FIGURA OBSCURA - The Ghost of Jacob Marley

To those who celebrate the holiday season, Christmastime is typically known as “a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.” Yet, the Yuletide season has also long been considered a period when the barriers between the living and the dead thaw, and the spirits of those who have passed on are able to cross between these two worlds. Amidst all the warm wishes and holiday cheer, the Christmas season is also when the spirits from beyond are able to visit those who still draw breath. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story we are going to relate.

The title page of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” reads “A Ghost Story of Christmas”. While the tradition of telling “scary ghost stories” for the holidays did not originate with Mr. Dickens, his tale of holiday hauntings and redemption is certainly the most well-known Christmas ghost story. It is filled with characters that have become iconic symbols of the season, including the three Ghosts of Christmas, the sickly Tiny Tim and the Cratchitt family, and the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who is redeemed through the lessons taught by the visit of those aforementioned three spirits. Yet, there is another spirit found in the pages of this story, one who is perhaps the most visually recognizable of all of Dickens’ ghosts. We are of course referring to the man who, in life, was Scrooge’s partner. The latest character to haunt the halls of Figura Obscura is none other than the Ghost of Jacob Marley.