How can we explain Scrooge’s visions of the ghost of Christmas Present?

It is important that Scrooge did not see himself in his visions of the present. His experiences could have been similar to astral travel, with minor time elements involved.

Astral travel and the Wilmot Apparition

Many people question the validity of astral travel. However, the Wilmot Apparition is one of the most famous and well-documented examples.

S. R. Wilmot had been aboard a ship, the City of Limerick for many stormy days, on his way to New York from Liverpool.

On the night of Tuesday, October 13th, 1863, he dreamed that his wife entered his cabin and bent over to kiss his sleeping form.

What alarmed him the most was that his roommate, William J. Tait–a librarian in his fifties–had been awake at the time and clearly saw the apparition of a woman in a nightdress. (In fact, Tait didn’t realize that it was an apparition. He was shocked at the apparent familiarity of the woman, knowing that Wilmot’s wife wasn’t aboard.)

Adding to the mystery, Mrs. Wilmot had dreamed about visiting her husband that night, and awoke feeling as if the experience was real, and accurately described the cabin in detail.

Despite intense research, no one has been able to explain this event in terms other than paranormal.

That same ship disappeared on January 8, 1882 without explanation, on a voyage from New York to Liverpool.

Shelley’s eerie doppelgangers

A second, well-documented apparition of the living, or doppelganger, appeared in May 1822 at a villa near San Terenzo in Italy. The houseguests at this villa included the poet, Shelley. He claimed that he saw himself on the terrace, one day.

On two other occasions, he was seen on the terrace by Mrs. Edward Williams, another houseguest. However, at those times, Shelley was many miles away.

About two months later, Shelley died mysteriously.

Today, Shelley is remembered for his poetry. He’s better known as the husband of Mary Wollestonecraft, the author of the original novel, Frankenstein.

So, we can say that Scrooge could have seen Marley, could have seen images of the past, and may have traveled within his own time to see others’ Christmases. However, what about the future?

Goethe looks ahead… and sees his own spectre

In his autobiography, philosopher Goethe (1749 – 1832) described an event similar to what Scrooge experienced, but in a much more benign context: In about 1772, “…I saw myself on horseback coming towards me on the same path dressed in a suit such as I have never worn…”

Eight years later, Goethe was on that path again. This time, he was on horseback, and–glancing down–realized that he was wearing the suit he’d seen “himself” wearing, many years earlier. Had he seen himself in the future? Perhaps–like Scrooge–he did.

The final question is, how much of A Christmas Carol was fact and how much was fiction? That will help us decide whether to take Dickens’ story elements seriously.

In our next article, we’ll investigate Dickens’ Christmas Carol – the facts.

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Photo credits: Shelley’s gravestone photo by Einar Einarsson Kvaran.

Goethe portrait provided by Wikipedia.com.

Marley’s ghost rattled his chains as he appeared to Scrooge.

“The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.”

-Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”

Ghosts in chains

Today, we rarely hear of a ghost rattling chains. In fact, apparitions are very rare, and most of them are silent. More often, invisible ghosts are the ones that knock, rattle objects (including chains), and whisper or shout.

However, there are exceptions. In the first century CE, Pliny the Younger documented a ghost who was seen and heard by Athenodorus, at a villa in Athens. The ghost wore chains, and pointed to a spot in the garden before vanishing. The next day, Athenodorus had that spot in the garden dug up, and a skeleton in chains was found buried. They re-buried him in a proper cemetery, and the ghost never appeared again.

But ghosts in chains are not entirely in the past. Even today, a tall, evil-looking man appears on back roads and highways in Yorkshire, England, and jumps out to frighten late-night travelers. He’s known as “Jack in Irons.” Most people who’ve seen him comment that the ghost appears wrapped in chains.

Of course, Marley is not the only ghost in Dickens’ famous tale. There are the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Shadows without consciousness

As Scrooge is led through scenes of his past, his ghostly companion informs him, “These are but shadows of the things that have been…They have no consciousness of us.”

This is a superb description of paranormal phenomena we call “residual energy hauntings.” These hauntings are like a hologram or video, played on a continuous loop. Events from the past appear to be played like a movie, over and over again. Most are probably mere images of people who took part in the events, many years ago.

One of the best examples of residual energy hauntings is the visions of war seen in the United States, at Civil War battlegrounds.

More residual energy hauntings

Residual energy hauntings are a ghost hunter’s best opportunity to see a “ghost” that appears in human-like form. However, these forms rarely react to or interact with people viewing them. In fact, most ghost hunters believe that these hauntings are just energy imprints on the environment, replaying the events on a repeating and regular schedule.

In the United States, one of the clearest examples of a residual energy haunting is near Tiverton, Rhode Island on the Sakonnet River. Two or three canoes appear on the river, each carrying six Native people. Sometimes they fight, sometimes they simply row to shore and vanish, sometimes they continue on their journey down the river. These images have been reliably reported as recently as 1996.

However, in A Christmas Carol, we encounter more than just residual energy hauntings and a stereotypical Victorian ghost rattling his chains.

Read more about Dickens’ ghosts in:

Dickens’ Christmas Carol and astral travel

Dickens’ Christmas Carol – the facts

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Photo credits: Lion face door knocker image courtesy of Sasha Davas.

Photo of Tudor-style house courtesy of Steve Knight.