today in draw my life . the ghost of Canterville . by Oscar Wilde
the United States Minister . Hiram Otis . had just bought the Canterville Castle
its owner . Lord Canterville . announced that the house had been the home of the Canterville family for generations
but he also warned him that the house was haunted . by a ghost that made all the inhabitants who entered it uncomfortable
Mr. Otis laughed out loud
he said to Lord Canterville that he came from the United States . a modern country where no one believes in ghosts
if they really exist . then the Americans would have already put them in a museum
he ignored the warnings . and continued with the purchase of the house
weeks later Mr. Otis and his family moved to canterville castle
the Otis family was made up of 6 members
Mr. Otis and his wife Lucrecia
a beautiful woman with lovely eyes and splendid nature
who also had an English air despite being foreign
the Otis' eldest son is Washington
named after President George Washington
then there is Virginia
a 15 year old girl with a charming look . and big blue eyes
finally there are stars and stripes
the noisy twins of the family
their names come from the United States flag
the Otis family arrived at Canterville castle on a lovely summer night
but as they approached the house . in the sky . a dark storm appeared
waiting for them at the door was Mrs. Umney
the housekeeper dressed in black
upon entering the house . they went to the library . and the first thing they discovered was a bloodstain on the fireplace
Mrs. Otis quickly got to cleaning the stain
but was interrupted by Mrs. Umney
the stain had been there for many years
and marked the site where Sir Simon de Canterville had killed his wife in 15 75
Sir Simon disappeared from the house a few years later
his body was never found
and from that day on . the ghost of Sir Simon hangs around the house
With the help of the cleaner and stain remover Pinkerton
Washington cleaned the stain from the chimney . leaving it clean
he wanted to show it to the family . but was interrupted by the loud sound of thunder . and the flash of lightning
Mrs. Umney immediately passed out
the next morning . the family discovered that what Washington did . had not worked
the stain was back
washington cleaned it again
but the result the next day was the same
he tried again a third time
on the third day the stain continued there
after the third appearance of the stain . the family had no choice . but to accept that there was a ghost in the house
but still they continued with their lives as if nothing had happened
until one night . Sir Simon de Canterville made his first appearance
to scare them . the ghost of Canterville decided to walk through the hallways of the house . dragging behind him some old chains
he waited until one in the morning to do it . ensuring the family had already gone to sleep
the first to get up with the noise was Mr. Otis
the ghost was surprised to see that Mr. Otis had not been impressed with him
very calm . Mr. Otis offered the ghost a bottle of oil to silence the chains . and let the rest of the family sleep
but the ghost of Canterville did not much like the gesture of Mr. otis
He took the bottle of oil from his hands . and threw it to the ground . destroying it completely
then he ran out of the hall . leaving Mr. Otis alone
the ghost couldnt escape from there
at the end of the hall he met the twins
who approached him aggressively
They were dressed as ghosts with sheets over them
they started throwing pillows at the ghost . and upset he could only escape to his room through a wall
once in his room . the ghost of Canterville began to think about what had happened . making him more angry
the only thing that could comfort him was his memories of past scares
from sudden appearances to more serious scares
like the death of Lady Stutfield . who drowned after the ghost caught her by the neck
he was sure that no other ghost in the history of England had treated her so badly
he wasnt going to allow this kind of behavior towards him to continue
and at that moment he declared revenge against the otis family
the next day the Otis family's topic of conversation was the ghost of Canterville
Mr. Otis was somewhat angry that Sir Simon had not accepted the bottle of oil that he had offered him
he swore if the ghost did nothing to stop the noise of its chains
he would take them off himself
a few days passed and the ghost of Canterville did not appear
Washington continued to clean the bloodstain from the fireplace daily
and every morning the stain returned
only now when it reappeared . its color changed
this entertained the family
so much so that every night they made bets between themselves . to see what color the stain would have the next day
the only one who didn't participate in the fun was Virginia
every morning she looked at the stain sadly . and almost started crying the morning the stain turned green
finally the ghost of Canterville decided to scare them again
his plan was to dress up in an old suit of armor
but while he was putting it on . he hit it by accident . and the armor fell to the ground with a strong blow
the family went down to where it was . thinking it was a robbery
but upon arrival . they found Sir Simon with his hands on his knees
the twins started shooting the ghost with their toy guns
while Mr. Otis pointed a real rifle at him , and asked him to raise his arms
the upset ghost ran away from the family
and managed to calm down once he reached the top of the stairs
there he made one last attempt to scare them with a macabre laugh
instead Mrs. Otis thought he was sick . and offered him medicine
the ghost planned to scare her by changing into the shape of a big black dog
but when he heard Mr. Otis and the twins getting closer . he returned to his room
he thought the family would be surprised to see a ghost dressed in armor
he admitted to himself that the armor had fallen because it was very heavy . and he had not been able to get up with the suit on
the failure of his plan made him stay in bed for a few days
During this time . he thought about his next plan to scare the family
with a dagger in hand . he would enter their rooms . and scare them with various tactics
making them look while stabbing his neck
Whispering secrets from the grave . and sitting on top of them
he put the plan into action
but when he got to the hallway . he was scared to find another terrifying ghost
he quickly returned to his room and hid inside the bed . losing the dagger on the way
he left his room at dawn
and with the light coming through the windows . he discovered that the ghost in the hall was false
put up by the Otis family . by the sign next to it
furious . he swore that after the rooster crowed twice . there would be bloody crimes and murders
but that morning the rooster crowed only once
all week Sir Simon stayed in bed
he had given up trying to scare the family
and even stopped putting the blood stain on the fireplace every morning
there were scares that he could still do
like appearing in the window . scaring whoever was passing by
if he had to use the chains . he made sure to grease them so as not to make noise at night
but the twins continued their antics
once they put threads in the hallways to trip Simon
and on top of that . the butter covered stairs to make him slip when going down
he was tired of their traps
so one night he went to the twins' room . and opened the door . hoping to catch them by surprise
only they were one step ahead
standing in the frame . Sir Simon felt a bucket of water fall down . completely wetting him
consequently Sir Simon became ill
for a while he walked around the house with slippers on his feet . and wrapped in blankets to avoid getting worse
the twins continued with the traps
but when he stopped pacing the hallways . all they did was annoy the rest
the Otis family thought that the ghost was gone . and life returned to normal
Mrs. Otis organized social events . Washington played cards with the twins
Virginia rode horses . and Mr. Otis wrote a letter to Lord Canterville . informing him of the ghost
until one day the Duke of Cheshire paid a visit to the house
whose family had been terrified by the ghost
his presence inspired Sir Simon to scare him
but at the last moment . the ghost ruled out the possibility . because of his fear of the twins
the following days . Virginia spent most of her time with the duke . strolling through the gardens of the house
During one of her walks she entered the house . and found Sir Simon sitting in front of a window looking sad
Virginia told him that she felt sorry for him . but not to worry . as her brothers would return to school in the fall . and finally leave him alone
She was also angry with him for his bad behavior towards the family . and for having murdered his wife in the past
the ghost replied that he had his own reasons for killing her
but the worst thing was that his brothers-in-law left him to starve
the reason why he became a ghost
saddened by what she had just heard . Virginia offered the ghost a snack
Sir Simon did not accept the offer . but appreciated the gesture
he said she was kind and caring . not like her horrible family
to which Virginia bitterly replied . he was the horrible one . for having stolen her paint to put the stain on the fireplace every day
by stealing them . he had left her without paints and colors . so that she could freely paint whatever she wanted
also the colors he had decided to use for the stain seemed ridiculous
Because who has seen green blood
Virginia said goodbye to the ghost . but he begged her to stay . and talk to him for a little while longer
He said he hadn't slept for 300 years
and that he needed her help to get sleep and rest
He told her about the ancient prophecy . that a young girl like her would be the only one to bring peace to the house
all she had to do was cry for him . and pray for the forgiveness of his sins
if an old almond tree blossomed . it would mean it had worked
Virginia agreed to help him . and the two went to an unknown part of the castle
along the way the animals carved on the walls . and hunters embroidered on the tapestries came to life
they warned her not to continue
but she ignored them . and followed the ghost
Otis family was alarmed to find Virginia nowhere
and they suspected that the group of gypsies camping near the house were the culprits
so lord otis and the duke came out for them
but the gypsies knew nothing of Virginia
they were still willing to help them find her
Washington joined the rest of the group to also participate in the search.
they searched her all over the property . and in the nearby towns . but she was nowhere
until just at midnight . a loud roar was heard throughout the house . followed by a very loud scream
Virginia appeared at the top of the stairs . with a small golden chest in her hands.
she told them that the chest had been given to her . by the ghost of Sir Simon before he died . and that it was full of jewels
then she asked them to accompany her to the secret room
inside they found a skeleton chained to the wall
virginia told them the ghost would never bother them again
his sins had been forgiven . and he could rest in peace
outside the house . the twins saw an almond tree blossom
Lord Canterville arranged a grand funeral for Sir Simon . attended by all members of the family . and Mrs. Umney
Senior Otis attempted to return the chest to Lord Canterville
he felt it was wrong to allow Virginia to keep such valuable jewelry
but Lord Canterville told him that was no problem
Virginia had done her family a great service . and deserved to have the jewelry
he reminded Mr. Otis that he had bought a house with a ghost . including all the belongings
Virginia got engaged to the duke . and after a few days they got married
the jewels were helpful when she had to appear in front of Queen Victoria
at the beginning Mr. Otis did not agree with the marriage of his daughter
but when he saw the magnitude and beauty of the ceremony he changed his mind
after the honeymoon . they decided to visit the tomb of Sir Simon
the duke asked Virginia . what happened when the ghost died
she replied that she couldn't tell him . but that the ghost had made her see what life and death meant
and why love is stronger than both
the duke was satisfied with that answer
but he said that she could only keep the secret . if she promised to tell their future children one day
Virginia blushed . and accepted the promise
and so ends the summary of the ghost of Canterville
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