The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain by Charles Dickens first published in 1848. The tale centres on a Professor Redlaw and those close to him. Redlaw is a teacher of chemistry who often broods over wrongs done him and grief from his past. He is haunted by a spirit, and finally agrees it to cancel his remembrance. He experiences a universal anger that he cannot explain. All become as wrathful as Redlaw himself. The only one who is able to avoid the bitterness is Milly. Finally the novel concludes with everyone back to normal and Redlaw, like Ebenezer Scrooge, a changed, more loving man. Now a whole person, Redlaw learns to be humble at Christmas. A Fancy for Christmas-Time (better known as The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain or simply as The Haunted Man) is the fifth and last of Dickens's Christmas novellas. The story is more about the spirit of the holidays than about the holidays themselves, harking back to the first in the series, A Christmas Carol.
