The plot is set in motion when the American Otis family move into the old English country house Canterville Chase. They are warned that the house is haunted before they move in but are unconcerned at first. They soon accept that the ghost is real but are not frightened by it. The ghost, who had been frightening all those who stayed at Canterville Chase for Three hundred years before the story begins, Sir Simon de Canterville murders his wife Lady Eleanor at their home Canterville Chase. As punishment for his crime, Lady Eleanors brothers chain Sir Simon to a wall with some food and water placed just out of his reach. The door of the room is then sealed, Sir Simon is left to slowly starve to death and his disappearance remains a mystery for most people. After his death, Sir Simon is doomed to haunt Canterville Chase. However, Sir Simon makes the best of the situation and relishes in his role as the ghost. He is able to take on different forms, including a black dog, a skeleton and a vampire monk. He enjoys frightening generations of the de Canterville family, their relatives and visitors to Canterville Chase, often to the point that those he frightens go mad and sometimes commit suicide.