Traumatic experiences, except to the child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the whole truth about Cole’s Supernatural abilities. With Dr. Crowe’s Cole begins to understand what he must do to get the ghosts to disappear. He then communicates with the ghosts to help them deal with their unfinished business. Dr. Crowe’s marriage begins to fall apart because of the excessive over time and work he has been doing with young Cole. His wife won’t speak to him and he thinks that she may be having an affair. Finally Dr. Crowe’s confronts her one night but she acts like he’s not even there. She is crying about why Dr.
Crowe’s had to leave her. Then she drops his wedding ring. Dr. Crowe’s sees the ring that he thought was on his finger, and then comes to the sudden realisation that the guy that shot him in the beginning of the movie actually killed him and he is just another ghost that young Cole can talk to. He realises everybody he has talked to have been ghosts. It has the main character that you would expect of a ghost story. It includes Cole a young child that is the victim of these ‘attack’, Malcolm a doctor (who is the ghost), the Childs mother, and the doctor’s wife, evil ghosts, and other less important characters.
The main setting is in the houses of the child and the doctor but also in the child’s imagination. A lot of the attacks happen when the young boy is alone/during the night as this makes it more suspicious. The opening is conventional as it has a death before the actual main story begins. During the opening we get a flash back on the story so that we know what has already happened at what is to come. Although nothing becomes clear until the very end. It has a typical plot outline as it is based upon a series of hauntings to main victim. It also has typical weather in some places.
Dull, cold and stormy. The ending could also be seen as a typical one as it is closed and the mystery as to why Cole is being haunted is sorted out. This is a very good example of a modern day ghost story as it has the haunted aspect but also the violence of the new age story lines. A Christmas carol can be seen as a ghost story for a few reasons. It is in the first stave that we meet Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable but wealthy old man. Scrooge works in his counting house with his clerk, Bob Cratchit. It is Christmas Eve, and Scrooge receives a few visitors.
One is his nephew, Fred, who invites Scrooge to dinner with him on Christmas. Then come two portly gentlemen who are collecting for charity. We learn here that Scrooge had a partner, Jacob Marley, who died on Christmas Eve seven years ago. Scrooge refuses to give the gentlemen anything, saying he helps the poor already through supporting the workhouses. Scrooge allows Bob to have Christmas Day as a holiday, but insists that he be back at work all the earlier next day. When Scrooge returns to his home he is visited by the Ghost of Jacob Marley who is weighed down by a massive chain, made up of cashboxes, keys and padlocks.
Jacob Marley says to Scrooge any man who wish’s to not socialise in life will not be with people when he dies. Marley tells Scrooge that he, too, will wear chains unless he changes his ways. He then warns him of three more spirits, which will visit to help him, change his ways. In the next stave we are introduced to the ghost of Scrooges Christmas past. We see him as a boy at school on two occasions. First, he sits alone in a cold schoolroom then later we see him with his older sister, Fan, who has come to bring him home for the holidays. Next we see Scrooge as a young apprentice working for Mr.
Fezziwig, in his warehouse. At seven o’clock on Christmas Eve, Mr. Fezziwig tells Scrooge and his other workers there is to be a party. Everyone is welcome at Mr. Fezziwig’s ball, and the young Scrooge enjoys it a lot. The Ghost tells Scrooge that Mr. Fezziwig has done nothing special, only spent a little money he can easily afford. Scrooge replies that it is impossible to get words from peoples looks. This makes scrooge slowly change his mind towards Christmas. In stave three we are introduced to the second of the three ghosts, this spirit is the Ghost of Christmas Present.
It is a great giant, dressed in a green robe and surrounded by piles of food. This spirit shows Scrooge how his clerk’s family, by strangers from all over and by his nephew, Fred, celebrates Christmas. The spirit carries a torch and everywhere it goes this torch sprinkles incense or water on people and makes them become kinder to each other. Scrooge has never seen Bob Cratchits house. Here he sees how the Cratchits, despite being very poor, can be happy at Christmas. Bob and Mrs. Cratchit struggle because their family is large: there are six children. (Martha, Belinda, Peter, two unnamed ” Cratchits”, and Tiny Tim.)
Scrooge sees how frail Tiny Tim is, and asks the Spirit if he will live. The ghost tells him that unless something changes in the future, the child will die. When Scrooge protests he is reminded of his words earlier “If he be like to die he had better do it and decrease the surplus population”. Now Scrooge sees, under its robe, two horribly dirty and ugly children. The ghost tells him “This boy is Ignorance this girl is Want”. Scrooge is told to beware of them both. When he asks if nothing can be done to help them the ghost again quotes his earlier words: “Are there no prisons?
Are there no work-houses”‘scrooge’s attitude changes he starts to feel down and upset, and regrets what he has said earlier. In this stave Scrooge is again taken to places he does not know. The spirit is more like the kind of ghost we meet in conventional ghost stories. It is a hooded phantom, its face is unseen and it points at things but does not speak. We are puzzled in this stave as there are a few wealthy people hanging round a coffin but the ‘phantom’ will not speak or say who it is. Later on we learn that the man is scrooge but not many people mourn for him except his nephew and the crotchets.
This is when he decides he must defiantly change his ways. In the last stave scrooge changes his ways and really gets into the Christmas spirit. He celebrates it with his family and friends. He gets a young boy to go round to the butchers and get the large turkey, then deliver it to the Cratchetts and he generously pays the young lad. Scrooge helps out the Cratchetts by raising bob and helping to support their family. Tiny Tim does not die scrooge is a changed man. The setting can be seen as typical and A-typical as it is Christmas time, which is joyful and happy however it is cold, dark and damp.
The opening is basically an introduction to the main character and what he does. It is not until the middle of the story we really can identify it as a ‘Ghost’ story as this is when the three ghosts are introduced. The ghosts although typical to a ghost story are also a-typical as the yare not necessarily seen as haunting Scrooge but merely helping him to change. Scrooge as a victim is a typical character, his nephew and the Cratchetts are a-typical as they are just generally extra characters that are not involved with the ghosts or the effects until scrooge changes.
the ending in mainly typical as Scrooge changes and the ghosts leave him alone. It is an appropriate tale for Christmas as it is describing the time around Christmas. Snowy, dark but with cheerful and happy people getting into the festive mood, being with family and friends. It express’s emotions and feelings of what Christmas is really about and how we should think of our loved ones and those who are alone/less fortunate then ourselves. It describes typical features of Christmas like going to family’s parties and giving gifts.
However this story could be seen as a moral fable. A moral fable is a story in which a lesson is learnt. In a Christmas carol a lesson is to be taught to scrooge by the ghosts. At the beginning scrooge is a selfish, inconsiderate man who only cares for him self. The ghosts come and help him to see what his life has been and how he much changes. They try to show him not to be unfair and selfish at Christmas but to be caring and giving and to help those in need. A moral that people could gain from this story could be look out for other’s as well as yourself this Christmas…
have a heart. Meaning have a permanent positive affect on other, help them out and let them share your love this Christmas. I believe that looking from everything we have studied that “A Christmas carol” can be seen as a ghost story but only in some ways. For instance the ghosts only appear once each through out the whole story then never come back, most ghosts continue to haunt/bully their victim until there whole duty is for filled. Although in this story the ghosts job was to try to help Scrooge to change his ways and this they succeeded in.
Also the first ghost was described as a phantom, which is a stereotypical ghost, so this would also back up the ghost story fact. However I believe that is more then jus at ghost story. I believe it is a piece of writing that this been done to prove a point that Christmas is a time for giving, to love and look after those in need. It has a moral fable aspect in it. It describes a very Christmas like atmosphere and you could just picture it. Overall I believe that it is more of a tale for Christmas than a ghost story.
