The Canterville Ghost

Hiram addresses his family the morning after their first meeting with Sir Simon’s ghost. He says it’s not polite to throw pillows at the ghost, but that, “Upon the other hand, if he really declines to use the Rising Sun Lubricator, we shall have to take his chains from him” (10). All week long, they sleep soundly, with no sounds from Sir Simon, though the blood stain appears every morning, often a different shade of red and, one morning, an emerald green.

At the end of the week, on Sunday night, the family members are woken by a loud crash in the corridor after Sir Simon knocks over a suit of armor. The twins shoot at him with their pea-shooters, and Hiram draws a revolver on the ghost and tells him, “in accordance with Californian etiquette, to hold up his hands!” (11). Sir Simon then flies past them, snuffing Washington’s candle. He ends up at the top of the stairs, where he lets out a great scream, hoping that it will scare them. Instead, Lucretia comes out of her room and offers him some of Dr. Dobell’s tincture, which she says is excellent for curing indigestion.