Ghosts roamed through the city of Quzhou, and when the night was deepest, pedestrians dared not walk alone.

There was a specter in the bell tower, horned and hideously visaged; if it heard footsteps, it would rush out to terrify passersby.

Startled travelers would flee, inevitably falling ill upon their return; many, struck by terror, ultimately met their demise.

The city also harbored a certain pond, where, as night fell, a length of white cloth would rise from the waters, stretching out like a bolt of silk; should a traveler reach out to grasp it, the cloth would swiftly entwine and drag them beneath the surface.

In that pond also dwelled a kind of duck-ghost; when the deep night was silent and utterly still, travelers passing by might hear the quack of a duck—and upon hearing it, they would immediately be afflicted by sickness.