The Prophecy Fulfilled
The Canterville GhostThis flow follows the Canterville prophecy from obscure verse to a moral instruction and finally to visible fulfillment.
increasing
Bearing strength in each event
decreasing
Bearing strength in each eventdecreasingSix Difficult Lines
Six Difficult Lines
A poem in the library
The prophecy appears in black letters on a library window and speaks of a golden girl, prayer, tears, and a barren almond. Virginia knows the lines but not their meaning.
History awaiting interpretation
The verse exists as part of the house’s atmosphere before its requirements are understood. Its obscurity leaves room for a later moral choice to give it force.
The Meaning Explained
The Meaning Explained
A demand for tears and prayer
Sir Simon explains that Virginia must mourn his sins and pray for his soul. The prophecy makes her emotional and spiritual participation essential to his release.
Courage tested
He warns that she may face frightening shapes and voices, yet Virginia says she is not afraid. The verse becomes a practical moral challenge rather than a decorative family legend.
The Almond Blossoms
The Almond Blossoms
The impossible flower
The twins notice that the old barren almond tree has blossomed in the moonlight. A change in the natural world answers the prophecy’s image at the moment the hidden death is revealed.
Peace confirmed
Virginia says God has forgiven Sir Simon. The blossoms make the poem’s promise visible and unite natural renewal with spiritual release.
Before Virginia meets Sir Simon
During Virginia and Sir Simon’s conversation
After the skeleton is discovered
