Scrooge Awakens to the First Spirit

Scrooge awakens in the dark and is astonished to hear the church bell strike twelve, though he went to bed past two. He checks his repeater, which also strikes twelve. After much perplexity, he remembers Marley's warning and resolves to lie awake until the bell tolls one. When the hour finally sounds, a light flashes up in the room, and the curtains of his bed are drawn aside by a hand. Scrooge finds himself face to face with a strange figure: like a child, yet like an old man, with white hair, a tunic of purest white, a lustrous belt, and a branch of fresh green holly. From the crown of its head springs a bright, clear jet of light. This is the Ghost of Christmas Past.