The Canterville Ghost

The Canterville Ghost

1887 • 64 pages

Ratings89

Average rating3.8

15

Have you ever wondered what the ghost lurking in the corridor is thinking? Then pick up Oscar Wild's rip-roaring, hilarious tale of a ghost whose sole purpose is to send shivers down the spines of Canterville Chase. You will not find a macabre tale here. Sir Simon de Canterville is a dignified ghost. One who sets a time schedule and deploys tried-and-true scare patterns to get a rise out of its guests.

But what if the new owners do not believe in ghosts?

|| “They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.”

Poor old Sir Simon tries everything to get a rise out of the entire family. Scraping heavy chains along the floor, moving items, and even leaving blood stains on the carpets to no avail. The family offers the ghost ‘Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator' to end the cacophony of chain sounds that echo throughout the night. This angers the ghost quite a bit. The small children add to the ghost's misery by setting up traps a-la Home Alone, such as trip wires, water buckets, and peashooters to humiliate him.

The hijinks are funny, but what about the ghosts' feelings? The Canterville ghost has not slept in over three hundred years and had lost his beloved Lady Eleanor de Canterville years prior. Does anyone offer a helping hand and conjure up some sympathy for the master of terror? Find out by checking out this fun classic.

But remember, the next time you see a ghost, try not to lash out, scream, or go running from them in haste. They have feelings too!

|| “Yes, Death. Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace. You can help me. You can open for me the portals of Death's house, for Love is always with you, and Love is stronger than Death is.”

October 30, 2023