Capitulo 1: Canterville Chase The American ambassador, Hiram Otis, and his family needed to find a home in England. Mr Otis saw many houses, but he only liked Canterville Chase, the family estate of Lord Canterville. The house was grand and elegant, but there was only one problem: it had a ghost! The Canterville Ghost was 300 years old. He always appeared before the death of somebody in the Canterville family. Because of this, nobody wanted to live in the house. Lord Canterville was a very honest man, and he told Mr Otis the truth about the ghost. "My aunt lived in this house, "explained Lord Canterville. "One day, something touched her shoulder. She turned and saw two skeleton hands! It was the ghost! She was terrified. She left the house immediately and never returned." Mr. Otis smiled. "I come from a modern country," he said. "We don't believe in ghosts". "Oh, but this ghost is real," said Lord Canterville. "It appeared in this house for the first time in 1584. After that, other members of my family saw the ghost, too. Now, nobody wants to live in this house." "Well, we aren't afraid of ghosts," said Mr. Otis, "and we like your house. I'm sure everything will be fine." "Americans are very practical," said Lord Canterville. "Well the house is yours. But remember my words and good luck! A few weeks later, Mr. Otis and his wife were ready to move to Canterville Chase. They took the train with their four children, Washington, Virginia and the twin boys, George and Lincoln. They were all very happy. Capitulo 2: The Otis family arrive A servant met the family at the train station. Washington, the eldest son, had dark hair and he was good-looking. Virginia, a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl with big, blue eyes, was quiet and gentle and everybody liked her. The ten-year-old twins had a lot of energy and were in trouble a lot. Everybody called them the "Stars and Stripes" because they were always together. The family entered a carriage to go to their new home. It was a lovely July evening and the birds sang happily in the trees. But the atmosphere was different al Canterville Chase. Suddenly, dark clouds appeared in the sky. Mrs Umney, the housekeeper, stood at the door of the house."Welcome to Canterville Chase," she said. The family followed her into the dark house. It was cold and a little frightening. They entered the library and saw a big window at the end of the room. Virginia noticed some strange writing on the coloured glass: A young girl will come to this place. Then tears will fall on her face. She will pray and the house will be still. Peace will come to Canterville."What does this mean?" she thought. Suddenly, Mrs Otis saw a red stain on the floor, next to the fireplace. She turned to Mrs Umney. "What´s this?" she asked. It`s blood, Madam! “It´s the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville," Mrs Umney explained."Her husband, Sir Simon de Canterville, killed her in this room in 1575. Capitulo 3: Mrs Umney´s Explanation "Sir Simon killed his wife! That´s terrible!"Mrs Otis exclaimed."Did he go to prison?" "No, he didappeared," said Mrs Umney, mysteriously. "But his ghost lives in this house. And we can´t forget his story, because of this bloodstain. It´s impossible to remove it." "That´s ridiculous!" exclaimed Washington. "Pinkerton´s Champion Stain Remover will clean anything." Washington brought a bottle of the stain remover and started to clean bloodstain. In a few moments, the floor was clean. I told you! Pinkerton´s Champion can remove anything! Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, and the sound of metal chains filled the room. Mrs Umney’s face because white and she fell to the floor. She opened her eyes a few minutes later. She was very nervous. "The ghost is here," she said. "I heard his chains. Something bad is going to happen in this house. Some nights, I can´t sleep because of this horrible ghost. He frightens the bravest people." Mrs Otis smiled at the old lady. "Well, he won´t frighten us," he said. "Nothing is going to happen." "I´ll pray for everybody in the house. Goodnight," said Mrs Umney, and she went to her room. Capitulo 4: The Bloodstain Reappears That night, there was a storm, but the Otis family didn´t hear it. They were all very tired. In the morning, the bloodstain was on the library floor again. “That´s strange!” said Washington. “Pinkerton´s Champion takes away all stains. Is the ghost responsible for this?” Washington removed the stain, but the next morning it reappeared. He removed it for the third time. This time, Mr Otis locked the library door. But the next morning, the stain was there again. This strange happening didn´t frighten the Otis family. It fascinated them! That day, it was warm and sunny. The family went out and returned home at nine o ´clock, in the evening to have dinner. At eleven o´clock, the Otis family went to their bedrooms. Soon, the house was dark and everybody was asleep. Later that night, a strange noise woke Mr Otis. It came from the corridor outside his room. Mr Otis got up, lit a candle and looked at the time. It was exactly one o´clock. He heard the strange noise again and the sound of footsteps. “It´s the ghost and his metal chains,” thought Mr Otis. He took a small bottle from his bedroom cupboard and opened the door. There, in the corridor, was an old man. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked wild. Was this the Canterville Ghost? Capitulo 5: The Canterville Ghost Is Furious The old man had long grey hair. His clothes were from another century and they were old and dirty. They were heavy chains on his arms and legs. "My dear sir," said Mr Otis."Are you the Canterville Ghost? Please oil your chains. Then, they won´t make so much noise, and you won´t make everybody in the house." Mr Otis showed him the bottle in his hand. Here´s a bottle of Tammany´s rising Un Lubricator to oil your chains. "It´s an excellent product. I´ll leave it here for you, next to my door," said Mr Otis. He put the bottle on a table in the corridor. Then he returned to his bedroom and closed the door. The Canterville Ghost stood outside the door for a moment. He took the bottle and threw it on the floor. Then he ran down the stairs. Suddenly, a door opened at the top of the stairs and the twins appeared. They were angry because of the noise. They threw a big pillow at then ghost. The pillow hit the ghost on the head. "Ow! That hurt!" cried the ghost, horrified. "These people are abominable and insulting," he thought. "Why aren´t they afraid of me?" He disappeared suddenly, and the house because silent again. At breakfast the next morning, the Otis family talked about the ghost. Mr Otis was angry because the ghost didn´t take his bottle of lubricator."The next time the ghost wakes me, I´m going to take his chains from him,"he said. "It´s impossible to sleep with that noise." Virginia turned to the twins. "You know, this is the ghost´s house, too," she said. "It´s not nice to throw pillows at him." The house was quiet the rest of the week. But the bloodstain appeared and reappeared on the library floor. It started to change colour. Some days, it was red. One day, it was bright green this was very funny. The Canterville Ghost didn´t think it was funny at all. In a secret room at the black of the house, the ghost remembered his brilliant 300-year career. He thought about some of his victims. Once, he frightened three hysterical servants in the kitchen and they never recovered from the shock. And there was also old Madame de Troumillac. She woke early one morning and saw a skeleton in her room. She was terrified and spent the next six weeks ill in bed! There were hundreds of examples like that. And now, some moderm Americans gave him Rising Sun Lubricator for his chains and threw pillows at his head! It was humiliating! The Canterville Ghost stayed in his room and planned his revenge. Capitulo 6: The Ghost´s Revenge On Sunday night, the family went you bed, but a terrible noise woke them. Washington ran down the stairs. George and Lincoln followed – each one had a peashooter. The Canterville Ghost was on the floor. He was in a suit of armour. The twins shot peas at him. The ghost jumped up with a shout, ran up the stairs and passed through the twins. Then, a cold wind extinguished Washington´s candle, and the boys stood in the dark. At the top of the stairs, the ghost decided to try his demonic laugh. “This laugh always has excellent results,” he thought. “Three of Lady Eleanore de Canterville’s servants heard it and left the house immediately. They never returned again.” The Canterville Ghost laughed, “Ha, ha, ha, ha!” Then, he stopped. A bedroom door opened and Mrs Otis appeared. You sound ill. Here´s a bottle of Dr Dobell `s Universal Medicine. It will help you. The ghost was surprised. He wanted to transform into a big, black dog to frighten Mrs Otis, but she returned to her bedroom immediately. The Canterville Ghost jumped up and down in frustration, and then he disappeared. Capitulo 7: Ghostly Plans The Canterville Ghost sat in his room. “That abominable Otis family,” he thought.”They ´re rude and arrogant. And I also hate their strange American products.” The ghost felt very weak for the next few days. He stayed in his room and only left to paint the bloodstain on the library floor. At the end of the week, he decided to try to frighten the family again. It was Friday, 17th August. That day, the ghost selected his clothes carefully. He chose a big hat, a long cape and an old dagger. He looked very elegant. A storm started early in the evening. There was a strong wind. “Good!” he thought. “This is perfect weather for my plan.” “I´ll start with Washington,” he thought.The ghost hated Washington because he removed the stain every morning with Pinkerton´s Champion Stain Remover.”I´ll go to his room. I´ll shout next to his bed and I´ll stab my boby three times with the dagger. Washington will cry in terror.” “Next, I´ll go to the parents´ room,” the ghost thought. “I´ll put a cold hand on Mr Otis’ face and I´ll tell Mr Otis terrible secrets about the house.” “But what can I do about Virginia?” thought the ghost. “She´s a kind, pretty girl. I won´t frighten her very much. I´ll just stand inside her cupboard and I´ll knock on the door.” The ghost had special plans for the terrible twins. He wanted to teach them a lesson. “First, I´ll sit on them,” he thought. “Then, I´ll appear between their beds as a cold, green, dead man with one eye. For the grand finale, I´ll transform into a skeleton and fly around the room. They´ll be terrified.” At half past ten, the ghost heard the family on the stairs. They went to their rooms and by quarter past eleven, the house was, silent. At midnight, the ghost left his room. He appeared in the corridor and started to walk in the direction of the bedrooms. At the end of the corridor, he stopped for a moment. He had sinister smile on his face. Capitulo 8: The worst humiliation The ghost turned the corner and stopped smiling. In front of him was another ghost with red eyes and fire in his mouth! He was really scary! The Canterville Ghost shouted in terror and ran to his room. He was frightened and angry. “This is my house. Who is that ghost? Why is he here?” A few hours later, he decided to return to the corridor and speak to the other ghost. But he only saw a sheet on the floor in the corridor; the other ghost wasn´t there. “It was a trick!” thought the ghost. “Those terrible twins did it to insult me.” He was furious and he stayed in his room the entire day. For the next few weeks, the ghost walked around the house quietly. He was very tired. He used Tammany’s Rising Sun Lubricator on his chains, because he didn´t want to wake the family. But the twins didn´t leave him in peace. They put cords across the corridor and he fell over them all the time. One night, he fell down the stairs! Finally, he tried to frighten the twins again. One night, before he left his room, he removed his head.”A ghost without a head will definitely frighten them,” he thought. It was quarter past one in the morning, and the ghost appeared on the stairs with his head under his arm. The door of the twins´ room was open a little. The ghost opened it quickly and a heavy bucket of water fell on him. The ghost´s head fell to the floor. George and Lincoln jumped from their beds. They laughed loudly. This was the worst humiliations of the ghost´s career! He ran to his room and got into bed. The next day, he stayed in bed with a temperature. After that, nobody saw the ghost, and the bloodstain didn´t appear again. Washington looked for the stain every morning, but the floor was clean. Soon, the Otis family forgot about the ghost. Mr Otis made many important speeches. Mrs Otis organized wonderful dinner parties, and the boys played lacrosse in the garden. Virginia spent a lot of time on her horse, exploring the area around Canterville Chase. Capitulo 9: Virginia Meets the Ghost One day, Virginia rode horse in the meadow. On the way home, she tore here on a bush. Oh dear! Mother will be very angry with me. “I´ll enter house through the back door,” thought Virginia. “Mother mustn´t see my skirt.” Virginia passed a room at the back of the house. The door was open and somebody was inside.”Is it Mrs Umney?” she thought. “Maybe she can repair the hole in my skirt.” Virginia entered the room. To her, surprise, she saw the Canterville Ghost. He looked very sad. At first, Virginia wanted to escape. But then she felt sorry for the ghost, and she decided to talk to him.” Why are you sad?” she asked him. “I´m very lonely,” said the ghost. “I hate my life.” “But you did something very cruel,” said Virginia. “You killed your wife! Why?” It´s wrong to kill somebody. “My wife didn´t love me and she didn´t take care of me,” said the ghost. “She was a terrified cook! But I´m sorry I killed her. Later, her brother locked me in a room without food or water. I suffered a lot. Now, I try to frighten everybody and nobody is afraid. Your brothers torture me with their tricks.” “I feel very sorry for you,” said Virginia. “But my brothers will go to school tomorrow and then nobody will disturb you. You will have peace.” “Peace?” said the ghost. “I never hate any peace. I don´t sleep and I don´t eat.” “Oh, Mr Ghost… I mean, Sir Simon,” said Virginia. ”Are you hungry? Can I bring you a sandwich?” “No, thank you,” answered the ghost. “I don´t eat anything now. But you´re very kind. You´re much nicer than the rest of your horrible, rude family.” Virginia was angry now. Don´t say that! You´re horrible and rude. “You stole my paints that bloodstain,” said Virginia. “I was very angry with you but I never revealed your secret. “Well, I had no choice. It´s very difficult to get real blood these days.” “I don´t want to talk to you,” said Virginia. “You mustn´t insult my family. I´m going to my room now.” The ghost looked at Virginia with sad eyes. ”Please don´t go,” he said. Capitulo 10: The Prophecy “It´s nice talk to another person,” said the ghost in a quiet voice. “What can I do? I want to sleep, but I can`t, and I´m very, very tired. Virginia sat next to the ghost and looked into his old face. “Poor ghost!” she said.” Can´t you find a place to sleep?” “There is place,” he answered in a quiet voice. “There´s a small garden far from here. The grass is long and there´s a silver light from the moon. A bird sings all night in the trees.” “You´re talking about the Garden of Death,” Virginia said. “Yes, Death,” the ghost said. Virginia covered her face with her hands. “Death is probably beautiful,” said the ghost. “There´s no yesterday or tomorrow. I want to find peace.” The ghost looked into Virginia’s eyes.” Please help me. You open the gates of death for me”. Virginia felt very cold. “How can I do that?” she asked. “Do you remember the writing on the library window’” asked the ghost. “Yes”, answered Virginia, and she recited the four lines. The ghost closed his eyes and listened to the words. Then, he smiled at Virginia. “You remember the words perfectly”, he said, impresed. “Yes. But I don’t understand their meaning”, said Virginia. “ It’s a prophecy”, said the ghost. “ It’s about you”. Yo must cry for my sins.You must meet the Angel of Death and pray for me. Then he will forgive me and take me with him to a better place”. “How can I frightened. meet the Angel of Death? Asked Virginia, very “You must come with me to hell”, answered the ghost. “ You will see horrible figures in the dark, and they will talk to you. But they won’t hurt you, because you’re a good, kind girl”. Capitulo 11: The journey to hell The ghost looked at Virginia with hope in his eyes, but she didn´t say a word. "Of course you don´t want to do this frightening thing," he said. Virginia´s face was white and she had a strange look in her eyes. "I´ll speak to the Angel of Death and he´ll forgive you." The ghost was very happy. He took Virginia´s hand and kissed it. His fingers were cold, like ice, and his lips were hot, like fire. The ghost took Virginia to the opposite side of the room. They passed an old tapestry on the wall. Suddenly, the men in the tapestry came to life and moved their arms. Go back, Virginia. Go back! The ghost continued with Virginia at his side. At the end of the room, Virginia saw the wall disappear. At big, black cave appeared in front of her. She felt a cold wind and something pulled her skirt. "Quick!" cried the ghost. "We haven´t got a lot of time!" A moment later, the ghost´s room was empty. Ten minutes later, the bell rang for afternoon tea. Virginia didn´t appear in the dining room. At first, Mrs Otis wasn´t worried, because Virginia often went to the meadow on her horse. But at six o´clock, she became very worried. She sent the twins to find Virginia, but they had no luck. Washington went on his horse to look in the meadow, and Mr Otis rode to the train station. He also went to the police station. But nobody found Virginia. That night, the Otis family stayed in the library an didn´t go to sleep. They were all very worried and nobody spoke. At midnight, they heard a loud noise and strange music. Suddenly, a panel on the wall opened and Virginia appeared. Her face was white. Capitulo 12: The Skeleton Virginia’s mother ran and put her arms around her and the twins danced happily around them. “Where were you?” asked Mr Otis in an angry voice. “We were very worried about you. “I was with the ghost”, said Virginia in a quiet voice. “ I wanted to help him. Sir Simon was a bad person in the past. He did some terrible things, but now he is sorry about everything. “Tell us the entire story”, said Mrs Otis. “Where did the ghost take you? “Please don’t ask me”, said Virginia sadly. “I can’t tell you”. Virginia looked at everybody. “ Sir Simon is dead now”, she said. “ There is no Canterville Ghost now. Come with me and say goodbye to him”. Everybody was silent. Virginia speak her familia family through the open panel into a secret corridor. Finally, they came in a big door.She opened the door and they enterend a room with a very small window. There was a skeleton on the floor, with an old jug and bowl in front of its arms. But the skeleton’s arms didn’t reach them. “Is this Sir Simon’s skeleton?” asked Washington. “ Poor man”. He died in this small room without food or water. Virginia sato n the floor, next to the skeleton,and a beautiful light shone on her face. “The Angel of Death forgave him”, said Virginia. “ Now, Sir Simon can rest in peace”. Two days later, a funeral procession left Canterville Chase at eleven o’clock at night. Lord Canterville and his family were there. They carried torches in front of Sir Simon’s coffin. Suddenly, the moon appeared from behind a cloud and covered the cementery with its light. They putt he coffin in the ground. Then, Virginia put some red and White flowers on top of it. A bird sand in the tres. It was beautiful. This was the ghost’s description of the Garden of Death! Virgina began to cry. Finally, Sir Simon was at peace.
