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Gothic Ghost Stories by Lindsay Price play script cover

Gothic Ghost Stories

by Lindsay Price Canadian Author

Murdered twins. A lost heart. Evil in the painting. A girl and her mother frozen to death. These are a few of the Gothic ghosts whose stories are dying to be told in this creepy character-filled adaptation. Walk through the open window and join them by the dying fire light won’t you?

This modern adaptation of Victorian ghost stories is fabulous for a class project or late October production. Large cast staging options offered, and ghoulish make-up opportunities abound!

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 75 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
49 Characters
17 M 25 F 7 Any Gender
Set
Simple set
Length
66 pages
Free Excerpt

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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

49 Characters

  • 17 Males
  • 25 Females
  • 7 Any Gender

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

  • Blanche Female 70 lines
    Lives in Perveril House. Bernice's Daughter.
  • Bernice Female 42 lines
    Lives in Perveril House. Blanche and Freddy's Mother
  • Freddy Male 28 lines
    Lives in Perveril House. Bernice's Son.
  • Harry Male 26 lines
    Lives in Perveril House. Bernice's Son.
  • Madge Female 37 lines
    A Perveril. Has arrived at the Perveril House to attend the families Annual New Year's Eve Ball
  • Lucille Female 24 lines
    A Friend of Madge's mother. Has arrived at the Perveril House to attend the families Annual New Year's Eve Ball. Very excited at all the spritual activity in the house. A little too excited.
  • Aunt Barbara Female
    Perveril Ancestor. Seems to have a secret.
  • The Twins Any gender
    Dick Peveril's Brother's children. Murdered by their Uncle.
  • Lady Rosalind Female 6 lines
    A love interest of Dick Peveril's, only interested in status.
  • Dick Peveril Male 7 lines
    A haughty and evil man.
  • Mrs. Canning Female 8 lines
    A proud haughty beauty.
  • Betty Female 1 line
    A Perveril ancestor.
  • John Male 2 lines
    A servant who meets an unfortunate fate.
  • Servant Any gender
    A servant who witnessed a horrific act.
  • Colonel Blantyre Male 2 lines
    Accepts a dare that ends in his demise.
  • Stephen Elliott Male 37 lines
    Mrs. Abney's 13-year-old cousin. An orphan.
  • Mrs. Abney Female 27 lines
    Lives at Aswarby. An eccentric recluse who loves to read and write.
  • Mrs. Parkes Female 66 lines
    Runs the household Aswarby with Ms. Bunch.
  • Ms. Bunch Female 56 lines
    Runs the household Aswarby with Mrs. Parkes.
  • Boy Ghost Male 5 lines
    Out for vengence.
  • Girl Ghost Female 21 lines
    Out for vengence.
  • Percy Male 39 lines
    Trying to understand a reacurring nightmare. But, is it just a nightmare?
  • John Male 20 lines
    Percy's Friend.
  • Mrs. Clinton Female 4 lines
    John's Mother.
  • Jack Stone Male 8 lines
    A menacing figure in Percy's dream.
  • Jane Stone Female
    Jack's Sister. Stern and Silent.
  • Julia Stone Female 5 lines
    Jack and Jane's Mother. Stern and Silent. Evil.
  • Servant Any gender 3 lines
    A Servant.
  • Vera Female 16 lines
    15-year-old staying with her Aunt. Somewhat of a prankster and quite the storyteller.
  • Framton Nuttel Male 17 lines
    Nervous Type.
  • Mrs. Sappleton Female 9 lines
    Vera's Aunt.
  • Husband Male 1 line
    Mrs. Sappleton's Husband.
  • Brother Male 3 lines
    Mrs. Sappleton's Brother.
  • Man Male
    Awakens to a ghasty fate.
  • Three figures who represent the Ghost Any gender
    Ghosts who represent the "Choking Ghost"
  • Geoffrey Male 6 lines
    Character in Madge's Book.
  • Fanny Female 3 lines
    Character in Madge's Book.
  • May Female 2 lines
    Character in Madge's Book.
  • Byles Male 2 lines
    Character in Madge's Book.
  • Hester Female 67 lines
    Character in Madge's Book. A nursemaid.
  • Rosamond Female 37 lines
    Character in Madge's Book. Lost her parents at ten years old.
  • Dorothy Female 44 lines
    Character in Madge's Book. Staff at Furnival Hall.
  • Agnes Female 8 lines
    Character in Madge's Book. Staff at Furnival Hall.
  • Shepherd Any gender 1 line
    A shepherd.
  • Mrs. Furnival Female 17 lines
    Character in Madge's Book. Old, Cold, and Stern.
  • Mrs. Stark Female 15 lines
    Character in Madge's Book. Mrs. Furnival's Maid.
  • Girl Female
    Ghost who comes to Rosamond.
  • Maude/Lady Female 10 lines
    Ghost who comes to Rosamond.
  • Grace Female 7 lines
    Young Mrs. Furnival.
  • Lord Furnival Male 4 lines
    Maude and Grace's Father. Haughty and Proud.
  • Musician Male 4 lines
    Lord Furnival's organ teacher. Secretly marries Maude while also courting Grace.

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