Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits
Arguably the most mysterious of the spirits that visits Ebenezer Scrooge is the Ghost of Christmas Past. While Scrooge’s former partner, Jacob Marley, along with the Ghosts of Christmas Present and Yet to Come, are all fairly iconic in the ways in which they are represented, Christmas Past is the character that is the most varied in how it has been depicted over the years.
In the original text, this ghost is described as “a strange figure—like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child’s proportions.”
This description, which refers to the ghost as both “like a child” and also “like an old man”, is somewhat contradictory. Analysis of this description typically states that it is meant to convey that the ghost’s features were smooth and fine, yet the spirit had an air of wisdom about it as if it was a much older individual than one would assume from its youthful appearance.
While the pronoun “him” is used in that first passage, subsequent text in the story steers away from the masculine, and the mention of the spirit wearing a dress has also been enough for many retellings of “A Christmas Carol” to present this ghost as a female or even as more of an androgynous character. The description of this spirit continues below:
“Its hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were of uncommon strength. Its legs and feet, most delicately formed, were, like those upper members, bare. It wore a tunic of the purest white; and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand; and, in singular contradiction of that wintry emblem, had its dress trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm.
Even this, though, when Scrooge looked at it with increasing steadiness, was not its strangest quality. For as its belt sparkled and glittered now in one part and now in another, and what was light one instant, at another time was dark, so the figure itself fluctuated in its distinctness: being now a thing with one arm, now with one leg, now with twenty legs, now a pair of legs without a head, now a head without a body: of which dissolving parts, no outline would be visible in the dense gloom wherein they melted away. And in the very wonder of this, it would be itself again; distinct and clear as ever.”
This description has given creators much to work with over the years, as it did us when we began designing our version of the Ghost of Christmas Past.
This second chapter of “A Christmas Carol” sees Ebenezer Scrooge visit some important memories from his past, and it sets the stage for how the subsequent visits will play out with Scrooge and his ghostly guide watching as events unfold before them. Scrooge returns to the boarding school where he spent so much time as a child, eventually seeing his sister come to finally bring him back home.
We see Scrooge as a young man, apprenticed to a generous employer named Fezziwig. It is here that he meets Belle, a woman he proposes to marry, and eventually loses to his life of greed as the memories of his past grow colder and darker.
Throughout all of these “shadows of the things that have been”, the Ghost of Christmas Past accompanies Ebenezer Scrooge, commenting on what they are seeing and remarking on the effect the scenes begin to have on the old miser.
Seeing Belle, the woman he loved in his youth, turn from him and find happiness with another is too much for Scrooge to bear, and he grabs the golden extinguisher from the ghost. Using it to snuff out the light that the spirit brings, Scrooge finds himself once again alone in the darkness of his bed chambers. The Ghost of Christmas Past is gone.
An Ever-Shifting Spirit
Somewhat appropriately given Dickens’ description of a ghost that “fluctuated in its distinctness”, the Ghost of Christmas Past has been presented in various ways over the years in the films, stage plays, and other mediums where this story has been retold.
Oftentimes this ghost is presented as a female, as we did for our Figura Obscura release. Other times it is depicted as a small child. In fact, the artwork in the original versions of the story showed this spirit as a child with a halo-like glow around its head (see illustration near the top of this page). Still other versions of this story present this ghost as an ethereal male figure – sometimes young, and other times quite old. Of course, with so many versions of A Christmas Carol out there, we also see much more unique interpretations of this character, including a taxi driver in the movie “Scrooged”, a ghost with a flickering, candle-like flame for a head in the Jim Carrey-led version of the tale, or even as Jiminy Cricket in “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.”
Throughout all of these depictions (with the surly cab driver being the possible exception), the Ghost of Christmas Past is shown as a friendly and thoughtful guide who ushers Scrooge from a stance of not believing in what he is seeing before him, to beginning to understand the journey he finds himself upon that fateful night. This depiction is a stark contrast to the other spirits in the story, including the mournful Marley, the exuberant Ghost of Christmas Present, and the chillingly silent spectre known as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
Haunting Figure Obscura - Again
The Ghost of Christmas Past is an important milestone in the Figura Obscura line, as it is the first time we have revisited a theme and done a second release to start a “series within the series.” While we did previously announce our plans to release additional “Gods of Ancient Egypt” deities in order to build out that sub-series of Figura Obscura, the Ghost of Christmas Past is the first time we actually have a second distinct Figura release from a series now in hand. This spirit joins last year’s release of the Ghost of Jacob Marley as two characters from Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol.” In fact, we even teased that this was coming on the final page of the booklet that came with old Marley last year, stating that “the Ghosts of Christmas shall return.”
While the design of the Jacob Marley figure was fairly straightforward and true to many of that character’s depictions, when it came to the Ghost of Christmas Past, we had some decisions to make – starting with what gender we wanted to present this character as.
As we have stated earlier in this article, this ghost has been seen as both a male and as a female, and the description in the book gives ample points to support either choice. In the end, we chose to make the character female to create some variety in the line and within this little subset of figures we are creating. The Ghost of Christmas Past would be only the second female Figura Obscura released, with the first being the Bastet figure that was available earlier in 2024.
Examining the description of this spirit further, there were a number of key elements we decided to use in the design of this figure, starting with the indistinctness of its shifting form. The text refers to how the quantity and placements of the ghost’s limbs seemed to change as Scrooge first looks upon it. Interestingly, this is something that very few adaptations of the story really use, probably because a character with “one arm, now with one leg, now with twenty legs, now a pair of legs without a head, now a head without a body” is just bit too off-the-wall to depict on screen! We, however, saw this as a way to do something interesting with the figure, and so we decided to give the ghost 4 arms. Two of these arms plug into a new back adapter that is hidden under the ghost’s dress, so you can display the spirit with either 2 or 4 arms (or 3…or 1…or none at all!), depending on the look you wish to achieve.
The three faces that come with the figure also embrace this idea of an ever-shifting appearance for this strange spirit. The figure includes her main face with very beautiful features and another that is corpse-like and decayed. A third option shows a transition between these two extremes, as if Scrooge was seeing her visage change and shift before his very eyes.
In the original story, there is a jet of brilliant light coming from the head of the spirit. We decided to depict this by painting the inside of the ghost’s crown as if light was shining within it. We did discuss the possibility of adding “light up” electronics to this figure, but realizing that an addition like that would hamper some of the swapabilty of the toy, we elected to leave it off.
For the figure’s dress, which is described as “a tunic of the purest white; and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt”, we once again worked with the CJESIM team. Interestingly, the simplicity of this dress proved to be one of the challenges, as there was the temptation to make the soft goods more elaborate. In the end, a simple design using a semi-sheer fabric to reinforce the ghostly look of this spirit ended up being the right direction for this character.
The next pieces to consider for this figure were the accessories. While Jacob Marley was loaded with pieces thanks to his chains, cashboxes, and keys, there were very few things mentioned in the story that would make sense for this ghost to include - a sprig of holly and a gold extinguisher being the only two items referenced in the original text. Both of those items are included, and Eric also added a second extinguisher that was part of a staff. While not necessarily accurate to the original text, it created a more “action figure-like accessory” for this release while still feeling totally appropriate to the character.
Finally, we once again decided to include a diorama-like accessory piece with this release. The Victorian street lamp and base could be from the scene in the park when Belle releases Scrooge from his promise of marriage, or perhaps near the schoolhouse where he spent his days as a boy. Regardless of how you use it, it provides another cool diorama piece that is great for action figure photos and displays of Figura Obscura or other toy lines!
The Creepiness Factor
In a line populated by Yuletide demons, headless Hessians, and all-powerful monkey warriors, the Ghost of Christmas Past definitely stands out. Other than the Father Christmas figure we first released during the 2022 holiday season, this new figure was initially shaping to be the tamest of all our Figura releases. We know our fans love it when we do monsters or other creepy characters, so that was something that was considered from the start of this project – how do we create a figure that works as the Ghost of Christmas Past with an air of ethereal beauty, while also finding a way to add some “creepiness factor” into the toy! Thankfully, there is no shortage of horrific female ghosts wearing white in the pages of folklore!
Looking at different legends and mythologies, we uncovered a number of supremely creepy female haunts, including La Lhorna of Mexican folklore. Also known as “the Weeping Woman”, this vengeful ghost haunts bodies of water where she is said to have drowned her children.
There is also the White Lady legends which are found in many different countries across the world. While different cultures have different legends surrounding these ghosts, one common thread is a mournful ghost who seeks revenge for a deep betrayal. This ghost is also commonly held as a harbinger of doom for those who see her. There are numerous versions of the “White Lady” legend in the United States, with variations found in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, California and more.
In Japanese folklore, there are the yūrei - restless souls who are often seen in their white funeral garments with long unkempt hair. These are sorrowful beings who haunt the living because they have unfinished business in the world, and they are often depicted as females in Japanese art.
Even Jadis, the Winter Queen or Winter Witch of the “Chronicles of Narnia” draws upon the tropes of a beautiful, but otherworldly creature who is monstrous in her actions and who haunts those she comes in contact with.
Considering all of these folkloric characters alongside with the ghost from Dickens’ story, Eric Treadaway set out to create his version of the Ghost of Christmas Past. The inclusion of the “decayed face” made sense in the context of the story, while also giving display options to create some of these other apparitions. This was also why a second hair piece was added to the set, since the crown that appears on the main looks for the Ghost would limit how else it could be used. That second set of “plain” hair, along with the three different faces that are also included, allow for a variety of display options for the Ghost of Christmas Past or any of these other female haunts from across the world.
The Art of the Past
The artwork and scenes that we selected last year for the packaging on the Ghost of Jacob Marley set the stage for how this next figure in the series would be handled. Only scenes from Stave 2 in the book (which is when this ghost appears) would be used on the box and the subsequent mini-booklet that is included with the release – just like only scenes from Stave 1 were used on Marley. The front of the box depicts this spirit in her most beautiful form, appearing to Ebenezer Scrooge on his journey of reclamation.
The other scenes chosen for this release included Scrooge’s bedchambers and the schoolhouse set in the wintery countryside. The inside front panel, which is most often used for a large scene meant for photo or display backdrops, depicts the holiday party at Fezziwig’s, and similar to the studio faces that Nate Baertsch snuck into last year’s box art, this one seems to have some random party goers alongside some very familiar faces as well - including old Fezziosi himself!
In addition to the packaging and booklet, the art of this release was also used to create enamel pins, coffee mugs, greeting cards, and t-shirts (the later of which is sold by our partners at RetroRagsLimited).
You Will Be Haunted
The Ghost of Christmas Past not only extends the “Christmas Carol” series, it also caps off another exciting year of Figura Obscura. What will next year hold? Only time will tell, for like the ever-changing visage of the Ghost of Christmas Past, you never know what you will see when you gaze upon the face of Figura Obscura!
