Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Original illustration by John Leech (1843)
First appearance	A Christmas Carol 1843
Created by	Charles Dickens
Information
Nickname(s)	Tegan
Species	Ghost
Gender	Neutral
Occupation	Producer of Visions
Relatives	The Ghost Of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come, also known as The Ghost of Christmas Future, sometimes The Spirit of Christmas Future or The Spirit of Christmas Yet-to-Come, is a fictional character in English novelist Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It is the third and final spirit to visit the miser Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve. The spirit closely resembles the Grim Reaper.

"The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently, approached. When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery. It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. [...] It thrilled [Scrooge] with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the mask there were eyes staring at him."

Scrooge finds the Ghost Of Christmas Future the most fearsome of the Spirits; it appears to Scrooge as a figure entirely muffled in a black hooded cloak, except for a single spectral hand with which it points. Although the character never speaks in the story, Scrooge understands it, usually through assumptions from his previous experiences and rhetorical questions. It is notable that, even in satires and parodies of the tale, this spirit retains its original look. It looks the way it does because it represents what the future holds for Scrooge if he does not change his ways.

When the Ghost makes its appearance, the first thing it shows Scrooge is three wealthy gentlemen making light of a recent death, remarking that it will be a cheap funeral, if anyone comes at all. One businessman said he would go....if lunch is provided. Next, Scrooge is shown the same dead person's belongings being stolen by Scrooge's charwoman Mrs. Dilber, Scrooge's laundress, and the local undertaker and sold to a receiver of stolen goods called Old Joe. He also sees a shrouded corpse, which he implores the Ghost not to unmask. Scrooge asks the ghost to show anyone who feels any emotion over the man's death. The ghost can only show him a poor couple indebted to the man momentarily rejoicing that the man is dead, giving them more time to pay off their debt. After Scrooge asks to see some tenderness connected with death, the ghost shows him Bob Cratchit and his family mourning the passing of Tiny Tim. The spirit then takes Scrooge to a rundown churchyard and shows the repentant miser his own grave; Scrooge then realizes that the dead man of whom the others spoke ill was himself.