Page 3 - Oscar Wilde

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST
Plot summary
Oscar Wilde wrote the Canterville Ghost in 1887. It is a umorisKc horror story. The story is set in England, at Canterville Chase, a house haunted by the ghost of Sir Simon, who killed his wife there in 1575 and was starved to death by his wife's brothers.
The story begins when the American Minister Horace B. OKs and his family move into Canterville Chase despite the warnings of Lord Canterville himself. The OKs family include Mr. and Mrs. OKs, their 15 years-old daughter Virginia, twin boys (oSen referred to as "Stars and Stripes") and their eldest son Washington. No one of them believes in Ghosts and is scared by the aUemps of Sir Simon to frighten them. OKs's housekeeper says that the blood stain in the living room dates back to the day of the murder. Washington laughs at this and cleans it up, but the blood stain reappears the morning aSer. Later, it's revealed that the ghost used all Virginia OKs's paints to recreate the stain. Sir Simon feels increasingly helpless and humiliated by the OKs family. In a parKcularly comical scene, he is frightened by the sight of a "ghost" made up by the twins.
Only Virginia takes the ghost seriously and feels pity for him.
According to a prophecy Lord Simon could have eternal rest if someone wept and prayed for him. Virginia accepts to help him and disappers with Sir Simon to go to the Garden of Death. Virginia returns from the journey with a basket full of jewels. The story ends with Virginia marrying Cecil Cheshire but she will not say what happened even to her husband.