To say that Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is a timeless holiday tradition would be a gross understatement. The work has been adapted and retold more times than almost any other work of fiction, and to this day audiences haven't grown tired of seeing the emotional and spiritual redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge.
But one thing some people forget is that the tale is a ghost story first and a Christmas story second, making room for all sorts of creepy moments and eerie imagery. As frightening as it is festive, there are more than a few instances in many versions of the holiday classic that will scare the dickens out of a few viewers.
Disney’s Depressing Opening
Even without Robert Zemekis's uncanny motion-capture, the opening to Disney's 2009 adaptation hits the viewer right in the face with its creep-factor. The image of Jacob Marley's corpse lying in his casket with coins on his eyes will never fail to shock the viewer with its sudden appearance.
Credit to Disney for sticking to the original text in showing audiences Marley indeed "dead as a doornail." Still, that image isn't going to go away anytime soon.
The Haunted Hearse
In some versions, namely the 1985 adaptation, Marley's hearse can be seen either as a prologue device or as its own entity stalking Ebenezer Scrooge.
This is usually done in reference to a line from the book stating that Scrooge's stairs were large enough to accommodate a locomotive hearse, and in disbelief, he hallucinates one rising up to his bed chambers. That image alone is nightmare worthy, film or not.
The Marley Knocker
If there's one image everyone associates with Jacob Marley, it's the one of his ghostly face suddenly appearing on the door knocker to Scrooge's abode. Christmas time or not, seeing the specter of someone's dead friend and business partner would definitely scare the wits out of anyone.
Even old Ebenezer Scrooge gets scared silly on occasion. Simply put, it's a perfect setup for the haunting that is to follow.
Marley’s Ghost
This is the part of the story where things go from Christmassy to creepy. As Scrooge ventures through a darkened old house and eventually receives a frightening visitation from Marley's ghost. Some versions rely on subtlety, like the sound of rattling chains coming up the stairs for example.
But others go full force and have doorbells ring incessantly, the haunting sounds of ghostly moans, and sometimes even Marley's face appearing on the fireplace before the fully-formed Jacob Marley appears to issue his warning to Scrooge.
The Wandering Spirits
This is an addition from the novel many versions understandably cut, but the versions that do feature it never fail to creep viewers out. In all honesty, can any filmmaker be blamed for omitting this stunt?
As Marley departs from Scrooge's chambers, he flies out the window into a sky full of ghosts, all adorned with chains and crying out in agony. Yes, a vision of screaming, damned souls. That's the Christmas spirit, right?
Andy Serkis as Christmas Past
2019's dark and gritty reboot of A Christmas Carol won't be winning too many awards, especially with the intense liberties it takes with the story, but one feature that can't go unnoticed is Andy Serkis as the Ghost of Christmas Past.
Consider this an honorable mention of sorts, but Serkis's performance as a corrupted Father Christmas is certainly a beacon of brilliance in an otherwise grey, gruesome, and grim ghostly Christmas tale.
Ignorance and Want
Along with the wandering spirits, the appearance of Ignorance and Want is another unsettling image that only makes it into a handful of versions, but it's a poignant message of the cold reality of much of the poor population.
The second spirit warns to ignore them, slander those who talk of them, admit they exist but do nothing about it, and doom will engulf the world. A stark and cold truth for a Christmas film, isn't it?
Christmas Yet To Come
Of course, there's no getting away with leaving this example of tall, dark, and scary out. The Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come is without a doubt the most frightening and intimidating character in the entire novel, thus so he is in most adaptations across the board.
Usually portrayed as a shadowy figure in a black cloak, reminiscent of the Grim Reaper, the third spirit is the one who essentially scares Scrooge to the straight and narrow, along with some of the audience members as well.
Old Joe’s Parlor
A personal jab at Scrooge's greed and ego, one of the sights shown by the ghost of the future is seeing the old man's worldly possessions being stolen and sold to a sleazy merchant in London's seedy underbelly.
His buttons, blankets, and bed curtains are stripped fresh from his corpse and sold by the people he abused in life so that they benefit from his death. No good deed goes unpunished, right?
The Graveyard
This is the moment that completely and utterly changes Scrooge for life. How could seeing one's own snow-flecked grave mourned by no man possibly get any darker? How about those rare occasions where Scrooge is literally dragged into Hell?
Even both Disney versions resorted to that scare tactic. It's a bit over the top, but Scrooge is a better man because of it. Nightmare-inducing and permanently scarring, sure enough, but it does make that happy ending all the more worth it.