Jacob Marley is a ghost from Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.
Origins[]
A Christmas Carol[]
Jacob Marley was a cruel businessman in 19th century London who was business-partners with Ebenezer Scrooge. He died on Christmas Eve (likely in 1836 or 1835) and due to his evils he became stuck as a ghost, forced to carry the painful chains of evil and greed which he had forged in life. Seven years after his death he materialized before his former business-partner Scrooge in-order to warn him to reform or face the same evils, apparently arranging for the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-to-Come to aid Scrooge in his redemption.
Notable Disney Appearances[]
- Mickey's Christmas Carol: The Mickey Mouse universe character Goofy portrayed Marley in this short-film.
- Goofy would inconsistently recur this role in different appearances.
- A Christmas Carol (2009): Marley appears in this film, fairly accurately to the original book and voiced by actor Gary Oldman.
Haunted Mansion Connections[]
Unused Scripts[]
One of Ken Anderson’s proposed scripts for the Haunted Mansion involved cameo appearances from famous literary villains and ghosts. Jacob Marley was one of these villains, alongside Ebenezer Scrooge, Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Quasimodo, the Phantom of the Opera, Anne Boleyn, Lucrezia Borgia, Anne Bonny, Jack the Ripper, King Tut, Captain Hook, the Canterville Ghost, Simon Legree, Little Eva, the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, Great Ceasar's Ghost and the Lonesome Ghosts.[1]
One unused concept behind Haunted Mansion Holiday in Disneyland would have been themed around A Christmas Carol. Marley would have appeared in this overlay in some way.
Legacy[]
The Hitchhiking Ghost character of Gus appears to have a design derived from the appearance of Jacob Marley, notably in his being a ghost bound to chains even in death. A similarly chained ghost appeared in the audio-book The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion where it terrorized the mortal protagonists outside of the Endless Hallway.
Goofy has made several appearances outside of the Haunted Mansion dressed as Marley, sometimes being seen from the mansion's balcony. This notably occurred in 1983 to coincide with the release of Mickey's Christmas Carol and again in 2019.
Disney Parks[]
- Goofy's portrayal of Marley can be seen in Disneyland and Walt Disney World's annual Christmas Carol display on Main Street, U.S.A..