The Canterville Ghost

By Oscar Wilde

chapter 1Hello,

I am Simon Canterville,

the ghost of Lord Canterville.

I am a terrible ghost, everybody

is afraid of me.

I am waiting for a new family.

They are moving to my palace;

Canterville Manor

They are from America…

Now, I am going back to my

room to be ready to meet

them….

here they are!

Let me introduce the

American family.

Mr. Hiram Otis, American

Prime Minister, his wife,

Mrs. Otis, a beautiful middle-

aged lady.

And their four children…

middle-aged: about 45 years old

washington

Washington is their first

son, a good looking boy,

fair, sensible, a good

dancer, a lover of

aristocracy.

His name is quite patriotic:

it is the name of the First

President of the U.S.A.

sensible: rational

virginia

This beautiful girl is

Virginia.

She is 15 years old.

She is nice, lovely,

sensitive, very good at

riding horses.

sensitive: emotional

stars and stripes

Stars and Stripes

are the twins: very lively, un-

respectful.

Their name is the name of

the American flag…but it is

because they are often hit

with a whip as a

punishment.

whip

canterville house

Here we are at last.

Canterville Manor.

It is a beautiful palace.

The garden…is huge

and full of flowers and

plants.

There is plenty of space

to dance

… and to run huge: enormous

Mrs. Umnhey

This old woman is

Mrs. Umney, the housekeeper,

a silly gossiper.

She is always wearing a black

dress with a white, silk apron

and

a white cap.

She is waiting for the

Americans .

apron

cap

the blood stain This is the library.

Mrs. Otis shouts:

«What is that red stain on the

floor? Clear it, please.»

Mrs. Umney answers:

«It is the blood of Lady Eleanore de

Canterville, last wife of Lord

Canterville.

Sir Simon Canterville is her

murderer and his ghost haunts this

house. It is impossible to clean it. »stain: spot

Pinkerton’s Champion Stain

removerNothing is impossible

for Pinkerton’s Champion Stain Remover and Paragon

detergent! Voilà, the floor is clean!

A flash appears in the sky, and

the thunder follows.

-Be carefull! There are

going to be troubles

tonight!-

chapter 2

Here we are! Good morning…

Oh that stain again!

The stain re-appears.

… It’s me , Lord Simon. I paint it every morning

a noisy ghost

It’s night. It’s time to go to bed.

I appear: I look frightening! My eyes are red, my hair is long and grey,

my clothes are torn, dirty and old.

Mr. Hiram Otis comes out of his room and says:

What are these noises in the corridor? They seem rusty chains!?! Let’s go and see…oh ... you look ill…This is for your chains: it is the Tammariny Rising Sun Lubricator. Good night

the pillow

The twins see me on the stairs

Ohhhh, what’s this? Let’s go away….

That’s the ghost. Throw him a pillow!

a very sad ghost

Here I am. Thanks goodthere is the fourthdimension so I candisappear…I am very upset…it is thefirst time…barons,duchesses, kingseverybody is afraid of me.My skeleton, myapparition…theseAmericans are making fun of

me…It’s time for revenge

chapter 3 Another day begins

Yes but this morning the colour is different…it is emerald green Let’s bet on the colour

The family at breakfast comments:

This ghost is very impolite. He does not

accept my suggestions…

And that ugly stain every morning appears again

only Virginia thinks …

Poor ghost, he is very alone in this castle. He looks so sad

on Sunday night….a crash in the hall

The twins say: «Look! The armour is on the floor»

Washington adds: « And the ghost is

sitting on the armchair »

Mr Otis cries with a pistol in his hands: « Freeze!?! »

Virginis exclaims: « He is passing through us…. »An armour

the ghost’s laughter

Mrs Otis looks at me:«There, he is on top ofthe chair ……….

You are not fine, my dear. Try this. It’s Dr Dobell’s Tincture, it is wonderful for cold and cough! »

Ah, ah, ah

Cough, cough cough….

My laughter always frightens everybody

I start laughing …..but I cough

The ghost runs into his room again

Back in my room I start thinking:

Oh, here I am again. How do they dare??? And my armour: it is to heavy for me now. I am too thin But I swear…I’ll frighten you with my ugliest disguises

I’ll kill myself with a dagger in frontof Washington, that stain remover!I’ll put my chilly handOn Mrs. Otis’s foreheadI’ll tell Mr. Otis the secretof the tomb

dagger

Sir Simon’s revenge….

….and those horrible

twins…I’ll sit on their

chests and remain

between them like a

corpse…and I’ll move

around the room moving

my bones.

Virginia…no , she is too

nice and kind… corpse

At midnight, in a stormy night

I walk to the twins

room, but an ugly

spirit appears in front of me:

he has a white, round ad

fat face, a bald

head and is grinning

at me…

I run away, crying: Oh,

what’s that! Who are you?

Ah…….

The twins’ trick

Then I stop…..

But when I get back ….

Ah ah, the ghost is frightened by our fake ghost…What a trick!A ball, some cotton, a brush and a sheet frightens Sir Simon, the terrible Canterville ghost

No, I’ll go and speak to him.

Together we’ll frighten

everybody

Sir Simon’s menace

I am furious. This is my menace to You, Americans…..

I’ll kill you before the cock sings twice

But the night the cock does not sing

Chapter 4

Here I am , alone in my room…I am so tired.

I don’t paint the stain, I move around once a week without making any noise, I only appear at the window twice a month….But those twins continue with their tricks.

OK, this is my decision: I’ll appear without my head in front of them

Hi, I’m Rupert the Headless

I am going into the corridor, …here I am ,that’s the twins’

room….ahh…..what a cold …..A bucket of cold water waters me completelyAnd the twins laugh

Here I am in my room again…..and with a bad coldFortunately my head was not with me….

The last trick

Look at me….I amwalking around in slippers , looking atthe picturesof thoseAmericans…howfunny they are!Oh no thoseterrible boys again

Stars and stripes: BOOOOH

That’s Washington…what’s he doing? With that garden pump….Oh no, water again. Let me take the fourth dimension and disappear ….

slippers

The ghost gives up

Stop, stop with the apparition.

Let them have parties, andplay hockey, and have

picnicson the beach.Let the GREAT PRIMEMINISTER work for theDemocratic Party.

Look! Virginia is horse ridingwith the young Duke ofCheshire….I know his grand-

grandfather

horse

Chapter 5Oh, that’s strange. Why is Virginia going to this back side of the castle? Oh, her dresses are torn. Maybe she is looking for her mother’s maid…

Virginia sees the ghost in his room

Oh, it’s you, sir Simon. Don’t be depressed. Stars and stripes are leaving for the college tomorrow.

So, your life will be peaceful.

I want to rest I: My job is going round and

frighten everybody. Virginia: You are bad, a

murder of your poor wife.I: My wife, ugly…and a bad

cook too.Virginia: What about my

colours? You paint the stain with my colours

I: I have no blood….my blood is blue

Virginia: Come with us to America. It’s fantastic. You can find a job there. My father can help you…

I: No. No I am too tired. I don’t sleep…Virginia: You have not a bed I: Yes, there is a place where I can sleep. In a garden, the garden of death.You can help me Virginia, because you are good. I want to find peace. A prophecy says that if an innocent child cries and prays for my soul, I can be free and rest in peace.

I’ll help you

Virginia: I’ll help youSir Simon: But it is not easy…you will see

strange creature and hear terrible sounds…

Virginia: I’ll come with you.Sir Simon: So, give me your hand and let’s go

beyond the wall.

Virginia closes her eyes and their journey starts…

Chapter 6It is teatime. In the sitting

roomthe Otises are waiting for

Virginia

Mrs. Otis: Where is Virginia, my dear?

Mr. Otis: I don’t know.Mrs. Otis: Boys, do you

know where Virginia is?Twins: No, mumWashington: That’s strange.

She is always on time. Mr. Otis: I’ll go and look for

her in the country

I’ll come with you The Duke of Cheshire

shouts and follows the Prime Minister.

Mr. Otis: The gypsies are no longer here. Let’s send telegrams to the stationsWe can go to Ascot….

gypsy

back at home

The twins and Washington are waiting at the gate

Stars and Stripes: Mum is on the sofa, she feels sick-

Mrs. Umney asks : May I serve dinner, Milord?

The Duke and Mr. Otis: We are not hungry, thank you. It is better to go to bed. Tomorrow morning we can start again to look for our dear Virginia.

The clock strikes Midnight …Suddenly….

the gift

Mrs. Otis: Oh dear…where

are you coming from?

Virginia….what have you

got

Virginia: I am sorry…. don’t

worry…The ghost rests in

peace now. This is his gift

for me: a box of jewels. I’ll

show you his room.

a tree in the garden of death

Virginia leads her family through the

corridor to the ghost’s room: There is

a skeleton.

Outside , in the garden, they see a

tree full of leaves and flowers.

Virginia: This is the room…poor ghost…

without food and drink, without peace

in his soul….

chapter 7 Mrs. Otis suggests: Let’s organize a

funeral for poor Sir Simon. Of course, he will rest here in our churchyard.

Virginia: These are for you, Sir Simon,

Virginia puts some flowers on the tomb.

The Prime Minister says: We will give the box of jewels to the last Lord Canterville.

But the last Lord Canterville does not accept them:

They are Virginia’ jewels, the Ghost ‘s gift for her….

The wedding And Virginia now is wearing them.

It is her wedding day. She is getting

married to the Duke of Cheshire. She is very elegant with Sir

Simon'sjewels. She is in front of the

Queen.

Virginia: Let’s go to Sir Simon tomb… Before leaving for our honeymoon, I have some flowers for Him.

The Duke: Virginia, what can you tell me about that night?

Virginia: I can’t tell you anything my dear. Maybe I’ll tell our children…..