The haunted house
By: Plautus ; [translated by Kenneth McLeish] ; edited by J. Michael Walton
Contributors: McLeish, Kenneth, 1940-1997; Walton, J. Michael, 1939-
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2013
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] /
Work titles: Mostellaria
Description: Philolaches is a good for nothing so-and-so: he seems to live purely to spend his father's cash, or, when he cannot get it, to borrow against it. Everything he loves is paid for by someone else's efforts, including the lady of his dreams, ex-courtesan Philematium. Now while his father is away earning money, Philolaches is spending it all on one big house party. But when his father returns unexpectedly, Philolaches is stumped. Luckily, his trusty slave Tranio has a plan: he bundles his master's guests into a closet, and distracts the father with a tall tale that the house his haunted. As foolish as Philolaches is, so is Tranio quick-witted, building yarn upon fib upon lie to keep his master's father in the dark.
Notes: Translated from the Latin.

Originally published: in print in Four Roman comedies. London: Methuen Drama, 2003.