Primary sourceBook1848
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
Charles Dickens · 1848
A Christmas ghost story written by Charles Dickens in 1848, exploring memory and conscience.
A Christmas story written by Dickens himself, showing his recurring interest in memory and conscience.
About this source
What it is
This is the full text of The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, A Fancy for Christmas-Time, written by Charles Dickens and published in 1848. It belongs to his series of Christmas books.
Why it matters
The story uses a ghostly bargain to explore memory, guilt, and social conscience, themes that connect to Dickens's broader concern with how the past shapes people and society. It shows how he used supernatural storytelling to make moral points, as he famously did in A Christmas Carol.
Look closer
- What does the description of the haunted man in the opening tell us about his character and state of mind?
- Why might Dickens choose a ghost story to talk about memory and conscience?
- What clues in the language suggest this is meant to be read aloud or told as a tale?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charles Dickens on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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