[Music] mr hiram b otis was a rich american from new york he had come to live and work in england but he did not want to live in london he did not want to live in the city he wanted to live in the countryside outside london canterville chase was a large and very old house near london lord canterville the owner wanted to sell it so mr hiram b otis visited lord canterville i do not live in canterville chase lord canterville said to mr otis i do not want to live there the house has a ghost the canterville ghost i come from america said mr otis america is a modern country i don't believe in ghosts have you seen this canterville ghost no said lord canterville but i have heard it at night i don't believe in ghosts mr otis said again no one has found a ghost no one has put a ghost in a museum and you haven't seen this ghost either but several members of my family have seen it said lord canterville my aunt saw the ghost she was so frightened that she was ill for the rest of her life also the servants have seen it so they will not stay in the house at night only the housekeeper mrs omni lives in canterville chase mrs omni lives there alone i want to buy the house said mr otis i'll buy the ghost as well will you sell canterville chase will you sell the ghost yes i will said lord canterville but please remember i told you about the ghost before you bought the house mr hirambi otis bought canterville chase then his family came to england from america he had a wife called lucretia three sons and a daughter the eldest son washington was almost 20 years old he was good looking and had fair hair his two young brothers were twins they were 12 years old the daughter virginia was 15 years old she had large blue eyes and a lovely face mr otis took his family to live at canterville chase the old house was in the countryside west of london mr otis and his family traveled from london by train then they rode to the house in a wagon pulled by two horses canterville chase was big and old trees grew all around the house the otis family wanted to stop and look at the outside of the house but the sky darkened a thunderstorm was coming rain started to fall so the family went inside the house quickly mrs omni the housekeeper was waiting for them by the front door she was an old woman and wore a black dress and white apron she lived at canterville chase and looked after the house welcome to canterville chase said mrs omni would you like some tea yes please said mrs otis the otis family followed mrs omni into the library there was a big table in the center of the room and many chairs mrs omni put tea cups on the table then she brought a pot of tea the otis sat in the library and drank their tea they looked out of a large window at the rain the rain was falling heavily and the sky was black they heard thunder and they saw lightning mrs otis looked around the room there were many books on bookshelves there were paintings on the walls there was also a red stain on the floor the red stain was by the fireplace what is this red stain mrs otis asked mrs omni it is blood answered the old housekeeper in a quiet voice i don't want a blood stain in my library said mrs otis please remove the stain please clean the floor immediately the old woman smiled it is the blood of lady eleanor de canterville she was murdered by her husband sir simon de canterville in 1575 the blood stain has been here for over 300 years it cannot be removed nonsense said washington otis i have some pinkerton stain remover from america it can remove any stain watch washington otis took the stain remover from a bag pinkerton's stain remover looked like a small black stick he rubbed the stick on the blood stain a minute later the floor was clean the stick had removed the stain quickly and easily mrs omni looked at the floor she was frightened no one had removed the blood stain for 300 years mrs omni was very frightened pinkertons can remove anything said washington otis the bloodstain has gone lightning flashed and lit the library thunder crashed over the house mrs omni fainted mr and mrs otis ran across the library they helped the old housekeeper who lay on the floor mrs omni's eyes were closed and her face was pale mrs omni mrs omni cried mrs otis can you speak mrs omni opened her eyes trouble will come to this house she said i have seen the ghost the ghost will come to you all the otises helped mrs omni to stand up the ghost will come she said again you must not remove the blood stain you must not clean the library floor the ghost will be angry then mrs omni went upstairs to her room let's look for the ghost said the otis boys let's look around the house the otises looked round the house together but they did not see the canterville ghost that night the family went to bed early the storm continued all night next morning they went into the library the blood stain had reappeared on the floor i'll remove this blood stain once more said washington otis mother doesn't want a blood stain in the library i'll clean the floor again he removed the blood stain with pinkerton stain remover the library floor was clean but the next morning the stain had come back again this is very strange said mr otis i'll lock the library door at night no one can come into the library no one can put a stain on the floor i don't think pinkerton's stain remover is bad said washington otis i think there really is a ghost the ghost is making the bloodstain the ghost puts the stain on the floor at night we must find this ghost said mr hiram b otis it must stop making these stains your mother doesn't like blood on the library floor that day the family went out they walked around the countryside near canterville chase they went to the nearby village they looked at the old village houses then they walked back to canterville chase through the woods it was a summer evening and the weather was fine it was late when they got back to the house the otises were hungry and tired after eating supper they went to bed the bedrooms were upstairs there was a long corridor upstairs the bedroom doors were along this corridor mr otis woke up after midnight there was a strange noise outside his room the sound was like metal chains the chains were rubbing together mr otis got out of bed and opened the bedroom door he looked into the corridor he saw the canterville ghost in the corridor the ghost was an old man with burning red eyes he had long gray hair and wore very old-fashioned clothes there were chains on his hands and feet he was rubbing the chains together so they made a noise my dear sir your chains make a terrible noise mr otis said to the ghost you must put some oil on those chains here is some tammany rising sun oil from the united states please put the oil on your chains mr otis put a bottle of oil on a table in the corridor then he closed his bedroom door and went back to bed canterville ghost was very surprised he had lived in canterville chase for 300 years everyone was frightened of him because everyone was afraid of ghosts but this american gentleman was not afraid the canterville ghost decided to work harder he wanted to frighten the american he made a terrible noise and shone a horrible green light in the corridor another door opened at the end of the corridor mr otis's youngest sons came out of their bedroom the two young boys had the pillows from their beds in their hands they threw the pillows at the ghost they laughed at the ghost the ghost was amazed and upset no one had laughed at him before he was a ghost everyone is frightened of ghosts no one had ever laughed at the canterville ghost before the canterville ghost did not know what to do he disappeared through the wall and the house became quiet the ghost went to the secret room where he lived he sat down on a chair he thought about what had happened he had frightened people for three hundred years he had looked through windows and frightened the servants he had knocked on bedroom doors he had frightened people in their beds he had blown out candles in the night he had turned green and made noises with his chains everyone had always been frightened no one had given him rising sun oil to put on his chains no one had thrown pillows at him he was a very unhappy ghost washington otis removed the blood stain in the library every day every morning the stain had reappeared but the stain was no longer the color of blood one morning it was brown another morning it was purple then it became bright green the otis laughed at the blood stain they looked for it every morning before breakfast what color is it today asked washington notice it's green shattered the twins it's green blood today they laughed at the green blood stain on the library floor virginia otis did not laugh the young girl was silent at breakfast the blood stain made her feel sad and she almost cried when she saw the bright green stain she was sure that the ghost put the stain on the floor she felt sorry for the ghost the stain has been here for three hundred years said virginia we have been here for three weeks the poor ghost puts the stain on the floor every night can't you leave the stain there but the others did not listen to virginia the second appearance of the ghost was on a sunday night the otis had all gone to bed suddenly they were woken up they heard a terrible crashing noise downstairs the whole family ran out of their bedrooms they ran downstairs it was dark but mr otis and his eldest son carried candles they heard another crashing noise in the hallway near the front door there was a suit of armor in the hallway this suit of armor was more than 300 years old it had fallen over and made a loud noise the canterville ghost was sitting on the floor next to the armor the ghost had tried to put on the suit of armor he wanted to walk around the house and frighten the otis family but the metal suit was too heavy the suit of armor had fallen onto the floor the canterville ghost was sitting beside the armor he was rubbing his knee he had hurt himself mr hiram b otis pointed a gun at the ghost washington otis held his candle high in the air the otis twins laughed loudly virginia was afraid and stood beside her mother they all looked at the canterville ghost the ghost was very angry he stood up and gave a loud shout he blew out the candle in washington notice his hand there was no light in the hall then the ghost ran up the stairs in the darkness he stopped at the top of the stairs and laughed he had a frightening laugh men's hair had turned gray when they heard him laugh but the otisers were not afraid are you in pain asked mrs otis i have a bottle of dr dobel's medicine it's good for stomach aches and headaches please take the medicine the ghost looked at mrs otis angrily then he disappeared in a green cloud and went back to his secret room he was very unhappy he had tried to put on the suit of armor but it was too heavy the armor had fallen over and the ghost had hurt his leg the ghost stayed in his room during the day he came out at night to visit the library he repainted the blood stain every night and every morning washington otis removed the blood stain with pinkerton's stain remover but the ghost had a problem he had quickly finished all his red paint now his brown and purple paints were finished as well so sometimes he painted the blood stain green sometimes blue the ghost made plans he wanted to frighten the otis twins he planned to visit the twins in the night he planned to turn himself green and make a horrible noise he planned to visit the twins in their bedroom he planned to touch them with his ice cold hands in the dark he left his secret room at midnight the house was dark he climbed the stairs and walked along the corridor the twins bedroom was at the end of the corridor round a corner he turned the corner suddenly he stopped in front of him was a round face with a terrible mouth and burning eyes fire shone out of the mouth and eyes of this horrible face it was the face of a ghost the canterville ghost gave a shout and ran back to his secret room he had never seen a ghost before and felt very frightened before daylight came the canterville ghost felt better were there two ghosts in the house he must find out he must meet the second ghost he went back upstairs and walked along the corridor towards the twins room the second ghost was still there but its eyes were no longer burning he went up to it he touched it the head of the second ghost fell onto the floor it was not a ghost at all it was a head made from a large round vegetable called a pumpkin the twins had put a candle inside it there was a card on the floor the otis ghost the only true canterville ghost the twins had put the head in the corridor to frighten him this made the canterville ghost very angry what could he do he could think of nothing at that moment so he went back to his room the ghost felt very weak and tired he stayed in his room for five days he did not repaint the blood stain in the library there had been a blood stain on the library floor for three hundred years now the library floor was clean after a week the ghost felt better he decided to try once more to frighten the otis twins he planned to make his face look as horrible as possible he waited until the middle of the night slowly and silently he walked to the twins bedroom it was one o'clock in the morning the house was quiet the door of the twins room was slightly open the ghost took off his head and carried it under his arm it is terrifying to see a headless ghost he wanted to terrify the twins he pushed open the door of the twins bedroom the door banged against the wall he had planned to shout and hold his head in his hands but a heavy jug of water fell from the top of the door the twins had played a trick on him he was soaked with water the twins shouted and laughed the ghost ran back down the corridor he could not frighten the twins he could not frighten anyone in the otis family washington otis came out of his bedroom the ghost stopped running behind him the twins ran down the corridor they shouted boo in his ears and waved their arms washington otis laughed at him the ghost did not know what to do he ran through the nearest door went back to the secret room and lay down he could not frighten anyone he was a very unhappy ghost the otises did not see the canterville ghost at night again the twins waited for him when it was dark they put a rope across the corridor they tied metal tins to the rope but the ghost did not walk into the tins only mr otis came along the corridor he fell over the rope and was very angry virginia otis was also angry with the twins can't you leave the poor ghost alone she said why do you want to hurt him why do you want to play tricks on him he has lived here for a very long time leave him alone the twins did not listen but the ghost heard virginia's words the words gave him hope one afternoon virginia went to the library the library door was slightly open she pushed the door wide open and quietly walked into the room there was somebody sitting by the window it was the canterville ghost he was looking at the library window which was made of colored glass there were words painted on the glass he was wearing his best clothes and had combed his long gray hair i feel very sorry for you said virginia quietly i'm sorry that my brothers were not very kind to you but you did try to frighten them yes i did said the ghost it is my job to frighten everyone who comes to canterville chase you are very wicked i know said virginia mrs omni the housekeeper told us that you killed your wife yes i did replied the ghost but she wasn't very kind and it wasn't very kind of her brothers to starve me to death starve you to death said virginia oh poor ghost are you hungry would you like a sandwich no thank you he replied i never eat anything but you are very kind you are much kinder than the rest of your family they are rude nasty and unkind stop cried virginia you are nasty and unkind too you stole my paint box you used my paints to make the bloodstain in the library i never told anyone about it but now i'm going to fetch my father she turned to go but the ghost spoke again please do not go miss virginia said the ghost i am so lonely and so unhappy i do not know what to do i want to go to sleep and i cannot it's easy to sleep said virginia you go to bed and close your eyes i have not slept for 300 years said the ghost i have not slept since i was murdered by my wife's brothers virginia walked across the library and looked at the old face of the ghost it was a sad face poor ghost said virginia how can i help you to sleep far away in the woods said the ghost there is a little garden in the little garden the grass grows long and thick there are many flowers and trees a nightingale sings all night long the bird's sweet song is beautiful and sad the white stars and the pale moon look down on this little garden it is very peaceful virginia's eyes were full of tears she put her hands over her face you mean it is the garden of death she said quietly yes the garden of sleep said the ghost it is very beautiful there is peace and silence there is no yesterday and no tomorrow but only love can open the door to the garden for love is stronger than death virginia did not know what to say she listened as the ghost spoke again have you read the writing on the library window yes said virginia but i do not understand it look said the ghost read the lines on the window virginia looked at the window and read the lines of poetry when a golden girl shall weep for the ghosts that cannot sleep then the dead at last shall die and in restful earth may lie the words mean you must weep for me said the unhappy ghost then the angel of death will let me rest will you help what do i have to do asked virginia you must come with me into the darkness you will see strange things you will hear strange voices but nothing will hurt you you are good and kind the dark cannot hurt you virginia did not answer and the ghost waited he had waited for 300 years this was the longest minute of all that time i'm not afraid said virginia at last i will come with you into the dark the ghost kissed her hand his lips were cold like ice but they burned like fire the ghost held her hand and they walked to the wall of the library the wall opened there was darkness beyond the wall and a cold wind voices spoke out of the wind go back virginia go back before it is too late virginia walked into the darkness with the ghost virginia and the ghost disappeared through the library wall virginia did not come downstairs for supper mr otis sent one of the servants to her room the servant could not find virginia so everybody searched the house they looked everywhere but they could not find her mr and mrs otis were very worried it was a summer evening and the sun had not set so the family and the servants searched the gardens before it was dark in the garden there were many trees and a deep pond they looked in the pond they looked in the trees then they asked people at the railway station but no one had seen virginia mr otis went to tell the village policeman that virginia had disappeared but by that time it was dark and no one could search anymore that night none of the family wanted to eat or sleep they sat in the library and waited they hoped virginia would return safely they planned to search for virginia again in the morning it was midnight when the family decided to go to bed they left the library and started to walk up the stairs together suddenly all the clocks in the house struck 12 and they heard a terrible noise [Music] thunder crashed outside the house and the otis heard a dreadful cry strange music sounded inside the house and a door opened at the top of the stairs virginia stood in the doorway she looked down the stairs at them her face was very pale and she carried a small box in her hand where have you been mr otis asked angrily your mother has been very worried you have frightened us all you must never play a trick like this again except on the ghost said the twins you can play tricks on the ghost father virginia said quietly i have been with the ghost he is dead and now he can rest he gave me this box of beautiful jewels before he died she showed her father the small box inside was a necklace made of red stones where did you get this asked her father where have you been mr otis forgot to be angry he was so pleased to see that virginia was safe come i'll show you said virginia she turned back to the door at the top of the stairs all of the family followed her washington otis carried a lighted candle virginia led them along a secret corridor they came to an old wooden door which was open beyond the door was a little room with a low ceiling there was an iron ring in the wall and two chains at the end of the chains was a body only bones remained it was a skeleton this is the body of simon de canterville said virginia he murdered his wife in 1575 then his wife's brothers shut him in this room he was given no food sir simon starved to death his ghost was in this house for 300 years but now he has found peace the otis family looked around the little room and did not know what to say virginia knelt on the floor beside the skeleton and began to pray there was a funeral four nights later the otis buried the body of sir simon de canterville in a grave among the trees [Music] the otises mrs omni the housekeeper and all the servants from canterville chase stood near the grave behind them were people from the nearby village many people had come to the funeral virginia carried white flowers she looked up at the stars and the pale moon and the dark trees she remembered what the ghost had said about the garden of death a nightingale began to sing the bird's sweet song was beautiful and sad virginia smiled god has forgiven him for murdering his wife she said you