: In his preface, Dickens wrote that he sought to "raise the Ghost of an Idea" that would "haunt" his readers' houses "pleasantly". The ghosts (Marley and the three Spirits) serve as a supernatural vehicle for Scrooge’s—and by extension, the reader's—psychological and moral awakening.
: Telling ghost stories by the hearth was a staple of mid-winter celebrations in 19th-century England. Dickens utilized this "melodramatic" popularity to ensure his message reached a wide, middle-class audience. subtitle A Christmas Carol
: By calling it a "carol," Dickens expressed hope that the moral lessons within—charity, empathy, and social responsibility—would be repeated every year until they were "known by heart" by the public. The Tradition: "A Ghost Story of Christmas" : In his preface, Dickens wrote that he