The ghost employs a number of tactics to scare the Otis family when they move into Canterville Chase.
First of all, he uses the blood stain in the library to evoke a sense of mystery and fear. As the housekeeper informs the family, the stain is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, the ghost's former wife, whom he murdered on that spot in 1575. The family, however, are not frightened by the daily reappearance...
The ghost employs a number of tactics to scare the Otis family when they move into Canterville Chase.
First of all, he uses the blood stain in the library to evoke a sense of mystery and fear. As the housekeeper informs the family, the stain is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, the ghost's former wife, whom he murdered on that spot in 1575. The family, however, are not frightened by the daily reappearance of the stain: they simply erase it with Pinkerton's Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent.
Secondly, the ghost uses traditional haunting techniques to scare the family, like rattling his ghostly chains, groaning and traversing the corridor all night long. Again, these techniques prove futile: the Otises are more annoyed by his antics than frightened. This is best shown in Chapter Two when Mr Otis offers the ghost some Tammany Lubricator to oil his chains and keep the noise down.
The ghost also uses a number of disguises to try and scare the family. Disguises, like that of "Reckless Rupert, the Headless Earl," proved very successful in frightening former residents of the house, as the reader learns in Chapter Four. The Otises, however, are not as suggestible as the likes of Lady Barbara Modish and the ghost, once again, fails in his attempt to scare the family. In fact, this disguise fails so badly that the ghost "gave up all of hope" of ever frightening them. This leads directly to his encounter with Virginia in Chapter Five and his desire to leave the mortal world in favour of the Garden of Death.
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