Stories of Odogochi!

Long time ago, there was this young scholar who was travelling a long way by himself. He was
on his way to Seoul to take the annual exam to be an officer in the central government. But it
was getting dark, and there was no town nearby. He found himself at the foot of a mountain
when the pitch dark surrounded him. To make things worse, he was lost and didn’t know where
he was. Wild animals were howling somewhere in the dark and it was cold at night. He
desperately wished to come across a house so he could ask its owner to let him in for a night.
At that moment, he spotted a light far away, so he began to run toward it. It was a house with a
light inside.

Like a Korean gentleman, he cleared his throat in front of the gate. “E-hem!” It was a traditional
way to call attention to the gate. “E-ri O-neo-ra~~~~~~~ “Anybody in there? I’m a traveler. I
have gotten lost!”

No one answered the gate. He cleared his throat again, “E-hem!” and he cried out more loudly.
“E-ri O-neo-ra~~~~~~~” “Anybody in there? I’m a traveler. I have gotten lost!”

Still no one answered. He cleared his throat again, “E-hem! E-hem!” and he spoke out even
more loudly. “E-ri O-neo-ra~~~~~~~” “Anybody in there? I’m a scholar; I’m travelling to Seoul to
take the exam to be a government officer. I’ve gotten lost and it is dark and cold. Could you let
me in and offer a room for a night? I will never forget your mercy if you help me out tonight.”

No answer. The scholar pricked his ears for a while to hear anyone coming out or moving, but
there was no indication of a person inside. So he just pushed the door and let himself into the
house. He found some traces of a person living in the house, but they were old. The house had
been empty for long, so he dusted off a bed and tried to sleep. But something felt strange. He
jumped up and looked around. There was no one around.
“It’s strange. I feel like there’s someone around me,’ he muttered.

He tried to sleep again, but the strange feeling didn’t go away.

“Is there anybody? Reveal yourself if there’s anyone!”
There was no answer.
So he tried to return to sleep, and at that very moment, something flashed by.
“Who….are you? No, what are you?” The traveler got scared and yelled.
“Odogochi!”
Something answered from the corner of the room.
The traveler stared at the corner and saw two eyes, red and slanted. They were not cat’s or
tiger’s eyes.
‘It must be a devil. I’m so dead now.’ The traveler thought.
“I’m Odogochi! Don’t be scared. The person I had lived with died so I have been waiting for
another person to live with. I’m a spirit, but not a bad one. If you do things I ask for you, I grant
your wishes. That is the way I live.”
Knowing he would not be killed, the traveler got so relieved that he just agreed with Odogochi.
“Yes, yes. I will do whatever you ask me.”
“It’s not a big deal. You just give me food and let me accompany you as long as you live.”
At the spirit’s request, the traveler got curious.
“What? Does a spirit eat? How can I offer you food?”
“Order portions for two person all the time, and I will eat with you. People may find it strange
but you should just ignore it.”
The traveler said yes to save his life. And next morning the traveler woke up and looked at the
corner but there was nothing. He ran away from the house.
“I must have had a nightmare.” As soon as he said to himself, “Odogochi~~~~” the thing called
out! The traveler just froze.
“Why are you making such a hurry? Take time. There’s a nice inn past two hills from here. Let
us have our breakfast there.” Odogochi said.
The scholar lost his tongue and followed Odogochi’s directions.
“I’ll have two bowls of rice soup. Don’t look inside the room.” The scholar was worried what
would happen during the dining, so he told the lady innkeeper not to look in.

“Certainly, Sir.” The innkeeper found it very strange, but she was happy that he ordered two
bowls, not just one.
The scholar stayed at the inn after the breakfast. Hours later, he ordered two bowls again for
his lunch. And then, he ordered more food and drinks for two persons again! The innkeeper
was curious, so she eavesdropped at the door and got surprised to hear two men’s voices from
the inside.
“The two men must be a couple. I wouldn’t care about their relationship. Still, it’s so strange.
They could have just come together and ordered two portions.” Still curious, the innkeeper
made a hole in the paper door by wetting her finger with her saliva and had a peep into the
room.

Next moment, the innkeeper got so surprised and flopped down on her bottom. “Good Lord!”
At the noise, the scholar burst out of the room.
“What are you? Are you a human or a spirit? How come a spoon float and move up and down
in the air of itself?” The lady innkeeper yelled at the scholar.
Odogochi whispered something to the scholar, and he turned to the innkeeper and began to cry
out.
“You’ve done unspeakable things to your guests, haven’t you? You’ve been killing rich travelers
by pouring boiling sesame oil into their ears and have taken their money. The local government
has never found out why those guests were killed. Have you been running this inn and
supporting your handicapped son with the money?”
The innkeeper turned pale.
“Sir, please give me a break. I got married at 17 and had this son at 18. My husband died of a
plague when I was 20. My husband’s family drove me out, condemning me for failing to keep
my husband alive. I was almost broke and couldn’t make enough money to support my son.
Even at this inn, guests are not that many so my son and I have to starve often. I know what I’ve
done but please spare me my life. Otherwise, my son will starve to death.” The innkeeper
begged, crying.
As Odogochi advised, the scholar told the innkeeper if she would report what she saw to the
government office, her son’s life will be in a great danger.

This way Odogochi and the scholar had a good journey all the way to Seoul without a problem.
At the exam, Odogochi whispered answers to the scholar, so he passed it and was offered a
nice job at the government. The traveler now enjoyed Odogochi’s company and treated it very
well.

One day after three years passed, the scholar said, “Odogochi.”
“What?” Odogochi replied.
“I want to get married.” the scholar said with a sigh.
“Yes, it’s about time.” Odogochi agreed.
“But think about it. Who will marry a man who is with a spirit all the time even though I’m an
officer now?”
“You’re quite right. For the past three years, you have been very faithful to me. No one has ever
been sincere to me. Everyone except you just used me to make money, and when they had
enough money, they invited in a shaman to expel me out. But you have been taking good care
of me. I’ll leave you then. I’ll give you my blessings too! Get married, have three sons and a
daughter and live happily with your own family. Odogochi~~~” Just like that, Odogochi was
gone.
And like Odogochi blessed, the man got to have his own family and lived happily ever after.

Have you ever had this strange feeling somebody or something is watching you? Have you got
these goose bumps without any reason? Then, don’t get scared. Instead, why don’t you fetch
some rice soup and offer it to Odogochi? Odogochi will immensely like it.

Let’s call Odogochi together and see if we get to have goose bumps all over~~~~~