The story begins when Claudius kills his brother, King Hamlet, and assumes the throne. One night, King Hamlet's ghost appears and tells Hamlet the truth about his unnatural death. Hamlet vows revenge against Claudius. Throughout the play, various characters meet untimely and mysterious deaths, often at Hamlet's hand by mistake as he carries out his mission of revenge, including Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Laertes, and Gertrude. In the end, Hamlet finally poisons and kills Claudius to avenge his father's death, but is also mortally wounded by Laertes in the process. Only Horatio survives to