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THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

CHARACTERS:

LORD CANTERVILLE

MR. OTIS

MRS. OTIS

MAID

CANTERVILLE GHOST

VIRGINIA

TWINS

 SCRIPT:

SCENE I

(Lord Canterville and Mr.Otis are in the castle library)

 LORD CANTERVILLE: I have to tell you that we have seen the ghost.

MR. OTIS: I  really don’t care, Lord Canterville, I’ll buy the castle anyway, including the ghost.

LORD CANTERVILLE: I must insist, there’s a ghost in the castle, that’s why we can’t live here anymore.  It has been here for more than three centuries!.  My wife can’t even sleep at night because of the strange noises.

 MR. OTIS: There is no such thing as ghosts.

LORD CANTERVILLE: Well, if you want to live with a ghost, it’s up to you, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

MR. OTIS: Just give me the papers, I’ll sign them right away.

(Lord Canterville gives him the papers and Mr. Otis signs them)

LORD CANTERVILLE: The castle, Canterville Chase, is all yours.

MR. OTIS: Thank you!.  We’ll move here tomorrow afternoon.

LORD CANTERVILLE:  Very well Mr. Otis, have a nice day.

(they shake hands and both head to the door and leave)

SCENE II

(The Otis family are in the castle having dinner)

MRS. OTIS: There’s a red stain on the floor.

(Mrs. Otis rings a bell and the maid enters the room)

MRS. OTIS: I see that someone dropped something on the floor.

MAID: Yes, madam, it’s a blood stain.

MRS. OTIS: How terrible!. I don’t want to see blood stains in the floor.  Clean it up immediately!.

MAID: I’ll clean it up, but it won’t disappear, at least not forever.

MRS. OTIS: Why not?.  What do you mean?.

MAID: The stain belongs to Mrs. Eleanore de Canterville.

MRS. OTIS: Eleanore de Canterville?. Who was she?.

MAID: She passed away in 1575, on that very spot.

MRS. OTIS: How did she died?.

MAID: Her husband took her life away.

MRS. OTIS: Oh, my!.

MAID: Sir Simon de Canterville, her husband, lived here nine years after her death, but then he disappeared, and his body was never recovered. His soul still lives in the castle. Many people, including tourists have seen that stain, but it’s impossible to remove it, at least, not until Sir Simon de Canterville rests in peace; then the stain will disappear forever!.

MRS. OTIS: That’s all nonsense.

MR. OTIS: I’ll clean it up myself.

(Mr. Otis leaves the room and comes back with a liquid stain remover and detergent.  He kneels down and cleans the stain.  The stain disappears)

MR. OTIS: See?.  It disappeared!.

(There’s thunder and the maid screams)

MRS. OTIS: Don’t be afraid.

MAID: I have seen him with my own eyes.

MRS. OTIS: There’s no ghost in here.

MRS. OTIS: Go to your room and try to rest, we’ll see you in the morning.

(The maid leaves the room and Mr. and Mrs. Otis keep looking at the floor where the stain was.  Thunder continues to strike.  They leave the room)

SCENE III

(Mr. and Mrs. Otis and Virginia are in the dining room having breakfast.  They see the stain once again)

MRS. OTIS: The stain!.

MR. OTIS: I’ll clean it up again!.

(Mr. Otis cleans the stain.  The stain disappears.  Suddenly the door opens and a ghost with long grey hair, ragged clothes, and chains enters the room.  Mrs. Otis screams)

MR. OTIS: Excuse me ghost, but your chains make a lot of noise.!. I think they need some oil.  I’ll give you some.

(Mr. Otis gives the oil to the ghost.  The ghost takes the oil and throws it to the floor.  Then he flies down the corridor.  At the end of the hall a door opens suddenly and the twins showed up throwing big pillows to the ghost, who disappears through the wall /backstage)

MR. OTIS: (to the twins) You shouldn’t have done that!.

TWINS: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

MR. OTIS: If he refuses to oil the chains, then I have to take them off.

MRS. OTIS: Or we will not be able to sleep at night.

VIRGINA: You should leave him alone.

(The ghost appears again and tries to scare the family)

GHOST: Ah, ah, aya, aya, aya!.

MR. OTIS: You’re sick, Mr. Ghost, you need to take some medicine.  Do you have a stomache?.

GHOST: Ah, ah, aya, aya. Aya!.

MRS. OTIS: Kids bring me the stomach pain reliever, it’s in my room!.

TWINS: Yes, mommy.

(The twins leave.  Another ghost enters the rooms.  The ghost is a pumpkin head stuck into a mop and the twins covered with a white sheet are hidden under the sheet.  The Canterville Ghost screams)

GHOST: Oh!.  Ah, ah, ah, aya, aya, aya.

(The ghost leaves the room)

TWINS: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha , we scared him!.  We scared him!.

VIRGINA: This is not funny.  Leave him alone!.

MR. OTIS: I don’t think he will be back.

MRS. OTIS: Come on, our breakfast is getting cold.

(They sit at the table and keep eating)

SCENE IV

(The ghost is in his room)

GHOST: Oh, I feel so tired and weak!.  I will not get out of this place for a few days.  Those kids are a nightmare!.  I feel sad and so humiliated.  Mmm, but who was the other ghost?.  I’ll go out and find out, maybe he will help me get rid of this family.  Now there will be two ghosts in the castle!.

(The ghost gets out of his room and looks for the other ghost.  At the end of the hall he sees it)

GHOST: There it is!.. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!.

(He approaches the other ghost which has a paper hanging with a written message. The Canterville Ghost reads it)

GHOST: I am the Otis Ghost.  The only and original.  All other ghosts are imitations. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

(The ghost is furious.  He goes to his room.  When he opens the door a bucket with blue paint falls over his head.  The twins get out of his bed laughing and they get out of the room)

GHOST: I can’t stand this family!.  They don’t care!.  They don’t deserve the blood stain!.  How did they get into my room?.

(He locks the door and sits.  There’s  a noise.  Virginia tries to open the door with a key)

GHOST: Someone is trying to open the door!.

(The door opens and Virginia enters the room)

VIRGINIA: Oh, Mr. Ghost, I feel so sorry for you.  Please forgive my family.

GHOST: Those kids are so disrespectful!.

VIRGINIA: I have good news for you.  My brothers will not be here tomorrow, so they will not bother you.  Please, try to behave.

GHOST: Are you telling me that I’m the one who needs to behave?.  What about your family?. They are not afraid of me!.  I want to scare people.  It’s my only reason for existing.

VIRGINA: Why?.

GHOST: Because that’s what I have been doing for many, many years.

VIRGINA: You don’t have to.

GHOST: That’s none of your business.

VIRGINA: I will leave you alone, then.

GHOST: No, please, don’t leave me.  I’m so lonely, and you are the only nice person in this family.

VIRGINIA: Who are you?.

GHOST: I am Sir Simon de Canterville.

VIRGINIA: Why do you haunt this castle?.

GHOST: Because I did something terrible to my wife.  I really would like to sleep for a while, but I can’t.

VIRGINIA: Why not?.  All you have to do is lie down on the bed and blow out the candle.

GHOST: I haven’t slept for three hundred years,  and I am so tired.

VIRGINIA: Oh, poor you!.  Isn’t there a place where you could sleep?.

GHOST: Yes, there’s a place on the hill… a little garden.

VIRGINIA: Are you talking about the Garden of Death?.

GHOST: Yes, silence is the only thing you can listen in that place.  Can you help me rest in peace?.

VIRGINIA: How can I help you?.

GHOST: Only love and forgiveness can open the doors of the garden. Have you read the old prophecy on the library window?.

VIRGINIA: Oh, yes I have!.  When a golden girl can win prayer from out the lips of sin, when the barren almond bears, and a little child gives away its tears, then shall all the house be still , and peace come to Canterville.

GHOST: That means that you should cry with me, because I have no tears. Do you understand?. Your tears will set me free!.   You should also pray  for my soul, because I don’t have faith.   Then I will rest in peace. Are you afraid?.

VIRGINIA: No, I am not, I will pray for your soul.

GHOST: Take my hand, and come with me to the Garden of Death.  Over there, we will pray together until you see me fade away.

(They walk together to the garden)

GHOST: This is it!.  Before I leave, take this box, it’s full of gold and jewelry.

(Virginia takes the box.  They kneel down and pray.  Virginia cries)

VIRGINIA: Oh, please, God forgive him.  I know he did a terrible thing, but he is sorry for what he did.  Please, let him rest in peace.  Oh dear God, listen to my prayer.

(The ghost disappears)

VIRGINIA: Sir Simon!.  Sir Simon!.

(Virgina hears some voices calling her)

MRS. OTIS: Virginia!.  Virginia.!  We have been looking for you.

MR. OTIS: Virginia are you all right?.

MRS. OTIS: What are you doing here?.

VIRGINIA: I was with Sir Simon.

MR. OTIS: Where is he?.

VIRGINIA: Sir Simon is gone… forever.

MRS. OTIS: What do you mean he’s gone?.

VIRGINIA: He is now in heaven with his wife.  God has forgiven him.

MR. OTIS: Let’s go back home.  There you will tell us everything about the ghost.

MRS. OTIS:  At last, we will have a good night sleep.

MR. OTIS:  And we will never see the stain again.

(They hug and leave)

 THE END

Author:  Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel.

Adapted by:  K I D S I N C O

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