Author: Oscar Wilde/ Year: 1854-1900 / Genre: ParanormalThe Canterville Ghost was the first of Oscar Wilde's short stories to be published. It appeared in a magazine in 1887
and provides a prophetic glimpse into Wilde's genius for comic timing, dialogue and situational comedy. He had a
successful career as a journalist and poet and consequently turned to fiction and drama.
The plot is one that leaves the reader chuckling at every turn. The American diplomat and his family are products of a
purely pragmatic culture which has no patience with sentimentality and superstitions. The English mansion is steeped
in legends about ancient curses and the diabolical doings of a seventeenth century specter. The Americans believe in
a robust, healthy and practical way of life and use all manner of branded cleaning products. The two youngest members
of the family called the Stars and Stripes set wicked traps for the ghost, while the daughter Virginia is the only one
who can truly appreciate the poor ghost's situation.
