The narrator tells us that the first lady has been having nightmares for days and her body is starting to lose weight. He suspects that the house is evil and asks the master of the house to do something about it. Since the last time he asked the master to do so, he's been very careful not to say anything. The second lady is missing without cause, and the master is not talking about the magic arts. He tells the narrator about a local superstition that says if you wipe chicken blood on your face at night, you can kill evil spirits. He also tells the story of how he recently saw his forehead darkened. The narrator is afraid that he is infected with evil, so he tells him to stay away from the house.