Charles Dickens

The haunted man and the ghost's bargain Annotated Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens published his final Christmas book, ""The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain"", in 1848. While it has been upstaged by the most famous of his yuletide stories, ""A Christmas Carol"", both share a distinct similarity: a ghostly plot. While Dickens is often credited with inventing the modern idea of Christmas, that of trees and garlands and presents, he also cast a spooky, haunting mood over the holiday. To Dickens, Christmas was not only a time for festive warmth, but one for dark examination, too. In this story, Dickens narrates the hair raising experiences of a professor. As the protagonist dwells on his past sorrows and mistakes, a phantom visits him. It offers him a bizarre escape from painful recollections of yesteryear by offering to eradicate his memory. On seeing the professor turn into a man devoid of emotions, the reader realises how empty one becomes without a past.