Ghosts have history in yule stories

With spirits flying through the air and magical apparitions haunting the streets of 19th century London, "A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas" will be presented by Charleston Stage at the Sottile Theatre.

This version of the holiday show focuses on the ghostly aspects of Dickens' original story, according to Charleston Stage founder and artistic director Julian Wiles who penned this original adaptation.

"Dickens himself subtitled his novel, 'A Ghost Story of Christmas,' and so we hope to make it spookier than ever," says Wiles.

At the same time, Wiles said he wanted to make the world surrounding coldhearted Ebenezer Scrooge jolly and bright. Once again, Charleston Stage is bringing in the aerial experts from Flying by Foy, the special effects team that originally flew Peter Pan over Broadway. "But flying is just the first of new special effects," says Stefanie Christensen, set designer for the show. "We also have created a fog shrouded London by using hundreds of pounds of dry ice."

Wiles points out that like Scrooge, Charles Dickens (1812-1870), was haunted by poverty. His father had been thrown into debtors prison and young Dickens, at age 12, was sent to work in a shoe factory, working up to 60 hours a week.

Wiles adds that it was not unusual in Victorian England to use ghost stories as the Romans used fables, to teach moral virtues to children. Therefore the telling of a ghost story at Christmas, which might seem odd to us today, was not at all unusual in Dickens' time.

Read more in Sunday's editions of The Post and Courier.