by Oscar Wilde

This is one of those Classic stories I've meant to read for years and have finally got to it. Oscar Wilde comes from an era when characters were written bigger than life, even when they are dead. Many clichés of ghost story writing, like blood stains that reappear after being cleaned up, are to be found in this one, but the reader should remember that Wilde probably wrote them first! His sometimes humorous take on ghostly activity set the tone for many stories that came after.

My only complaint would be that sometimes the ghost had too much physicality. The antics of the children who chose to torment him instead of fearing him might have had greater limitations if he couldn't slip on floors or have his dignity damaged by projectiles.

Later in the story, humour gives way to a poignant encounter with the little girl in the family who feels sorry for the ghost and his plight. The gamut of emotions that are woven through the tale make me want to read more of Oscar Wilde to discover his full potential as a writer.

This short-story by Oscar Wilde was charming and not in the least bit scary. I will say, however, that it’s amongst one of my least favourite works of his. The ending made me smile, though, and elevated it for me.

It’s likely that most people have read this or heard a lot about it, so I won’t go into too much detail. The story revolves around a family who buy a house that’s in possession of a ghost. The story opens up with the family examining a blood stain on the carpet in one of the rooms that’s been there for years and refuses to give in to cleaning. A member of the family cleans it up and so begins what I believed to be a sinister tale about a vengeful ghost. However, I was very wrong. This story if full of levity and humour and of course Wilde’s trademark observation.

It’s hard to thoroughly connect with a short story as it is, by definition, short. I thought this one was longer than it was and was surprised to find I was nearly finished having only read for a brief time.

The story wasn’t so much about a ghost, but more the seriousness with which we understand life. Wilde loved to poke fun and he does it here again, but at humanity in general, rather than the Victorian middle classes. In this regard it shined in its objective.

I read this for this square:  

Finished my first bingo read. Now to decide on markers...

Come on Midnight!!!

I'm itching to start reading my first Halloween bingo book, but I'm doing a beta-read for someone in the US at the minute. As soon as that's done (likely tomorrow or Friday) I'll jump straight into my first bingo read with The Canterville Ghost because I'm on a Wilde love-fest at the moment. I haven't even picked my markers yet. Ekkk! I think I'm just going to do a variation on last year, though, and use pictures of my cats.