In the story the old man of the temple, the nightly knocking stopped when the old man finally realized he's dead and his spirit went away with his wife, who came to fetch him. The old man's soul was finally at peace thus leaving the villagers in peace.
The old man was haunting the village without his knowledge, thinking that he was alive and needed help after being set upon by robbers and knifed. His soul knocked on doors to request assistance, when his body already expired due to blood loss.
