Sir Simon Canterville
See Ghost

Cecil
See Duke of Cheshire

Duke of Cheshire
Madly in love with the fifteen-year-old Virginia Otis, the youthful Duke of Cheshire proposes after witnessing her triumph in a pony race. However, his guardians send him off to Eton, forcing him to wait to marry. Yet, his impulsiveness remains undeterred. When Virginia goes missing, he insists on joining the search party. Upon her return, he showers her with kisses. His dedication pays off, and Virginia agrees to become the Duchess of Cheshire.

Ghost
The Ghost, also known as Sir Simon Canterville, has haunted Canterville Chase since 1584 when he was starved to death by his deceased wife's brothers as revenge for murdering her due to her plain looks and poor housekeeping. For three centuries, Sir Simon has delighted in terrifying the residents of Canterville Chase, appearing as "The Headless Earl," "The Corpse-Snatcher of Chertsey Barn," and "The Blood-sucker of Bexley Moor," among other forms. However, the arrival of the pragmatic American Otis family leaves him disheartened, as they remain unfazed by his efforts. Exhausted and despairing, Sir Simon pleads with Virginia Otis to pray for him so he can finally rest in peace. Initially the target of the twins' pranks and an irritation to the practical Otises, the Ghost eventually garners sympathy. Before finding peace, he gifts Virginia a box of priceless jewels.

Mr. Horace B. Otis
The exuberant head of the Otis family, Mr. Otis, initially dismisses the ghost stories associated with his newly acquired English home, asserting that modern America has already absorbed anything valuable from the Old World. Sir Simon is taken aback when Mr. Otis insists that the ghost use Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator to silence his clanking chains so the family can sleep. A composed man, Mr. Otis reprimands the twin boys for hurling pillows at the ghost and suggests that if the ghost refuses to use the lubricator, they will confiscate his chains. Mr. Otis leads the search for the missing Virginia and eventually agrees to her marriage into the aristocracy.

Mrs. Lucretia Tappan Otis
The lively matriarch of the Otis family, Mrs. Lucretia Tappan Otis, a former New York beauty, is famous for her "superb profile." Sir Simon views her as a crass materialist because she offers him Dr. Dobell's tincture for indigestion, mistaking his ghostly moans for a stomach ailment. Generally unfazed by the Ghost's antics, Mrs. Otis introduces her neighbors to American delights such as clambakes. Apart from her understandable worry during Virginia's disappearance, Mrs. Otis maintains a "truly remarkable amount of animal spirits."

Virginia Otis
Virginia Otis is the beautiful, somewhat puritanical fifteen-year-old daughter of the American Minister. At the beginning of the story, she has already captured the heart of the young Duke of Cheshire. Initially, the reader learns little about Virginia's character. She remains in the background while her family either schemes against the Ghost or tries to cure him of his clanking chains and scratchy voice. When Virginia finally meets Sir Simon, she feels compassion for him and offers to help the weary spirit. Sir Simon tells her that if she prays for him, he will achieve eternal rest. Courageously, she takes his hand and, despite hearing warning voices, follows him into another dimension. Eventually, Virginia marries the young Duke. Although her husband pleads with her to reveal what happened that fateful night with the Ghost, she refuses. Virginia does, however, express her gratitude to Sir Simon, saying he taught her that Love is stronger than both Death and Life.

Stars and Stripes
See Twins

Twins
The youngest members of the Otis family, the twins are rambunctious troublemakers. They throw pillows at Sir Simon's ghostly head, shoot him with their peashooters, and scatter nuts along the corridor to trip him up. Unstoppable, the twins reach their peak of mischief by creating their own ghost using a hollowed-out turnip, a bed curtain, and a kitchen cleaver. Their relentless pranks leave Sir Simon unnerved, as every one of his revenge plans is foiled by the twins' antics.

The narrative starts with Hiram B. Otis and his family moving into Canterville Chase, despite Lord Canterville's warnings that the castle is haunted. The Otis family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Otis, their son Washington, their daughter Virginia, and two twin boys. Initially, no one in the Otis family believes in ghosts, but soon after their arrival, they cannot ignore the presence of Sir Simon. They hear clanking chains, witness recurring bloodstains on the carpet, and see mysterious apparitions. However, none of these phenomena frighten the Otises. In fact, when Mr. Otis hears the clanking noises in the hallway, he calmly gets out of bed and offers the ghost Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator to oil his chains.

Despite Sir Simon's efforts to appear in terrifying disguises, the family remains unafraid, leaving Sir Simon feeling increasingly powerless and humiliated. When Mrs. Otis notices a strange red mark on the carpet, she casually remarks that she does "not at all care for blood stains in the sitting room." When the housekeeper, Mrs. Umney, informs her that the stain is proof of the ghost and cannot be removed, Washington Otis, the eldest son, suggests using Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent. This quick fix, like the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator, is a practical solution to the problem. The Otises, embodying the stereotypical American desire for instant results, believe there is an explanation and remedy for everything. By contrasting the Otises with Sir Simon, a symbol of English tradition, Wilde cleverly depicts Hiram and Mrs. Otis as "ugly Americans"—uncultured, unimpressed by British heritage, and unfazed by anything unusual.

Wilde describes Mrs. Otis as "a very handsome middle-aged woman" who was once "a celebrated New York belle." Though considered refined by American standards, Mrs. Otis, like her husband, is materialistic and shows a blatant disregard for British tradition and history. Her lack of cultural sensitivity is evident when she immediately turns to a commercial stain remover to eliminate the bloodstains and when she expresses interest in joining the Psychical Society to understand the ghost. Both Mrs. Otis and her husband are portrayed as laughable characters, revealing their lack of refinement while assuming they can adopt the roles of English aristocrats.

The most vibrant character in the story is undoubtedly Sir Simon, the ghost, who performs his spectral duties with theatrical flair. He adopts a series of dramatic roles to impress the Otises, making it easy to picture Sir Simon as a comedic figure in a stage play. This ghost can change his appearance, so he draws from his repertoire of tricks. He takes on ghostly forms such as The Headless Earl, The Strangled Babe, The Blood-Sucker of Bexley Moor, Jonas the Graveless, Suicide's Skeleton, and the Corpse-Snatcher of Chertsey Barn, all of which had terrified previous castle residents over the centuries. However, none of these forms frighten the Americans. Sir Simon plots, but despite his increasingly gruesome costumes, his antics fail to scare his guests, and the Otises manage to thwart him every time. He falls prey to trip wires, pea shooters, butter slides, and falling buckets of water. In a particularly funny scene, he is terrified by the sight of a "ghost" rigged up by the mischievous twins.

Throughout the story, as narrated by Sir Simon, we come to understand the ghost's complex emotions. We see him being brave, frightening, distressed, scared, and eventually, depressed and weak. He reveals his vulnerability during an encounter with Virginia, Mr. Otis's fifteen-year-old daughter. Virginia stands out from the rest of her family, and Sir Simon notices this. He tells her that he hasn't slept in three hundred years and desperately wants to do so. The ghost shares with Virginia an ancient prophecy stating that because he has no tears and no faith, he can only die if Virginia, who possesses these qualities, "weeps for his past sins and prays for the salvation of his soul." She is the only one willing to suspend her skepticism, the only one willing to believe in ghosts, and ultimately, the only one capable of putting Sir Simon to rest.

Unlike her family, Virginia does not dismiss the ghost. She takes him seriously, listens to him, and learns an important lesson. She weeps for him and prays for him, disappearing with Sir Simon through the wainscoting to the Garden of Death where she bids the ghost farewell. She reappears at midnight through a panel in the wall, carrying a casket of jewels and the news that Sir Simon has moved on to the next world and no longer haunts the castle. Virginia's willingness to accept Sir Simon and become a believer leads to her enlightenment; she tells her husband years later that Sir Simon helped her understand "what Life is, what Death signifies, and why Love is stronger than both."