# The Ghost and the Bonesetter explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

## What happens

Terry Neil, a bonesetter and farmer, is compelled to sit up overnight in the old castle as a tribute to the family. Despite his fear of the resident ghost—the old squire who haunts the castle—he and the steward Lawrence Connor attempt to keep watch. After drinking and a terrifying encounter, Terry finds himself on the floor at dawn, having broken a chair leg, and the ghost is never seen again.

## Themes in this chapter

### Supernatural and the Uncanny

The ghost of the old squire haunts the castle, breaking bottles and causing mischief, and is confronted by Terry Neil.

### Folklore and Local Tradition

The story is rooted in Irish folklore about ghosts, the duty of tenants to sit up in the castle, and the superstition of the last buried corpse.

## Character check-ins

### Terry Neil

The bonesetter and narrator's father, who is forced to sit up in the haunted castle and confronts the ghost.

### Mr. Purcell

The late parish priest whose manuscript papers contain the story.

## Key lines

> Why, thin, 'tis a quare story, an' as thrue as you're sittin' there; and I'd make bould to say there isn't a boy in the seven parishes could tell it better nor crickther than myself, for 'twas my father himself it happened to, an' many's the time I heerd it out iv his own mouth

The narrator asserts the story is true and that he heard it directly from his father, who experienced it.

_Opening claim of authenticity and oral tradition._

> Down wint the squire over the table, an' bang wint my father halfway across the room on his back, upon the flure.

The ghost knocked Terry Neil across the room, and he landed on his back.

_Climactic physical confrontation between Terry and the ghost._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/the-ghost-and-the-bonesetter
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters