the room and lay down beside her once more, gripping her breasts and exploring her warmer, more intimate areas again. In fact, just like the previous night, it began to engage in even bolder acts.

The young woman was so completely overcome that she offered no resistance; instead, she surrendered to a profound and endless yearning filled with overwhelming desire. The act of love repeated three times, just as it had the night before.

As they lay side by side, resting, they must have dozed off. When the young woman opened her eyes in the morning, who should she see beside her in bed, their heads touching and legs intertwined, but none other than Necip Feyzi?

She shook him awake in a fit of rage. “What are you doing here? What’s going on? Weren’t you a ghost?” she shouted.

Necip tried to hush her, saying, “Yes, I was a ghost, I was a ghost…”

“What kind of ghost is this? Aren’t you ashamed?”

“No, hanımefendi… Didn’t I tell you? I said that ghosts die and return, didn’t I? I came back last night… and I’ve come back again tonight…”

Ahu Baba