Background
Wilde uses the clash between American practicality and old English tradition to parody the familiar ghost story. The humor gradually gives way to sympathy for the ghost’s long history.
Reading notes
- Notice how the family turns each haunting into a practical problem.
- Track the shift from repeated jokes to the story’s quieter emotional center.
- Consider how the ending changes your view of Sir Simon.
Version note
Prepared from the English text supplied in the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press bilingual anthology. The site owner confirmed publication permission for this source edition on 21 October 2026. Publisher and edition details remain recorded in the rights audit.