How does the word haunted appear as a motif in john updike's "the brown chest," and how does it contribute to the meaning of the story?

The term haunted is more like the awakening of the memories that items in the chest invoked.  The pictures, birthday cards, toys and other stuff in the chest bring back the times the character had experienced with each object. Many of them were good time he had shared with his family.  In a way, it had haunted the family with good memories that chest keeps safe.

this answer to this question is c. allegory

why?

stories with allegories have a hidden symbolic meaning with a theme. the hidden meaning can be political, or other real life problems.