The Canterville Ghost 
Oscar Wilde
THE CANTERVILLE
GHOST
"The Canterville Ghost" is a popular short story by Oscar
Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in the magazine The Court and Society
Review in February 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled Lord
Arthur Savile's Crime and Other
Stories in 1891.
u
üSetting
The story of the Canterville Ghost takes place in an old English country house, Canterville Chase, which has all the accoutrements of a traditional haunted house. Descriptions of the wainscotting, the library paneled in black oak, and the armor in the hallway characterize the Gothic setting and help Wilde clash the Old World with the New.
Typical of the style of the English Decadents, the gothic atmosphere reveals the author’s fascination with the macabre. Yet he mixes the macabre with comedy, juxtaposing devices from traditional English ghost stories such as creaking floorboards, clanking chains, and ancient prophecies with symbols of modern American consumerism. Wilde’s Gothic setting helps emphasize the contrast between cultures—setting modern Americans in what could arguably be a classic symbol of British history—and underscores the "modern" thinking of the house's mismatched residents, the Otises.
u
üPlot
The story begins when Mr Otis's family shifted to Canterville Chase, despite warnings from Lord Canterville that the house is haunted. The Otis family includes
Mr. and Mrs. Otis, their daughter Virginia, twin boys (often referred to as "Stars and
Stripes") and their eldest son Washington.
At first, none of the member of the Otis family believes in ghosts, but shortly after they move in, none of them can deny the presence of Sir Simon (The Ghost). The family hears clanking chains, they witness re-appearing bloodstains "on the floor just by the fireplace", and they see strange apparitions in various forms. But, humorously, none of these scare the Otises in the
THE CANTERVILLE
GHOST
"The Canterville Ghost" is a popular short story by Oscar
Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in the magazine The Court and Society
Review in February 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled Lord
Arthur Savile's Crime and Other
Stories in 1891.
u
üSetting
The story of the Canterville Ghost takes place in an old English country house, Canterville Chase, which has all the accoutrements of a traditional haunted house. Descriptions of the wainscotting, the library paneled in black oak, and the armor in the hallway characterize the Gothic setting and help Wilde clash the Old World with the New.
Typical of the style of the English Decadents, the gothic atmosphere reveals the author’s fascination with the macabre. Yet he mixes the macabre with comedy, juxtaposing devices from traditional English ghost stories such as creaking floorboards, clanking chains, and ancient prophecies with symbols of modern American consumerism. Wilde’s Gothic setting helps emphasize the contrast between cultures—setting modern Americans in what could arguably be a classic symbol of British history—and underscores the "modern" thinking of the house's mismatched residents, the Otises.
u
üPlot
The story begins when Mr Otis's family shifted to Canterville Chase, despite warnings from Lord Canterville that the house is haunted. The Otis family includes
Mr. and Mrs. Otis, their daughter Virginia, twin boys (often referred to as "Stars and
Stripes") and their eldest son Washington.
At first, none of the member of the Otis family believes in ghosts, but shortly after they move in, none of them can deny the presence of Sir Simon (The Ghost). The family hears clanking chains, they witness re-appearing bloodstains "on the floor just by the fireplace", and they see strange apparitions in various forms. But, humorously, none of these scare the Otises in the