In "The Canterville Ghost," Virginia Otis is very different from the other members of her family in two ways.

First of all, she does not play tricks on the ghost, nor does she tease him in the same manner as her parents and brothers. In Chapter Three, for example, it is noted that Virginia does not try to remove the blood-stain in the library, as the other members of her family constantly seek to do:

The only person who did not enter into the joke was little Virginia, who, for some unexplained reason, was always a good deal distressed at the sight of the blood-stain.

Secondly, Virginia is kindhearted and warm towards the ghost. When they meet in Chapter Five, for example, she engages with the ghost because she sees that he looks miserable and depressed. She is determined, in fact, to "try and comfort him." Compare this attitude with the other members of her family. The twins, for example, play numerous tricks on the ghost which include attacking him with a pea-shooter and splashing him with a jug of cold water. In contrast, Virginia seeks to help the ghost: she encourages him to repent of his sins and prays for his forgiveness. The ghost is then able to enter the Garden of Death.

It is for this reason that Virginia, and not the other members of her family, is mentioned in the prophecy on the library window: she is the only person good-hearted enough to help the ghost in his time of need.