B1 · Intermediate

The Canterville Ghost

Name: The Canterville Ghost
Author: Oscar Wilde

by Oscar Wilde · graded reader

7 chapters
8,537 words
about 65 min
comic ghost story

An American family buys an old English castle, ghost included. But the Otis family are not afraid at all. They clean the ghost's famous bloodstain every morning, and the twins play tricks on him, until young Virginia discovers his sad secret.

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When Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American minister, bought Canterville Chase, everyone told him he was making a big mistake. There was no doubt at all that the place was haunted. Even Lord Canterville, who sold him the house, felt it was his duty to warn him.

"We have not wanted to live there ourselves," said Lord Canterville. "My great-aunt, the Duchess of Bolton, was dressing for dinner one evening. Suddenly two skeleton hands were placed on her shoulders. She never really got better after that fright. The ghost has been seen by several members of my family. The young servants would not stay with us, and my wife hardly slept at night. There were always strange noises in the corridor and the library."

"My lord," answered the minister, "I will take the furniture and the ghost at the same price. I come from a modern country. We have everything that money can buy. If there were such a thing as a ghost in Europe, we would soon have it at home in one of our museums."