Christmas Ghosts and Their Representation in Literature: From Folk Beliefs to Social Critique Introduction: The Holidays as a Time of Encounter Between Worlds The tradition of Christmas “scary stories” (Christmas ghost stories) dates back to ancient beliefs about the winter solstice and the subsequent holidays as a period when the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead becomes thin. In English and European literature of the 19th century, this folkloric layer was artistically reinterpreted and transformed into a powerful tool for psychological analysis and social criticism. The Christmas ghost stopped being just a frightening folkloric character and became a carrier of a moral lesson, conscience, or memory, appearing in the midst of the festival of abundance to expose social sores and personal vices. 1. Folkloric Origins and the Formation of the Canon Before literary processing, ghosts and spirits were an integral part of holiday festivities and beliefs. In the British tradition, it was believed that from Christmas Eve to Epiphany (12 days) spirits were allowed to return to the earth. This was a time for divination, caroling, and storytelling by the fireplace. Romantic writers such as Washington Irving in “Sketch Book” (1820) documented this custom, creating an atmosphere of cozy horror. However, the true flowering of the genre is associated with the Victorian era, when the Christmas issue of a magazine with a “scary story” became a commercially successful format. 2. Charles Dickens: The Ghost as a Tool for Moral Transformation The climax and classic of the genre became “A Christmas Carol in Prose” (1843) by Charles Dickens. Dickens radically changed the function of the Christmas ghost, making it not just a scarecrow, but a catalyst for internal transformation. Marley's Ghost: This is a “warning ghost”. His appearance, with heavy chains made of “coins, office books, steel wallets”, embodies the metaphor of spiritual slavery in which Scroog ... Read more