Charles Dickens published his final <i><b>Christmas book</b></i>, &quot;The Haunted Man and the Ghost&#39;s Bargain&quot;, in 1848.&nbsp;<br />While it has been upstaged by the most famous of his yuletide stories, &quot;A Christmas Carol&quot;, both share a distinct similarity: a ghostly plot. While Dickens is often credited with inventing the modern idea of Christmas, that of trees and garlands and presents, he also cast a spooky, haunting mood over the holiday. To Dickens, Christmas was not only a time for festive warmth, but one for dark examination, too.<br /><br />In this story, Dickens narrates the hair raising experiences of a professor. As the protagonist dwells on his past sorrows and mistakes, a phantom visits him. It offers him a bizarre escape from painful recollections of yesteryear by offering to eradicate his memory. On seeing the professor turn into a man devoid of emotions, the reader realises how empty one becomes without a past.&nbsp;