Suddenly Mrs Otis saw a red stain. It was on the floor near the fireplace. She did not know the importance of the stain, so she said to Mrs Umney, 'I am sorry to see that something has been spilt there.'

'Yes, madam,' replied the old housekeeper in a quiet voice, 'blood has been spilt there.'

'Oh. That's horrible,' said Mrs Otis; 'I really don't like blood-stains in my sitting-room. It must be cleaned away at once.'

Mrs Umney smiled. Then, in the same quiet, mysterious voice she said, 'That blood you see is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville. She was murdered right there in 1575 by her own husband, Sir Simon de Canterville.'

'Sir Simon lived for another nine years. Then suddenly he disappeared and no-one knows where he went. No-one has ever found his body.'

'But the ghost of Sir Simon has never left this house where he mudered his wife. Tourists and other people have seen that blood-stain. It cannot be cleaned away.'