The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, A Fancy for Christmas-Time
The Haunted Man and
the Ghost’s Bargain, A Fancy for Christmas-Time was written by Charles Dickens.
It’s perhaps more
often known as The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain or even just as The
Haunted Man.
It was the fifth and
final Christmas novella and was first published in 1848.
It is more a story
about the spirit of Christmas than about Christmas itself, in the same style as
A Christmas Carol, the first in the series of Christmas books.
But instead of
Ebeneezer Scrrooge the story centers on a Professor Redlaw and those close to
him.
Redlaw, a teacher of chemistry
is an embittered man who often broods over wrongs done him and grief from his
past life.
He is haunted by a
spirit, who takes away all of his grief and sorrows but without them he
develops uncontrollable anger and bitterness as he interacts with those from in
his sphere.
The moral of the tale
is that you have to remember past sorrows and wrongs done to you and forgive
those responsible.
The novel concludes
with everyone back to normal and Redlaw, like Ebenezer, a changed man.
