The little ghost had always haunted Eulenstein Castle, discreetly, from midnight to one. Then, when the town clock was repaired, he found himself waking at noon and causing no end of excitement among the alarmed townspeople…. [But] the older readers of [The Little Ghost] will probably look for more substantial humor or more chills than the story provides. It may, in addition, give offense in one place … where the little ghost, turning black in the daylight, moans, "How awful if I have to spend … my life as a black monster! Perhaps there's some way to put it right—a way to make a person white again? I do hope so."