THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

BY OSCAR

WILDE

Chapter 1Hello, I am Lord Canterville, Simon Canterville

I am Lord Canterville’sghost.

I am a terrible ghost, everybody is afraid of me.

I am waiting for a new family.

They are moving to my palace; Canterville Manor

They are from America…

Now, I am going back to my room to be ready to meet them….

here they are!

Let me introduce the

American family.

Mr. Hiram Otis, American

Prime Minister, his wife,

Mrs. Otis, a beautiful

middle-aged lady. And

their four children…

Washington

Washington is their first

son, a good looking boy,

fair, sensible, a good

dancer. Lover of

aristocracy.

His name is quite patriotic:

it is the name of the First

President of the U.S.A.

Virginia

This beautiful girl is

Virginia. She is 15 years

old.

She is nice, lovely,

sensitive, very good at

riding

Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes are the

twins: very lively, un-

respectful.

Their name is the name of

the American flag…but it

is because they are often

hit with a whip as a

punishment.

Canterville House

Here we are at last.

Canterville Manor.

It is a beautiful palace.

The garden…is huge

and full of flowers and

plants.

There is plenty of space

to dance

…and to run

Mrs. Umnhey

This old woman is

Mrs. Umney, the

housekeeper, a silly

gossiper.

She is in black with a

white, silk apron and

a white cap.

She is waiting for the

Americans .

the blood stain

This is the library.

Mrs. Otis shouts:

What is that red stain on the floor? Clean it, please.

Mrs. Umney answers:

It is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, last wife of Lord Canterville.

Sir Simon Canterville is her murderer and his ghost haunts this house.

It is impossible to clean it.

Pinkerton’s ChampionStain remover

Nothing is impossible forPinkerton’s Champion StainRemover and Paragondetergent!

Voilà, the floor is clean!

A flash appears in the sky, and the thunder follows.

Be carefull! There are going tobe troubles tonight!

Chapter 2

Here we are! Good

morning…Oh that stain again!

The stain re-appears.

….It’s me , Lord Simon.

I paint it every morning

a noisy ghost

What are these noises in the

corridor? They seem rusty

chains!?!

Let’s go and see…oh

you look ill…This is for your

chains: it is the Tammariny Rising Sun Lubricator. Good night

It’s night. It’s time to go to

bed.I appear: I look frightening! My eyes

are red, my hair is long and grey, my

clothes are torn, dirty and old.

Mr Hiram Otis

the pillow

The twins see me on the

stairs

Ohhhh, what’s this? Let’s go away….

That’s the ghost. Throwhim a pillow!

a very sad ghost

Here I am. Thanks good there is

the fourth dimension so I can

disappear…

I am very upset…it is the first

time…barons, duchesses,

rectors everybody is afraid of

me. My skeleton, my

apparition…these Americans

are making fun of me…

It’s time for revenge

Chapter 3

This ghost is very impolite. He

does not accept my suggestions…

Another day begins ….

Yes but this morning the

colour is different…it is

emerald green

Let’s bet on the colour

The family at breakfast comments:

This ghost is very impolite. He

does not accept my

suggestions…

And that ugly stain every

morning appears again

only Virginia

Poor ghost, he is so alone in this castle.

He looks so sad

On Sunday night….a crash in the hall

The twins say:

Look! The armour is on the floor

Washington adds:

And the ghost is sitting on the armchair

Mr Otis cries with a pistol in his hands: Freeze!?!

Virginis exclaims:

He is passing throgh us….An armour

the ghost’s laughter

Mrs Otis looks at me:

There, he is on top of

the chair ……….

You are not fine, my dear. Try this. It’s Dr Dobell’s Tincture, it is wonderful for cold and cough!

Ah, ah, ah

Cough, cough

cough….

My laughter always frightens everybody

I start laughing …..but I

cough

The ghost runs into his room again

Back in my room I start

thinking:

Oh, here I am again. How

do they dare???

And my armour: it is to

heavy for me now. I am

too thin

But I swear…I’ll frighten

you with my ugliest

disguises

I’ll kill myself with

a dagger in front

of Washington,

that stain remover!

I’ll put my chilly hand

On Mrs. Otis’s forehead

I’ll tell Mr. Otis the secret

of the tomb

Sir Simon’s revenge….

….and those horrible

twins…I’ll sit on their

chests and remain between

them like a corpse…and

I’ll move around the room

moving my bones.

Virginia…no she is too

nice and kind…

At midnight, in a stormy night

I walk to the twins room

but an ugly spirit

appears in front

of me: he has a white,

round ad fat face, a bald

head and is grinning

at me…

I run away, crying: Oh,

what’s that! Who are you?

Ah…….

The twins’ trick

Then I stop…..

But when I get back….

Ah ah, the ghost is frightened

by our fake ghost…

What a trick!

A ball, some cotton, a brush

and a sheet frightens Sir Simon, the terrible Canterville

ghost

No, I’ll go and

speak to him. Together we’ll

frighten everybody

Sir Simon’s menace

I am furious. This is my menace

to You, Americans…..

I’ll kill you before the cock sings

twice

But the night the cock does

not sing

Chapter 4

Here I am , alone in my room…

I am so tired.

I don’t paint the stain, I move around once a week without

making any noise, I only appear at the window twice a

month….But those twins continue with their tricks.

OK, this is my decision: I’ll appear without my head

in front of them

Hi, I’m Rupert the Headless

I am going into the corridor, …here I am ,that’s the twins’

room….ahh…..what a cold …..

A bucket of cold water waters me completely

And the twins laugh

Here I am in my room again…..and with

a bad cold

Fortunately my head was not with me….

The last trick

Look at me….I am

walking around in

slippers , looking at

the pictures

of those

Americans…how

funny they are!

Oh no those

terrible boys again

Stars and stripes: BOOOOH

That’s Washington…what’s

he doing? With that garden

pump….Oh no, water again.

Let me take the fourth

dimension and

disappear ….

slippers

The ghost gives up

Stop, stop with the apparition.

Let them have parties, and

play hockey, and have picnics

on the beach.

Let the GREAT PRIME

MINISTER work for the

Democratic Party.

Look! Virginia is horse riding

with the young Duke of

Cheshire….

I know his grand-grandfather

horse

Chapter 5

Oh, that’s strange. Why is Virginia going to this back side of

the castle? Oh, her dresses are torn. Maybe she is looking for her mother’s maid…

Virginia sees the ghost in his room

Oh, it’s you, sir Simon.

Don’t be depressed.

Stars and stripes are leaving for

the college tomorrow.

So, your life will be peaceful.

I want to rest

I: My job is going round and frighten everybody.

Virginia: You are bad, a murder of your poor wife.

I: My wife, ugly…and a bad cook too.

Virginia: What about my colours? You paint the stain with my colours

I: I have no blood….my blood is blue

Virginia: Come with us to America. It’s fantastic. You can find a job there. My father can help you…

I: No. No I am too tired. I don’t sleep…

Virginia: You have not a bed

I: Yes, there is a place where I

can sleep. In a garden, the

garden of death.

You can help me Virginia,

because you are good. I want to

find peace. A prophecy says

that if an innocent child cries

and prays for my soul, I can be

free and rest in peace.

I’ll help you

Virginia: I’ll help you

Sir Simon: But it is not easy…you will see

strange creature and hear terrible sounds…

Virginia: I’ll come with you.

Sir Simon: So, give me your hand and let’s go

beyond the wall.

Virginia closes her eyes and their journey starts…

Chapter 6It is teatime. In the sitting room

the Otises are waiting for Virginia

Mrs. Otis: Where is Virginia, my dear?

Mr. Otis: I don’t know.

Mrs. Otis: Boys, do you know where Virginia is?

Twins: No, mum

Washington: That’s strange. She is always on time.

Mr. Otis: I’ll go and look for her in the country

I’ll come with you

The Duke of Cheshire shouts and follows the Prime Minister.

Mr. Otis: The gypsies are no longer here. Let’s send telegrams to the stations

We can go to

Ascot….

gypsy

back at home

The twins and Washington are waiting at the gate

Stars and Stripes: Mum is on the sofa, she feels sick-

Mrs. Umney asks : May I serve dinner, Milord?

The Duke and Mr. Otis: We are not hungry, thank you. It is better to go to bed. Tomorrow morning we can start again to look for our dear Virginia.

The clock strikes Midnight …

Suddenly….

The gift

Mrs. Otis: Oh dear…where are you coming from? Virginia….what have you got

Virginia: I am sorry…. don’t worry…The ghost rests in peace now. This is his gift for me: a box of jewels. I’ll show you his room.

A tree in the garden of death

Virginia leads her family

through the corridor to the

ghost’s room: there is a

skeleton.

Outside , in the garden, they

see a tree full of leaves and

flowers.

Virginia: This is the room…poor

ghost…without food and drink,

without peace in his soul….

Chapter 7Mrs. Otis suggests: Let’s organize a funeral for poor Sir Simon Of course, he will rest here in our churchyard.

Virginia: These are for you, Sir Simon, Virginia puts some flowers on the tomb.

The Prime Minister says: We will give the box of jewels to the last Lord Cantervill.

But the last Lord Canterville does not accept them: They are Virginia’ jewels, the Ghost ‘s gift for her….

The weddingAnd Virginia now is wearing them.

It is her wedding day. She is getting

Married to the Duke of Cheshire.

She is very elegant with Sir Simon's

jewels. She is in front of the Queen.

Virginia: Let’s go to Sir Simon tomb beforeLeaving for our honeymoon. I have some

flowers for Him.The Duke: Virginia, what can you tell me about that night?

Virginia: I can’t tell you anything my dear. Maybe I’ll tell out children…..