Elderly woman smokes in cafe without ordering, claims she was 'exorcising ghosts'

An elderly woman who walked into a cafe without ordering anything and lit a cigarette inside offered a baffling excuse when the owner confronted her: she was "exorcising ghosts."

The story of franchise cafe owner A, who found herself in an awkward situation because of the unusual customer, aired Monday on JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," a program covering unusual news stories.

A said an elderly woman carrying a bag entered the cafe around 8 p.m. Wednesday and settled into a seat toward the back without placing an order.

Assuming the woman had simply come in to escape the heat, A said she "let her rest without saying anything, out of consideration for the hot weather."

About 30 minutes later, another customer alerted A that someone was smoking inside the store. When A went to check, she found the elderly woman had pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it.

Startled to see the woman blowing smoke inside the cafe, A told her she could not smoke indoors, but the woman refused, saying she would "just finish this one and leave."

When A pressed further — telling her other customers were present and asking her to step outside — the woman shot back with a bewildering reply: "I'm exorcising ghosts right now."

A quickly fetched a paper cup of water, doused the cigarette, and coaxed the woman out of the store by saying, "There, all the ghosts are gone now."

A told the program she had been deeply disappointed by the incident after going out of her way to let the woman sit without ordering. "I reported it hoping people will be more considerate of others," she said.