On the day of the burglary at the vicarage, Mr. and Mrs. Hall are up early and in the cellar diluting the beer. Mr. Hall goes upstairs for a forgotten item and notices that the stranger's door is open. Coming back down the stairs, he sees the "bolts of the front door had been shot back." Distinctly remembering watching Mrs. Hall set the bolts before bed, he becomes suspicious of the stranger and enters his bedroom. It appears to be empty, adding to Mr. Hall's suspicion. He rushes to the cellar to tell his wife, and they both come upstairs to check the bedroom. As they do so, they hear the front door open and shut, and sneezing. In the bedroom, they witness inanimate objects—including the bedclothes, stranger's hat, sponge, furniture, and clothes—move about the room. They hear laughing "in a voice singularly like the stranger's." A chair charges Mrs. Hall, pressing "firmly against her back and impell[ing] her and Mr. Hall out of the room." The door is then slammed and locked.
Mrs. Hall attributes what she has seen to spirits. She wants to lock Griffin out of the inn, believing he is the cause of the evil spirits. Wanting the expertise of a "knowing man," she sends Millie to awaken Mr. Wadgers, the blacksmith, and bring him to the inn. After Wadgers arrives, Mr. Huxter and his apprentice join the Halls and discuss busting down Griffin's door. The question becomes moot when the door opens and a fully dressed Griffin appears. He walks down the stairs and into the parlor, then turns and "swiftly, viciously, slam[s] the door in their faces." After gathering his courage, Mr. Hall knocks on the parlor door to demand an explanation. Griffin shouts invectives through the door and does not open it.
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