Jacob Marley's Christmas carol

the long version

"Marley was dead, to begin with ..."--and what happens to Ebenezer Scrooge's mean, sour, pruney old business partner after that? Chained and shackled, Marley is condemned to a hellish eternity. He's even given his own private tormentor: a malicious little hell-sprite who thoroughly enjoys his work. Desperate, Marley accepts his one chance to free himself: to escape his own chains, he must first redeem Scrooge. So begins a journey of laughter and terror, redemption and renewal, during which Scrooge's heart, indeed, is opened; but not before Marley--in this irreverent, funny and deeply moving story--discovers his own.