1 h 19 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a ghost rattles his chains, and the new owners offer him oil?
At Canterville Chase, Sir Simon de Canterville takes haunting seriously. The American Otis family does not. Hiram B. Otis buys the English country house despite a warning about its ghost. Soon, a returning bloodstain and rattling chains meet an enemy Sir Simon never expects: cheerful household practicality.
Washington Otis attacks the stain with remover, while the twins set traps and throw pillows. Each failed fright wounds Sir Simon’s pride. But Virginia Otis sees more than a nuisance beneath the sheet. In The Canterville Ghost, Oscar Wilde brings dry wit to a clash of cultures, then makes room for pity.
What you’ll discover
- A haunting turned upside down Watch familiar ghostly terrors become household problems for a family determined not to be frightened.
- Sir Simon’s wounded pride Meet a theatrical spirit whose serious efforts at terror bring him one humiliation after another.
- Mischief in the old house Follow the twins as their traps and pillows turn the tables on the resident ghost.
- Two cultures collide Enjoy gentle satire as American comfort and cleanliness challenge an English house steeped in legends.
- Kindness beneath the comedy Discover Virginia’s willingness to see a person where the rest of her family sees trouble.
Is it for you?
This is for anyone who likes comedy with a soft heart, for readers who enjoy gentle satire of national manners, and for anyone who wants a short, easy first taste of Wilde. If you want real horror, you may find it too light.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An American family buys a haunted house
- The stain returns and the chains are oiled
- The ghost fails at his old tricks
- Virginia sees the sorrow behind the sheet
- Two cultures and one old house
- How Wilde tells it, with wit and tenderness
Who’s who
- Hiram B. OtisThe American minister who buys Canterville Chase, a practical, good humoured man who trusts modern goods and refuses to believe in ghosts.
- Mrs OtisHis wife, a handsome, lively and firm woman who treats the haunting as a matter of household management.
- Washington OtisThe eldest son, fond of fashion, who cleans the bloodstain with a modern remover and is amused when it keeps returning.
- Virginia OtisThe fifteen year old daughter, kind and brave, who is the only one to feel pity for the ghost.
- The twinsMischievous younger sons of the Otis family, nicknamed the Stars and Stripes, who set traps and pelt the ghost with pillows.
- Sir Simon de CantervilleThe ghost of the house, a proud and theatrical spirit who wants to frighten the new tenants and is slowly worn down.
- Mrs UmneyThe housekeeper of Canterville Chase, a devoted keeper of the house's legends, who is far more frightened of the ghost than the Americans are.
- Lord CantervilleThe English owner who sells the house, and who honestly warns the buyer that it is haunted.
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- Large print hardcover
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The Canterville Ghost
by Oscar Wilde· 1887
An American family refuses to fear an English house ghost.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
An American family buys a haunted house
The story opens with the sale of Canterville Chase, an old country house in England. The buyer is Hiram B. Otis, the American minister, a brisk and sensible man. Lord Canterville, the owner, feels honour bound to warn him that the house is haunted. The ghost has been seen by several members of the family, and a young relative once died of fright after meeting it.
Mr Otis is not troubled. He answers that if there were such a thing as a ghost in the house, his country would long ago have put it in a museum or taken it on tour. He believes in modern goods and good sense, and a spirit sounds to him like an item that could be bought, fixed or exhibited. Lord Canterville says only that he has done his duty and the family should not complain later.
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The author
Oscar Wilde
1854–1900 · Irish playwright and poet
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish poet, playwright, and novelist born in Dublin. He lived in London and later in France, where he died in Paris. He published The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890. His play The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed in 1895.
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What is The Canterville Ghost about?
It tells of an American family that buys an English country house haunted by a ghost. The family laughs at his tricks and pranks him in return, until their daughter Virginia learns how unhappy he is.
When was The Canterville Ghost written?
Oscar Wilde's story first appeared in a London magazine in 1887, in two parts. It was gathered with other tales in a book in 1891. It is fiction, not a true story.
Is The Canterville Ghost a horror story?
No. It borrows the gothic ghost story but plays it for laughs. There are old crimes and spooky nights, but the tone is comic and gentle, and the ghost is more pitiable than frightening.
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