In "The Canterville Ghost," what did the ghost think to do to take steps against the Otis family?

The Canterville ghost makes many attempts to frighten the Otis family when they move into his ancestral home. He spills “blood” on the floor by the fireplace in the library, dresses up in chains with “eyes as red as coals,” comes out at night with his “most horrible” laugh and dresses up in a winding sheet while holding a rusty dagger. The family, however, is American, not English. Rather than fear him, they have practical, no-nonsense responses. They do their best to rub out the blood stain, they throw pillows at him, and they shoot him with a pea shooter. In the end, he’s more frightened of them they are of him.

 This tale reverses the normal ghost story by humanizing and inspiring sympathy for the hapless specter. In this way, Oscar Wilde illustrated the culture clash between forward-looking Americans and the history bound English in the late 19th century.