Originally published in December of 1843, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has become a Christmas mainstay for many families. The tale of the greedy Ebenezer Scrooge and his haunted Christmas Eve night celebrates a long tradition of Christmas ghost stories, and its moral foundation of compassion and goodwill towards others has inspired countless generations. The story's immense popularity has inspired a number of adaptations in nearly every medium, with comics, modern literary retellings, stage plays, and cinematic ventures attempting to capture the Christmas terror of the original novel.