M any years ago, in Germany, between the town of L. and the village of B., there was an uninhabited, crumbling castle, sitting on the top of a high mountain, surrounded by shrubbery, with an extended forest at its feet. The general perception of the village was that it was haunted. For this reason, the villagers who passed by it after dark, passed in fear; if possible, they preferred a detour.

One day the villagers were informed by a traveller (who had seen it with his own eyes) that on the previous night, passing by the castle, he had seen light in one window, and also a shadow sliding by. It had given him a right shock. He had run to the village as fast as he could to tell everything to the bailiff. The bailiff then decided that some strong men should spend a night at the castle to kill the ghost. But everybody lacked the courage to do so. The villagers had become so frightened by all that had happened that from now on, coming from the town by nightfall, they made a detour to avoid going past the dreaded castle. The bailiff understood that things could not go on like this and promised twenty thalers [1] to whoever had the courage to spend one night at the castle. But still, nobody showed up.

Finally there came Jan the blacksmith, a sturdy, middle-aged man who had received a nickname from all who knew him for the brave deeds he had done for the village during the flooding. They called him Jan Without Fear. Having heard all that had happened, he immediately took on the assignment, whilst being cheered by the whole town. That same evening, he went on his way to the castle. With him he took a lantern, some pitchers of beer, a pot of flour, and a large hammer as his only weapon. Having arrived at the castle, he went straight to the kitchen, lit his lantern, fetched some dry wood from the shrubbery, and lit a fire in the hearth. He sat down on a bench and drank some glasses of beer. After having rested a bit, he made batter out of the flour and started baking cakes. He was completely at ease here, and without fear, as if he was in an ordinary house. He was surprised at not having seen anything of the ghost yet.

But hardly had the village clock struck midnight, when he heard a rustling noise above his head. That'll be the ghost, Jan thought, but he was still very surprised when a leg fell down the chimney, right on top of his cakes.

Oh, that's nice, he thought, and he threw it into a corner. Fifteen minutes later, another leg fell on his cakes, which he threw into the same corner. After this, there followed a trunk, two arms, and a skull, all of which Jan threw into the corner. Without being fazed by all this, he continued his baking. Just when he had finished, he heard some movement in the corner.

He turned his head and saw that the bones had arranged themselves into a complete skeleton.

The skeleton beckoned Jan to come along with him. Jan followed him, mostly out of curiosity to know what he wanted. He took his lantern along, and also his hammer, which he hid under his coat. In the corridor, the ghost opened a door that led to a subterranean vault. After having passed through several nasty, chilly vaults, the skeleton finally opened a large, heavy iron door, which led to an even darker vault. In this vault, the skeleton pointed at a large stone on the floor. Jan understood his gesture, picked up a strong old tool lying there, and used it to lift the stone and some other stones around it. After having worked at this for quite a while, he saw three large chests.

Jan then turned around to look at the ghost. It began to speak. In a disagreeable, hollow, sepulchral voice, it said, "I am the ghost of the deceased knight to whom this castle and all these treasures belonged. During my lifetime, I was known everywhere for being an old skinflint, and that is how I died. But as a punishment for my avarice, I have never found peace in my grave and must return all nights to guard over my treasures. I could not be released until a human being came here in the night and accomplish what I can no longer do, namely to divide these three chests containing all my treasures. One for the church, one for the poor, and this one for you, my rescuer, for the service you have done me. Try to make better use of it than I did. Now I can return to my grave in order and peace."

Thereupon the ghost disappeared, even before Jan had recovered from his surprise and had had the chance to thank him for what he had done. When Jan came back to the ground floor, it was broad daylight. He immediately went to see the bailiff, who was surprised to see Jan alive. Jan told him everything. The will of the deceased knight was faithfully carried out. As for Jan, he did not want to accept the promised reward of twenty thalers, so he gave the money to the poor.

Thanks to the treasure, Jan was now immensely rich. He sold off his smithy and went to lead a quiet and simple life with his wife and children in a large house. He was very good to the poor, and all the people who knew him esteemed and respected him. And in addition, ghosts were heard of no more from that moment on.