This is very much like the film "The Sixth Sense". It contains many classic aspects that signify to us that it is a ghost story. The basic plot of this film is there is a boy who is a victim to many hunting's. He confides in Bruce Willis and he helps the boy overcome his fear of ghosts. The ghosts which he sees are meant to shock the viewer, but they are really just a diversion from the fact that Bruce Willis is a ghost as well. There you have an example of two types of events, the trick that they pulled on the viewer and the sudden realisation that Bruce Willis is dead. Due to the fact that this is a film and not a book, it lacks the verbs and adjectives but manages a pretty good substitute with music..
Now I am going to look at "A Christmas carol", and look at the features to see if it has them.
Settings/places: The ghosts in the story first appear in Scrooges own home. This is a dark, dreary place "Darkness is cheap". However, this could also be described as a familiar place as scrooge is living there. These are classic ghost story settings.
Characters: We have four ghosts in "A Christmas carol". There is Jacob Marley. He is a ghost who has come back to warn scrooge that three ghosts are coming to see him. "The chain he drew was clasped about his middle". He is also warning him that he will, like Jacob, be made to wear the chain that he "forged in life". The chain is described as vividly in the text, and it all linked because of Scrooges job. "It was made of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds and heavy purses wrought in steel". Jacob is described with a "pigtail, usual waistcoat, tights, and boots; the tassels on the latter bristling, like his pigtail, and his coat-skirts, and the hair upon his head."
The second of the ghosts is the 'Ghost of Christmas Past'. This too is described vividly, but in a different way to Jacob Marley. "It was a strange figure- like a child; yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child's proportions. Its hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were of uncommon strength. Its legs and feet, most delicately formed, were, like those upper members, bear. It wore a tunic of the purest white; and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful.
It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand; and, in singular contradiction of that wintry emblem, had its dress trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprang a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm". The light and the cap that springs from the head can be interpreted as different things. Its job is to show Scrooge some upsetting memories from past Christmas's. He is a reminder ghost, who is making him feel guilty.
The third ghost is the "Ghost of Christmas present." This one is a different kind of description. "It was clothed in one simple deep green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if disdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice. Its feet, observable beneath the ample folds of the garment, were also bare; and on its head it wore no other covering than a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles. Its dark-brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air. Girded round its middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it. And the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust". This is once again a warning ghost. A ghost who is there to warn scrooge what his actions are doing to other people.
The last of the ghosts is the "Ghost of Christmas yet to come". Like all the other spirits this is described in tremendous detail, but in a slightly different way to the others. The others were definitely impressive, but the last one is shrouded in mystery and the classic tension and atmosphere starts to build-up. This is how it is described. "It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible, save one outstretched hand. But for this, it would have been difficult to detach its finger from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded." We now get into the more eerie feel.
If we look at the characters which are not ghost but highly needed in the story we have the victims. There are two of these in "A Christmas Carol". They are Bob Cratchit and, of course, none other then Ebenezer Scrooge. Although Bob isn't a victim of the haunting's, he is a victim of scrooge. Scrooge we know is a victim of the ghost's.
Language/Tone. If you look at the way Charles Dickens describes each of the ghosts, you can see the extreme measures he goes to to make each ghost differ from the other. For example the verbs and adjectives he uses are chosen carefully for the ghost he is choosing to describe. The long paragraphs in which he has done this (e.g. describing the ghosts) help to build up the atmosphere especially with varied length sentences. One sentence I felt was rather effective was when Scrooge was waiting for one of the ghosts. "Ding, dong!" and then the time. It gave the sense of impatience. For the last of the ghosts and the last stave, he uses menacing, eerie language and then this is when it actually starts to feel like a classic ghost story. The "Ghost of Christmas present" seems too nice, but they've put it there for the contrast between it and the stave four ghosts.
Events. The events are mostly self-explanatory. There is a lead up to the appearance of the first ghost (who is Jacob Marley). This is done by seeing his face on the doorknocker and a funeral march going up the stairs. With the second ghost you have the flashbacks to Scrooges past. With the last ghost you get a build up and a shock. That is when you see Scrooges name on the tombstone.
A moral fable is a story that is meant to teach you a lesson. For example this story would have a moral to it:
One day a little girl named Karen decided she no longer liked brushing her teeth. She thought that if she didn't, a couple of her teeth would come out and the tooth fairy would give her money. So all day, every day she would sit and stuff her face with chocolate that corroded her teeth. One day a tooth fell out, and then a couple of minutes later another one fell out, then another until she had no teeth. Karen put all her teeth under her pillow but she couldn't get to sleep because it hurt, so no tooth fairy came. So she put one under each night until all the teeth were gone. With her new-found richness she bought all the chocolate in the shops. But she couldn't bite it and no one could stand looking at her. She had to have false teeth put in but they didn't fit right. She grew up a lonely old woman with no friends.
The moral of this story is to always brush your teeth. It doesn't say it outright but that is its message. It is also a fable because there is no such thing called a tooth fairy but it gets the message across. The moral of "A Christmas carol" is to cherish the spirit of Christmas, which is all about giving, not taking. It is a fable because at the moment a ghost is only a myth. I think this is appropriate for Christmas because it shows what a difference one person can make. Him being so tight and nasty brought grief for the Cratchit's who couldn't afford to keep Tiny Tim well, a sense of longing from his nephew and probably more hunger from the homeless. Most people are scared of ghosts and if they thought that if they were as bad as Scrooge they would get haunted, I think they would stop. It reminds people what Christmas is really about. This is why it is good for that time of year.
Ghost stories have always been popular. Some are moral, some just to make you think and work out the real ending. Some such as "A Christmas carol" will make you identify the characters with people you actually know in real life. I think this is why it will always be popular. I think that "A Christmas carol" is a ghost story because although it's not exactly a ghost type of beginning, the middle part is. This is where you find all those classic features especially with the language and tone. The end is one where everyone is happy, or if not that satisfied.