Francois Riquier

François Riquier was an ordinary old miser and a lifelong bachelor. He died in 1857 and left a large fortune to distant relatives. In 1862, his spirit appeared to the daughter of a woman who had once rented from him. The daughter was a writing medium and sometimes entered a magnetic sleep.

The medium’s hand begins writing...

MediumWhat do you want from me?

François RiquierMy money, which they've taken, all of it, those wretches.

François RiquierThey are sharing it among themselves.

François RiquierThey sold my farms, my houses, all my property, so they could divide it up.

François RiquierThey've broken up my fortune as if it no longer belonged to me.

François RiquierMake them give me back my rights.

François RiquierThey won't listen to me, and I won't put up with such a shameful robbery.

François RiquierThey call me a usurer, and yet they keep my money.

François RiquierWhy don't they give it back to me, if they say it was badly earned?

MediumBut you're dead, my good man. You no longer need money.

MediumAsk God to grant you a new life of poverty, so you can atone for the greed of your last life.

François RiquierNo. I couldn't live if I were poor.

François RiquierI must have my money in order to live.

François RiquierBesides, I don't need another life, because I'm living now.

MediumDo you suffer?

François RiquierOh yes.

François RiquierI suffer torments worse than the most painful disease, because it's my soul that's suffering.

François RiquierThe injustice of my life is always before my mind, a life that scandalized many people.

François RiquierI know I'm a miserable man, unworthy of pity.

François RiquierBut I suffer so much that you must help me out of this dreadful state.

MediumWe will pray for you.

François RiquierThank you.

François RiquierPray that I may forget my earthly riches.

François RiquierUnless I forget them, I'll never be able to repent.

François RiquierFarewell. Thank you.

François RiquierFrançois Riquier. Number 14, Rue de la Charité.

The spirit gave his address exactly as if he were still alive. The woman didn't know where he had lived, but she later checked and found that it really was his last home.

Five years after death, François Riquier still didn't understand that he was dead. He remained trapped in the miser's torment of watching his property divided among his heirs. The communication seems to have been allowed so he could begin understanding his true condition and move toward repentance.