The ring

Ghost story from Spain.

A man who once made a long sea voyage came to a cemetery that was very close to the sea. The waves after a storm had washed away the land and many graves lay open. The bones of the dead had been tossed about and lay on land. As he walked around the cemetery looking at the misery, he saw a skeletal hand on the ground. On one of the fingers was a magnificent ring adorned with a glittering ruby. The man thought that no one would miss that ring and therefore took it home to his wife.

When the man got home, he showed the precious gift to his wife, but did not tell where he found it. “Thank you, dear husband!” said the surprised wife. "This ring is so beautiful that I will wear it day and night."

When evening came they went to sleep and the wife still had the ring on her hand. But just a little after midnight, the wife woke up to someone calling her outside in the dark. A voice said, “My ring, my ring. Give me back the ring you stole from me! I'm under your window!”

The wife screamed and immediately woke her husband. “Dear husband, who could it be?” she wondered anxiously. "Just ignore it," her husband replied. "It's leaving soon."

But a little while later the voice was heard again: “My ring, my ring. Give me back the ring you stole from me! Now I'm standing outside your bedroom door!”

The wife woke her husband again. “Dear husband, who could it be?” she wondered anxiously. "Just ignore it," her husband replied. "It's leaving soon."

But soon the voice was heard again: “My ring, my ring. Give me back the ring you stole from me! Now I'm under your bed!”

Now the wife was really scared and woke her husband. . “Dear husband, who could it be?” she asked. "Just ignore it," her husband replied. "It's leaving soon."

But then the covers were torn off the bed and a voice hissed in the wife's ear: "My ring, my ring. Give me back the ring you stole from me! Now I have my hand in your hair and now I'm going to drag you down to the grave with me!”
The wife felt a bony hand grab her hair and then she was pulled off the bed and dragged towards the window.

She would have liked to scream to give voice to her horror, but the terror choked her voice. The man sat stiffly in bed with fear, but then he got a thought in his head and shouted to his wife: "Take off the ring! Take off the ring and throw it out the window!”

The wife grabbed the ring with trembling fingers, pulled it off and threw it out the window. Then the bony hand released its grip and the hissing voice fell silent. But out on the garden path it clattered and rattled like dry bones until the sound slowly died away and it became completely silent.