聊斋志异

Written in classical Chinese by 蒲松龄 (1640–1715), who failed the provincial examination for most of his life and earned his living as a private tutor. Its nearly 500 tales were first printed in 1766, half a century after his death. 聊斋 was the name of his study, and 志异 means 'recording the strange'.

Besides the ghost 聂小倩 of the film, famous tales include 画皮 'Painted Skin', about a demon who wears a human skin, and 崂山道士 'The Taoist of Mount Lao', about a lazy student who learns to walk through walls and then crashes into one.