The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain

The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, A Fancy for Christmas-Time is a novella by Charles Dickens first published in 1848. It is the fifth and last of Dickens's Christmas novellas.

The story centers around Professor Redlaw, a teacher of chemistry, whose personal life has been marred by sorrow and, he feels, by wrongs done to him in his past. He is haunted by his ghostly twin, who offers him the opportunity to forget completely all 'sorrow, wrong and trouble', claiming that this will make him happier. Redlaw wavers, but finally accepts this offer, discovering too late that there are conditions attached to it which cause him to infect with this unwanted 'gift' nearly everyone with whom he comes in contact.