The Old Well

A lodger notices a hole opening beside a large stone in his host’s neglected garden. What first suggests buried treasure proves to be an old well. A vivid nightmare and a remembered tale give the discovery a troubling significance.

But the household’s unease is not confined to ghosts. The host turns fear to advantage, his wife retreats into resignation, and their young daughter becomes increasingly dependent on the lodger’s sympathy. As suspicion and anger gather, the lodger finds his own feelings harder to understand or control.

First published in 1925, Toyoshima Yoshio’s story intertwines an uncanny garden with the pressures of family life, deception, and an attachment that unsettles everyone it touches. The well remains at the center as reassurance gives way to deeper uncertainty.