Khan Fire by Mikhail Bulgakov. Short summary

5 seconds

While touring an old manor house, one of the guests taunts the former owners. At night, a ghost appears, sets fire to the house, and promises revenge on the insolent gaper.

1 minute

The Khan’s Stake, the princely manor. The old watchman Ioan Vasilich is giving a tour to a group of tourists.

Among the twenty gawkers a man stands out. His appearance is rather repulsive, it seems that the man came to the museum in half-naked — which in itself is disrespectful. The behavior is also extremely defiant, with a pretense of being educated.

On the walls hang portraits of emperors and members of the Tugai-Bek family. A tourist walks up to one of the images, pokes his finger at the princess and declares that she is a famous lecher, whose adventures were written about even in the days of the bourgeoisie.

Ioana exhaled when the tour was over. He worried that crowds of people were walking on ancient carpets, scuffling their feet on wooden floors, and still had the nerve to sneer at the estate’s owners.

Making his evening rounds, Ioana sees Anton Ianovich himself, the last prince of the dynasty. He notes that the watchman has grown very old, gives him money and asks him to leave the house. The prince’s ghost burns down the estate and promises revenge on the insolent onlooker.