The Canterville Ghost

"The Canterville Ghost" was widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published. The story is about a family who moves to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead nobleman, who killed his wife and was starved to death by her brothers. This is Oscar Wilde's tale of the American family moved into a British mansion, Canterville Chase, much to the annoyance its tired ghost. The family -- which refuses to believe in him -- is in Wilde's way a commentary on the British nobility of the day -- and on the Americans, too. The tale, like many of Wilde's, is rich with allusion, but ends as sentimental romance. . . .