ByOscar Wilde

Playscript

Narrator: Mr Hiram B. Otis was American. He was very rich and very important. He wanted to live in an old house in England, so he decided to buy Canterville Chase, the home of Lord Canterville.

Mr Otis: Good morning, Lord Canterville.Canterville: Good morning, Mr Otis.Mr Otis: How much do you want for your house, Lord

Canterville? A hundred thousand dollars? Two hundred thousand dollars?

Canterville: But, Mr Otis, are you sure you want to buy Canterville Chase? There’s a ghost in the house.

Mr Otis: Thank you for telling me , Lord Canterville. But I don’t believe it. Only English believe in ghosts.

Canterville: Many menbers of my family have seen the ghost.

Mr Otis: Ha ha. (He laughs) I think you’re joking.Canterville: My wife, Lady Canterville, can’t slep at night

because of the mysterious noises in the houseMr Otis: My Lord, I’ll take the house with the furniture and the

ghost. Ha ha. (He laughs)Canterville: Don’t laugh. The Ghost really exists. People have

seen it many times in the last three hundred years, since 1584 in fact. It always appears before the death of any members of my family.

Mr Otis: In my home, the doctor appears before the death of any member of my family. I’m American and Americans don’t believe in ghosts. They’re an old-fashioned European idea.

Canterville: If you don’t mind having a ghost in the house, that’s all right. But please remember that I have told you.

Mr Otis: Thank you, Lord Canterville.