When the Americans Mr and Mrs Otis and their four children move into Canterville Chase its
previous occupant Lord Canterville warns them that the ghost of his ancestor still haunts the
house. Their disbelief is soon shattered by the nightly sound of rattling chains in the
hallways and the appearance of mysterious bloodstains in the living room. However the ghost
struggles to intimidate his new victims as they counter his ghoulish behaviour with typically
transatlantic pragmatism offering lubricator for his chains and cleaning up the stains with
detergent. As the spirit is deserted by his capacity to scare Virginia the Otises' daughter
gets to know him and learns the tragic tale behind his sad fate. Sparkling with his trademark
wit this classic tale is one of Oscar Wilde's finest stories and is presented here with three
other comic mystery stories ?Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' ?The Sphinx without a Secret' and
?The Model Millionaire' all of which were first published together in 1891.
