古堡守护灵 (1887)

《坎特维尔的幽灵》（英语：The Canterville Ghost）是奥斯卡·王尔德的幽默短篇小说。 这是王尔德发表的第一部小说，于1887年2月3日和3月2日分两期刊登在《法庭与社会评论》上分两部分发表在1887 年2月23日和3月2日的《法庭与社会评论》上，题为《坎特维尔的幽灵——一部虚幻理想主义的浪漫故事：救赎女主角（"The Canterville Ghost – A Hylo-Idealistic Romance: The Redemptive Heroine""）》。后收录于1891年7月出版的短篇集《亚瑟·萨维尔勋爵的罪行和其他故事》，与《模范百万富翁》《没有秘密的狮身人面像》并列刊载。故事讲述的是一个美国家庭搬到一座城堡，但这个城堡居住着可怕的鬼魂，一家人随着时间过去逐渐解开鬼魂谜团的故事。

该作品曾多次被改编为舞台剧与影视作品。

改编作品

电影

《坎特维斯的幽灵》，1944年好莱坞电影，由查尔斯·劳顿主演

《Кентервильское привидение》，1970年的苏联动画电影

Bhoothnath ，2008 年宝莱坞电影改编作品

《坎特维斯的幽灵》（Le Fantôme de Canterville）是一部2016年法国-比利时电影。

《老鬼当家》是由斯蒂芬·弗雷、休·劳瑞和米兰达·哈特配音的英国动画电影，原定于2016年上映，于2023年9月22日上映 。

"The Canterville Ghost" is a horror comedy short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts as "The Canterville Ghost – A Hylo-Idealistic Romance: The Redemptive Heroine", in The Court and Society Review, 23 February and 2 March 1887. It later appeared in the short story collection Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories, published in July 1891. The story details an American family, who moves to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead English nobleman, trapped for killing his wife, then later being walled in and starved to death by his wife's brothers.

The short story has been adapted for the stage and screen numerous times, one of the most notable the loosely-based 1944 MGM film of the same name.

Summary

The American Minister to the Court of St James's, Hiram B. Otis, and his family move into Canterville Castle, an English country house, despite warnings from Lord Canterville that the house is haunted. Mr. Otis says that he will take the furniture as well as the ghost at valuation.

The Otis family includes Mr. and Mrs. Otis, their eldest son Washington, their daughter Virginia and the Otis twins. At first, none of the Otis family believes in ghosts but shortly after they move in, none of them can deny the presence of Sir Simon de Canterville. Mrs. Otis notices a mysterious bloodstain on the floor and comments that "She does not at all care for bloodstains in the living room", Mrs. Umney, the housekeeper, tells her that the bloodstain is evidence of the ghost and cannot be removed. Washington Otis, the eldest son, suggests that the stain will be removed with Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent. When the ghost makes his first appearance, Mr. Otis promptly gets out of bed and pragmatically offers the ghost Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator to oil his chains. Angrily, the ghost throws the bottle and runs into the corridor.

The Otis twins throw pillows on him and the ghost flees. The Otis family witnesses reappearing bloodstains on the floor just by the fireplace, which are removed every time they appear in various colours. Despite the ghost's efforts and most gruesome guises, the family refuses to be frightened, leaving Sir Simon feeling increasingly helpless and humiliated. The Otises remain unconcerned. The ghost falls victim to tripwires, toy peashooters, butter slides and falling buckets of water. The mischievous twins rig up their own "ghost", which frightens him. Sir Simon sees that Virginia, the beautiful and wise fifteen-year-old daughter, is different from the rest of the family. He tells her that he has not slept in three hundred years and wants desperately to do so.

The ghost tells her the tragic tale of his wife, Lady Eleanor de Canterville, and his terrible mistake. Virginia listens to him and learns an important lesson, as well as the true meaning behind a riddle. Sir Simon de Canterville says that she must weep for him, for he has no tears; she must pray for him, for he has no faith and then she must accompany him to the Angel of Death and beg for Sir Simon's death. She does weep for him and pray for him and disappears with Sir Simon through the wainscoting, accompanying him to the Garden of Death, bidding the ghost farewell.

The story ends with Virginia marrying the Duke of Cheshire after they both come of age. Sir Simon, she tells her husband several years later, helped her understand what life is, what death signifies and why love is stronger than both.

Reception

19th century

A. S. Harvey praises the story in "'Lady Windermere's Fan' & the further Teaching of Oscar Wilde" for The Ludgate Monthly in 1892, writing, "The humor of the professional funny man is a different kind of humour altogether to the quaint fun of 'The Canterville Ghost,' ... It makes you scream again, when you imagined it was serious for a moment, and finishes up with the sweetest little touch of pathos imaginable" (p. 260).