Editing 2836: A Halloween Carol

{{comic
| number    = 2836
| date      = October 2, 2023
| title     = A Halloween Carol
| image     = a_halloween_carol_2x.png
| imagesize = 639x245px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = [after a minute] "Okay, I think I've got it, thanks. Can I--" "oOOOooOOooo!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GHOST... oOOOooOOooo - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In the classic Charles Dickens story ''{{w|A Christmas Carol}}'', the protagonist of the tale is visited by various ghosts, first that of his old business partner and then (successively) the spirits of Christmases Past, Present and Yet To Come, in order to rehabilitate him from his anti-Christmas ways and generally improve his humanity and spiritual future. In this case, however, three {{w|Halloween}}-style ghosts arrive as a spoof of that tale. They represent similar phases of the actual festival of Halloween, but have turned up to pester Cueball in his bed all at the same time. And the 'lesson' they convey to him is far less transformative in nature. Since the ghosts say nothing more than minor variations of "oOOOOOOOOo," the lesson may be that Halloween has no "true meaning" different from what is obvious (compare [[1108: Cautionary Ghost]]), or that the true meaning of Halloween consists merely of the kind of silly "scariness" represented by the sound "oOOOOOOOOo." Additionally, since Halloween is typically represented by ghosts, the ghosts themselves only have to exist as themselves to spread the "true meaning of Halloween" (as opposed to the Ghosts of Christmas, as Christmas is not usually associated with ghosts). 

In the title text, in fact, it would appear that the very simple message has been received and taken to heart, but the apparitions feel the need to continue their haunting regardless.

Caroling, though these days almost exclusively associated with Christmas, had long been a term for festive songs and dances, and arguably it is largely through Dickens's use as his story title that we associate it so strongly with this particular annual festival.

A similar ghost saying "ooOOOOOOOOooo", along with much scarier things, appears in [[1393: Timeghost]].

==Transcript==

{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is half sitting up in bed, his lower body underneath the blankets. He is looking at three ghosts flying above him.]
:Middle ghost: ooOOOOOooOOOoo
:[The "ooooo" of the ghosts is written in wavy letters of varying sizes]
:Middle ghost: We are the ghosts of halloween past, present and future

:[Just the middle ghost]
:Ghost: Here to teach you the true meaning of halloween!

:[Back to the full scene]
:Left ghost: ooOOOOOOOooo
:Middle ghost: ooOOOOOooo

:[Again, the full scene]
:Left ghost: ooooooOOOooOooo
:Right ghost: ooOoooOOOoooo

==Trivia==
* '''This trivia section was created by a BOT'''
* The [https://web.archive.org/web/20231002191222/https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a_halloween_carol.png standard size] image was uploaded with a resolution/size larger than the supposed 2x version.
* This may have been an error.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Fiction]]