illustration of a ghost standing behid an iron fence with its arm raised against a large mansion

The Canterville Ghost

by Oscar Wilde

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"The Canterville Ghost" as a Comedic Twist on Traditional Ghost Stories

Summary:

Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost" is a comedic twist on traditional ghost stories. While it includes classic elements like a haunted mansion, a ghost with a violent past, and eerie occurrences, it subverts expectations by portraying the ghost, Sir Simon, as the one being terrorized by the fearless Otis family. The family, particularly the twins, humorously torments Sir Simon, refusing to be frightened. The story balances comedy and horror, ultimately highlighting empathy and the humanization of the ghost.

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How is "The Canterville Ghost" a comico-horror story?

"The Canterville Ghost" is described as a comico-horror story because it has elements which both amuse and scare the reader.

Beginning with comedy, there are a number of humorous elements in the story. Washington Otis's cleaning of the blood stain with Pinkerton's Stain Removal in Chapter One, for example, and Mrs Otis's offer of a tincture in Chapter Three, are both designed to make the reader laugh. The tricks played on the ghost by the twins are also amusing. They attack him with pea-shooters, for instance, and leave nut-shells on the floor for him to stand on.

On the other hand, there are plenty of scary references in "The Canterville Ghost," too. When the Otis's buy Canterville Chase, for example, Lord Canterville asserts that the house is haunted and relates a frightening tale which explains his reason for selling. His great-aunt, the Dowager Duchess, was frightened "into a fit" after seeing skeleton hands on her shoulders while she was dressing for dinner. Similarly, Lady Canterville found herself unable to sleep at night because of the strange noises emanating from the corridor and the library.

The house's murderous history is another scary element in the story. In 1575, Sir Simon murdered his wife, Eleanore, and this act is immortalized by the blood stain in the library. This example is especially important because it demonstrates how Wilde combines comedy and horror to great effect. While the murder is itself a frightening act, Sir Simon's motivations are so trivial that they become funny to the reader:

My wife was very plain, never had my ruffs properly starched, and knew nothing about cookery.

In sum, then, Wilde is able to make the reader laugh and feel fear and, in some cases, feel both emotions at the same time.

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Describe the story of "The Canterville Ghost."

"The Canterville Ghost" is a short story written by Oscar Wilde. It begins with the Otis family, who are Americans, buying the Canterville mansion in England. The previous owner warns the Otis family that the house has been haunted for many years by a ghost named Sir Simon. The Otis family doesn't believe the story for the simple reason that they do not believe in ghosts. Not long after taking possession of the house, the Otis family is forced to admit that the ghost and the haunting is real; however, the story never becomes a "scary ghost story." In fact, the story becomes a comedy as it parodies the stereotypical ghost story. One reason that the story never becomes truly scary is because the Otis family simply refuses to be scared of the ghost. In fact, the two young Otis twins make it their personal goal to antagonize Sir Simon at every possible moment. It gets to the point that Sir Simon is scared to even leave his hiding places. The only family member that takes pity on Sir Simon is Virginia, and Sir Simon pleads with her to help him finally cross over to his eternal resting place. Virginia agrees to help Sir Simon, and she accompanies him to the Garden of Death where he can finally sleep forever. The story ends with Virginia getting married. Her husband asks her what happened between her and the ghost, and Virginia refuses to tell him.

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Why is "The Canterville Ghost" a mix of comedy and horror?

"The Canterville Ghost" is a horror story because parts of the story are genuinely creepy and scary.  In the story, readers are told that Sir Simon brutally murdered his wife and has been haunting the house for generations.  Additionally we learn about a blood stain that can't be removed.  It reappears despite all best efforts to clean it.  Further scares come from the ghost himself.  When he first appears to Mr. Otis, Sir Simon is dragging chains with him and has burning red eyes.  

The story is a comedy because despite Sir Simon's best efforts, the Otis family flat out refuses to be afraid.  It's not just that they put on a brave face either.  They are literally not scared in the slightest.  For example, Mr. Otis is more annoyed with Sir Simon that first night than scared.  That's why Mr. Otis hands the ghost some oil and asks him to kindly keep the noise down.  The twins end up antagonizing the ghost.  They set up trip wires for him, they throw pillows at him, and they even scare the ghost with fake ghosts.  Sir Simon spends most of the story plotting new ways to scare the Otis family only to be defeated in a funny way.  

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How does "The Canterville Ghost" differ from traditional ghost stories?

In a few ways, The Canterville Ghost is similar to a traditional ghost story. It is a story about a ghost that haunts a big mansion. The story even comes complete with a creepy blood stain that won't go away. Readers find out fairly early on in the story that people have been afraid to live in the house for quite some time because of the ghost's haunting presence. Even the ghost's first appearance is quite scary in its description.

His eyes were as red burning coals; long grey hair fell over his shoulders in matted coils; his garments, which were of antique cut, were soiled and ragged, and from his wrists and ankles hung heavy manacles and rusty gyves.

Of course, this moment is when the story starts to turn the traditional ghost story on its head. It turns out that unlike normal ghost stories, the Otis family is completely unafraid of Sir Simon's ghost. Mr. Otis isn't scared at all at the presence of Sir Simon appearing outside of the door in the middle of the night. In fact, Mr. Otis is annoyed at having to get out of bed in the first place. Mr. Otis kindly tells Sir Simon to stop making so much noise, and Mr. Otis even hands the ghost some oil to quiet his chains. He then turns around and goes back to bed. Sir Simon is left standing there completely speechless and quite dumbfounded.

"I shall leave it here for you by the bedroom candles, and will be happy to supply you with more, should you require it." With these words the United States Minister laid the bottle down on a marble table, and, closing his door, retired to rest.

From this point forward, the story ramps up its departure from the traditional ghost story. The members of the Otis family turn out to be antagonistic toward the ghost. The twins make it their personal mission to make the ghost's existence miserable. By the time that Virginia helps out Sir Simon, he is afraid to come out of his hiding spots for fear of coming across any more of their tricks.

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How is "The Canterville Ghost" both traditional and unusual for a ghost story?

Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost" is a traditional ghost story for a few reasons.  First, the story has a ghost, and he does try to do some haunting.  Traditionally, the ghost is not completely silent.  It usually makes some kind of rattling noise.  Sir Simon does this on the very first night.  

Some time after, Mr. Otis was awakened by a curious noise in the corridor, outside his room. It sounded like the clank of metal, and seemed to be coming nearer every moment.

Probably the most famous chain rattling ghost is Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  

Another standard ghost appearance motif is that the ghost will typically appear at night.  That is also true of Sir Simon's appearances.   Additionally, the haunting usually occurs within a fairly large, empty house.  The property that the Otis family purchased is a big, British estate.  Probably the best known modern example of that last motif is Stephen King's The Shining.  The ghosts haunt an entire hotel.  

The story is unusual though because it is quite comedic.  The Otis family is not scared at all of Sir Simon.  On his first appearance, Sir Simon shows up with rattling chains, ragged clothing, and burning red eyes.  Mr. Otis should be terrified.  But instead he hands the ghost some oil and tells him to not make so much noise.  

"I really must insist on your oiling those chains, and have brought you for that purpose a small bottle of the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator."

Probably the most unusual aspect of this story as a ghost story is the fact that the living people do more of the haunting than the ghost.  Sir Simon is genuinely scared of the twins by the end of the story, and the twins love tormenting the ghost of Sir Simon.  

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