[Balin] Arrive at home (an homage) (*SOLVED*)

[Balin]

This is Balin’s ‘woubit’s Christmas puzzle’ for 2020. Proceed.

Instructions & background: For several years in the 2000s, forum member ‘woubit’ would run an annual Christmas puzzle. This is my fourth homage.

This Christmas puzzle operates the same way as his did - the title provides a clue to what the actual puzzle is, and that puzzle has some sort of Christmas theme. (For example: the 2009 puzzle was called “There’s an old piano”; puzzlers first reasoned the continued lyric - “and they’re playing it hot behind the green door” - then deduced the green door was on an advent calendar.)

While most previous WCPs have operated in the style of finding connections, this one is styled differently. However, this first step is the same: work out the theme from the title.

All forms of reference (and Internet searching) are acceptable.

At present, all you have to go on is the title. Good luck.

[AlbatrossLover]

Is the title a reference to a Christmas song? Movie? Is it a synonym for something else? An anagram or similar wordplay relevant? And just to make sure: is your name and/or the part in parentheses part of the title clue?

[GalFisk]

Are the three words together one reference? Two? Three? at=@ relevant? Home=127.0.0.1 relevant? Or localhost? Is there one step from the title to the xmas-related thing? Two? Three? More?

[LemonCurry]

"Home": Someone's house? Home town? Home country? Home base in baseball? A designated place in a game?

[Balin]

Is the title a reference to a Christmas song? Movie? Neither Is it a synonym for something else? No An anagram or similar wordplay relevant? No And just to make sure: is your name and/or the part in parentheses part of the title clue? No

Are the three words together one reference? This Two? Three? at=@ relevant? No Home=127.0.0.1 relevant? No Or localhost? Is there one step from the title to the xmas-related thing? Two? I'd say this Three? More?

"Home": Someone's house? Home town? Home country? Home base in baseball? A designated place in a game? None of these

[wunderland]

Home: a place? a building? a residence? the place of origin of someone/something relevant? a family? the word "home"? a reference to a well known saying? e.g. "where the heart is"? "wherever I hang my hat"?
Is the next step an action one might take after arriving at home?

[Balin]

Home: a place? Yes a building? No a residence? In a sense the place of origin of someone/something relevant? Also in a sense a family? No the word "home"? In this case, the word "home" is specific a reference to a well known saying? No e.g. "where the heart is"? "wherever I hang my hat"? Neither
Is the next step an action one might take after arriving at home? No

[Doriana]

Relevant that Advent means arrival?

[Balin]

Relevant that Advent means arrival? No

[peter365]

Baseball relevant? Would an alternative way of saying 'Arrive at Home' work?

Thanks for running this Balin, I like that you reference 'There's an old Piano' as a guide to what's going on. In my opinion it was woubit's masterpiece. Hope this one goes well.

[Balin]

Baseball relevant? No Would an alternative way of saying 'Arrive at Home' work? No

Thanks for running this Balin, I like that you reference 'There's an old Piano' as a guide to what's going on. In my opinion it was woubit's masterpiece. Hope this one goes well. Thanks. That was before my time but I've read through it several times - a masterwork indeed.

[LemonCurry]

Are we looking for an anagram? A rhyme?

[Balin]

Are we looking for an anagram? A rhyme? Neither

[gregoryuconn]

Are we looking for something that normally goes in someone’s home? A Christmas tree? Presents? A garage? GPS relevant? Navigational directions? Other directions?

[irishelk]

Is the home of someone in particular? Or something? Animals relevant? Is someone or something in particular arriving at home? If so, is it the person/thing for which that place is home? Is the statement a command/direction?

Is the method of arrival relevant? Any form of transportation?

[Balin]

Are we looking for something that normally goes in someone’s home? A Christmas tree? Presents? A garage? GPS relevant? Navigational directions? Other directions? No to all

Is the home of someone in particular? Yes Or something? Yes, svv of "thing" Animals relevant? No Is someone or something in particular arriving at home? No If so, is it the person/thing for which that place is home? Is the statement a command/direction? It's part of one

Is the method of arrival relevant? [b}No, but svv[/b] Any form of transportation? No

As a reminder, all forms of Internet search and aid are allowed in this puzzle - in fact, at one point it will be necessary.

[gregoryuconn]

Is a Christmas carol relevant?

Checks Google for lyrics including "arrive at home" since Balin said Google is OK

Is the carol "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"? Ebeneezer relevant? Raising Ebeneezer? Scrooge? Scrooge's parents (since they raised him)? Or wait, Scrooge wasn't raised by his parents, was he? Is whoever raised Scrooge relevant?

To clarify, when I was asking the first question it related to christmas carol songs but is the book A Christmas Carol relevant since we have Ebeneezer now?

[Balin]

Is a Christmas carol relevant? No, but see below:

Checks Google for lyrics including "arrive at home" since Balin said Google is OK

Is the carol "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"? It's a hymn, not a carol, but Yes. Ebeneezer relevant? Yes (from the lyric "Here I raise my Ebenezer") Raising Ebeneezer? Scrooge? Scrooge's parents (since they raised him)? Or wait, Scrooge wasn't raised by his parents, was he? Is whoever raised Scrooge relevant?

To clarify, when I was asking the first question it related to christmas carol songs but is the book A Christmas Carol relevant since we have Ebeneezer now? I can sum all this up with a Yes.

This is A Lateral Thinking Puzzles Forum Christmas Carol.

You will travel through Ebenezer Scrooge's ethereal visits from the ghosts of Jacob Marley and of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. From the anecdote provided, you must extract the name of an object or phrase that will laterally aid Scrooge in the lesson he is to learn.

This is where the difference between this year's Christmas puzzle and past years' comes into play. Instead of finding connections, this year's puzzle is in the form of a puzzlehunt. Your goal for each puzzle will be to identify the manner of hint, sort out the hints, extract a letter or letters from each, and figure out the proper order to arrange them for your answer.

(As an example, this is the first puzzle in a hunt I competed in recently. The solution is found by realizing that the text can be substituted with words containing the string of letters -EI-; listing those words in the order of the text gives the phrase MNEMONIC LIE, which is the answer.)

In the Christmas puzzle, the entirety of Scrooge's narrative is the puzzle. Pay particular attention to the events of the narrative and to the dialogue, which may hide clues. (Unlike most puzzlehunts, the titles of each stave will not help - except once.)

Also, the final stave acts as a metapuzzle, where the solutions of the other four puzzles need to be fed into the metapuzzle somehow in order to come up with the final solution.

Because this is a new style, I anticipate that it may be difficult and time-consuming. As such, I will not require that one puzzle be solved before posting the next: I will post subsequent parts of the Christmas puzzle either every six days or whenever the previous part is solved.

As always, you may ask Yes/No questions and use Internet resources as liberally as required.

[Balin]

From the Narrative of Ebenezer Scrooge

Stave I: A Fetter In My Cap

I never expected to see the face of Jacob Marley again.

I never expected to hear his voice after seven years in the grave.

But upon retiring to my bedchamber after a cold but profitable December the 24th, I saw not just the face of my business partner, but his entire form.

A chill “Ebenezer” stirred me as I was drifting into sleep. I opened my eyes to see that form resting in the air above me, dressed in his usual business day attire, but wrapped in iron chains, a kerchief tied around his jaw.

“Jacob!” I sat up in shock. “No. You cannot be Jacob.”

The form lowered its eyes to me. “In life, I was your partner, Jacob Marley.”

“You cannot,” I had nothing more to add. “You must be nothing but a speck of undigested meat in my stomach. A fit of the body.”

“Ebenezer!” the spirit bellowed. “Refusing the reality of my identity will result in naught but this fate for you.”

“Fate?”

The form slowly lifted its arms, weighted down by the chains. “In life, I forged these chains, link by link. For eternity, they will weigh my soul unto the grave. I see the same chains forming greater and greater weights upon yours.”

“Humbug!” The only word I could shout, only a breath against the gale of Jacob Marley’s spectre.

“Observe my tormented spirit,” continued the form, unceasing. “For the whole of time shall I don these shackles and fetters. Do you wish for the same?”

As the form - as Marley - spoke, he unwound the handkerchief around his chin. When he removed it, the lower mandible fell nearly to the floor. I fell back against my pillow in fright.

“Cease this at once!” I cried. “Jacob, what you say cannot be so.”

“It is so.” Marley rewound the handkerchief around his chin. “And if you continue along the path we chose, the path you continue walking down, your chains will grow until your soul cannot stand from the weight.”

“What chains?” I asked. “What path?”

“Do you not recall?” shouted Marley. “Though our work never left the city, our reach expanded far beyond, into Sallybrook and Northwich and Knighton. Our greed for money took gold from the hands of men in Pembroke and Maghull and Leith, in Rotherham and Exeter. The Holy Book says that the love of money is the root of all evil, and we have lived it.”

“Jacob-”

“Say nothing while I speak, Ebenezer!” Marley’s voice echoed through my chamber. “Do you not recall those men from Eccles or Glastonbury, from Haverhill or Yarmouth, from Ludlow or Woodbridge or Kettering who traveled into our shop for business, and who departed aware of their ruin? We have trampled the lives of near Nottingham and far Armagh; of high Eton and low Harrogate, of close Market Deeping and distant Gaelic-”

“...towns and boroughs.” I shuddered, recalling those words spoken by Marley during his lifetime.”

“Did I not command you say nothing?” demanded Marley.

I shut my mouth.

“There are those walking the streets of Dundee and Towcester and Egremont and Alford who curse the names of Scrooge and Marley,” continued the form. “There are humans possessing immense greed in Glasgow and Manchester, Reading and Hereford, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, Newcastle and Durham, yet our souls are greedier than any found throughout the earth.”

My mouth opened, but words only trickled out. “You spoke of a path.”

He nodded. “The path we have traveled forged these chains. They start out short, but grow longer and heavier by the minute. Each one our greed.”

“Please, Jacob!” I blurted. “How may I rid my soul of these chains?”

"You have time to change,” Marley said. “Your chains weigh, but they will only yet shackle should this path continue. Ebenezer,” he continued, hovering towards me, “I am but the first you will meet this night. Three more shall follow.”

“Can it not just be one?” I plead. “Or all three at once, and it be over with?”

Marley shook his head. “Expect the first ghost when the bell tolls one,” he said. “Without these spirits, you have no hope of escaping these chains, these chains which torment more than any rack and crush more than any iron.”

“Jacob!” I should. “What can I expect from this ghost?”

But he was already gone.

[Acridian9]

Names of the towns relevant? Their position on a map? The number 357548?

[Doriana]

Relevant that Marley's part of the dialogue is written in red? Is the colour red itself relevant? Could his lines be written in green? in the same colour as the rest of the text?

[Balin]

Names of the towns relevant? Yes Their position on a map? No The number 357548? No

Relevant that Marley's part of the dialogue is written in red? No; it's done to distinguish Marley's statements from the narrative text and Scrooge's statements Is the colour red itself relevant? No Could his lines be written in green? Yes in the same colour as the rest of the text? Yes

[trebor]

Is the order in which Marley names the towns relevant? Relevant that the Gaelic towns and boroughs part is interrupted by Scrooge? That they're not named? Are the descriptors relevant? ("high" Eton, eg.) Is a linguistic component of the town names relevant? Relevant that some of them have things named after them? Or that some are primarily associated with one thing, such as Eccles with cake and Edinburgh (to me, at least) with the Fringe?

[Doriana]

I don't know if this will come in handy at any point, but I've started a Google spreadsheet to keep track of information. So far, I've added the towns and their descriptors. Feel free to play around with it as needed, add information, sort stuff alphabetically, or whatever you all think will bring us closer to the solution.

[Acridian9]

@Doriana great idea, thanks!

Is it just the town names that we need? (For instance, Holy Book is capitalized like the town names.... is it important?)

What is relevant about town names: First letter? Last letter? Letter in another fixed position? Length? The fact that they are (more or less) compound names (Sally-brook, North-wich, Knight-on....)?

[Balin]

Is the order in which Marley names the towns relevant? I have to put this as a YopeRelevant that the Gaelic towns and boroughs part is interrupted by Scrooge? Yes That they're not named? Not really Are the descriptors relevant? ("high" Eton, eg.) No Is a linguistic component of the town names relevant? Yes, but don't get too complex with the word "linguistic"; see below Relevant that some of them have things named after them? No Or that some are primarily associated with one thing, such as Eccles with cake and Edinburgh (to me, at least) with the Fringe? No

Is it just the town names that we need? Yes, plus one other word that is technically not a town name (For instance, Holy Book is capitalized like the town names.... is it important?) No

What is relevant about town names: First letter? Yes Last letter? Yes Letter in another fixed position? No Length? No The fact that they are (more or less) compound names (Sally-brook, North-wich, Knight-on....)? No

I don't know if this will come in handy at any point, but I've started a Google spreadsheet to keep track of information. So far, I've added the towns and their descriptors. Feel free to play around with it as needed, add information, sort stuff alphabetically, or whatever you all think will bring us closer to the solution.
@Doriana: great idea, thanks!
That is a great idea! Thanks for starting it for the solvers. I may peek in from time to time but won't edit.

[wunderland]

Is anything about the town names relevant, besides the first and last letters and the order in which they were named?
Is the one other word that is technically not a town name "Gaelic"? If so, should its last letter be considered to be "c"? or "s" (from "boroughs")?
Should we be looking for other words that have the same first and last letters as the towns? or that contain those letters in other positions?
Should we be considering the positions of those letters in the alphabet? if so, numerically (as in A=1 etc)? or in terms of alphabetical ordering?
Is the fact that they are towns relevant at all?

[Acridian9]

Is it like the last letter/first letter game? (this works in each set of names: for instance P-embrok-e E-xete-r R-otherha-m M-aghul-l L-eit-. Btw, are the set of towns meant to be kept separate?)

Are we supposed to re-arrange the order of the town names?

[Balin]

Is anything about the town names relevant, besides the first and last letters and the order in which they were named? No
Is the one other word that is technically not a town name "Gaelic"? Yes If so, should its last letter be considered to be "c"? This (couldn't find a UK town that ended in the letter C, or I'd have used it) or "s" (from "boroughs")?
Should we be looking for other words that have the same first and last letters as the towns? No or that contain those letters in other positions? No
Should we be considering the positions of those letters in the alphabet? No if so, numerically (as in A=1 etc)? or in terms of alphabetical ordering?
Is the fact that they are towns relevant at all? Not really

Is it like the last letter/first letter game? Yes (this works in each set of names: for instance P-embrok-e E-xete-r R-otherha-m M-aghul-l L-eit-h. Btw, are the set of towns meant to be kept separate?) Yes

Are we supposed to re-arrange the order of the town names? See previous

[wunderland]

Aha! If we arrange the towns within each chain as described above, arrange the chains by length, and take the first and last letter from each chain, we get:
SHARP HACKSAW

(edit to include the obligatory yes-or-no question:) Relevant?

[wunderland]

Perhaps the hacksaw is needed to cut through the chains?

[Balin]

Aha! If we arrange the towns within each chain as described above, arrange the chains by length, and take the first and last letter from each chain, we get:
SHARP HACKSAW

Relevant? More than relevant, it is the answer to Stave I, as...

Perhaps the hacksaw is needed to cut through the chains? ...a SHARP HACKSAW would indeed be a useful object for breaking chains. Well done.

[Balin]

Stave II: I'm Never Going Back

As the bell tolled one, I sat upright, waiting for the appearance of the spirit promised by Marley.

It came as the ringing faded away - a small glow in the form of a young child.

“You are the first spirit that is to come?” Even as I said the sentence, I knew this must be it.

The glow nodded. “I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.”

“Past? What past?”

“Your past,” said the spirit, extending its hand. “Come, there is much to see.”

“But how am I to see the past? I cannot move beyond time.”

“A touch of my hand, and you shall fly.”

The spirit’s hand remained offered. I reached out a tentative hand of my own and took it.

Instantly, we soared. Out my chamber window, over London’s rooftops, and off to some distant horizon, we soared.

Staring out towards the horizon, I saw a distant light. “Spirit, what is that? It cannot be dawn.”

“It is the past,” said the spirit, as we flew into it.

The light dazzled my eyes and I clamped them shut, feeling only the blast of the wind as we passed into the shining rays. When I opened my eyes, I found myself no longer among the streets of London, but on the door of an old schoolhouse.

“This is my old boarding school,” I said. “It’s as if it hasn’t aged a day!”

“This is your past,” said the spirit, guiding me through the door.

I stepped inside. Indeed, the schoolroom was as I remembered it as a boy, its oaken desks and chairs, its ashen shelves of tomes, all kept in precise condition.

There, at a desk in the front of the classroom, sat a properly-attired boy, head buried in some old volume.

“Is that… me?”

“It is.” The spirit turned me back toward the open door. “Do you remember these others?”

As it spoke, a group of youths bustled through the entry. “Come on, Ebenezer!” one said. “It’s Christmas!”

“Who cares about silly old Christmas?” said the boy, turning only briefly in his retort before returning to the book on the desk in front of him. The rest of the children continued to speak excitedly, gathering whatever belongings they might have.

“I remember these boys!” I said, turning quickly to the spirit. “That’s Ali! That’s… what’s his name, we called him Cludiero, but I can’t recall. And that’s… hello, Percy! Hosea! Hello, boys! Boys?”

“These are only shadows of things that have been. They can neither see nor hear us,” it answered.

I turned back to the boys, who had nearly finished getting their belongings together. Lucas and Carlo were first to the door, hurrying the rest of the gang to the entry. I watched as Alec and Joseph practically shoved D’Andre and Taylor through the door, shoving it closed behind, leaving me alone with the spirit… and with my younger self.

“What joy they must be having,” I muttered.

“It is Christmas. They are together,” the spirit answered. “They had many Christmases like this. As did you.”

“I never had much use for Christmas,” I said, looking at the boy still poring over his reading. “The holidays were time to get extra work done, nothing more.

As I watched, the boy stood up, but suddenly older.

“Many Christmases like this,” I repeated, as the scene from before repeated, but with new casts. I saw Marc chase his sisters Debra and Zoe from the stoop; Ruben and Reegen sprint through the doorway at the first mention of dismissal; Pip and Aiden walk out and meet two girls, Bronwyn and Clare, at the foot of the stairs to the entry, each couple throwing decorum to the wind and embracing with all spirit I had seen in so many pairs during the season.

Meanwhile, I sat - or rather, my younger self sat - always at the same desk, always working.

“There was one more here,” said the spirit, as the boy at the desk stood up, now a young man. This time, two other students stood alongside him, facing the headmaster at the front of the room.

“Theo and Andy,” I remarked. “They were studious pupils as well.”

My comment was cut off by the headmaster. “Young men,” he said. “You have shown yourself as men who will do well in the field of business.”

I smiled. “Old Oliver never wasted a word.”

Of course the headmaster, a shadow as the spirit said, did not hear me. “Upon the New Year, you will take up work at the firm of Mr. Fezziwig.”

“Fezziwig!” I shouted. “Dear old Fezziwig. He taught me the trade of business."

“I know,” said the spirit.

In an instant, the scene around me changed. I now stood inside Fezziwig’s firm, but not on a day of business. Instead, the crowd was in a merry mood as they celebrated the holiday.

“Fezziwig loved Christmas as much as he loved his work,” I said. “I never understood the extra day off.”

“No, Ebenezer,” the spirit said. “He loved it more.”

There was a brief commotion near the door as Fezziwig’s wife Bertha and daughter Lina entered. He swept them both up in his arms.

“I’d forgotten how much he enjoyed Christmas,” I said. “Every year, he made sure his family and friends were happy.”

“You, too, were happy once,” said the spirit, turning me again.

There I was, a young man, smiling and talking with a young woman.

“Belle.” I turned to the ghost beside me. “Please, spirit. I do not wish to relive the other Christmas with her.”

“You must.” As the spirit spoke, the scene changed to a small glade. “What has ended has ended. You must embrace it or leave it behind; you cannot do neither. Do you understand these words?”

I do not need to repeat the words spoken by the shadows in that glade. Let it only be said that my shadow and I both left it in a mood of melancholy.

“Come, there is more to see.” The spirit led me forward, one step taking us into the London streets.

“Spirit, where are we?”

“Seven years in the past,” it said.

“But where in London? I do not know this house.”

The spirit touched my hand and we moved inside. She was older, but I recognized Belle. I did not know the man or the children around her, but I could guess.

“Spirit, why have you brought me here?” I demanded. “Why compound my torment?”

The spirit did not answer, but a ringing doorbell brought Belle to the entrance. Sounds of cheer and embrace came, as she returned with another family trailing her.

“Welcome!” she told her companion. “This is my husband, Tom, and my children: Jonah, Brina, Brida, Tali, and Meryl.”

“A pleasure,” her companion said, before addressing the family. “I am Soli, a friend of Belle’s. This is my husband Herod, and our children: Remani, Matt, Sanji, Derali, Sasha, and Suti.”

Greetings were exchanged.

“Won’t you join us?” Belle asked. “We were just about to begin our meal.”

“Certainly!” Soli said. As the families moved, Soli tapped Belle’s shoulder, beckoning her stay behind for a short time. She only spoke again when the two were alone.

“The reason I came,” she said, pronouncing each word with care, “was to bring news. Jacob Marley has died.”

“Marley…” The voice that came was not Belle’s, but mine. “I had forgotten he died on a Christmas Eve. It was just another business day to me, a setback to our firm.”

“Listen,” commanded the spirit, gesturing I turn to the conversation.

“...but I knew his partner, Mr. Scrooge,” Belle was saying. “Marley’s death may have abated your family’s financial trouble, but Mr. Scrooge is the greediest man I know. And the loneliest.”

The two women sat in silence. I turned to the spirit.

“Is this why you brought me here?” I cried. “To stretch my agony? To make me long for what I do not have?”

The spirit shook its head. “Have you yet seen? These events from your past telegraphed your future. Only now, watching them again, do you see. But you may still change. You may leave the cell in which you have lived, the cloister of your own unhappiness.”

“Begone, spirit!” I cried. “Let me see no more!”

I lunged for the spirit, intending to blot out its light with my own hands.

Instead, I grasped a blanket.

I was once again in my own chamber.

[wunderland]

My brain insists on reading Scrooge's lines in the voice of Patrick Stewart, and I am okay with that.

I suppose that the various people's names are the relevant clues here?
Are all the names relevant? Only the ones that don't appear in the original text? All but Scrooge? All but Scrooge and Marley? Are the repeated instances of some names relevant?
Should we consider the names in groups, like the towns in the previous stave? if so, should we group them by the sentence in which they appear? or the paragraph?
Is any of the text from Stave II, besides these names, needed to find the solution for this stave?

[Balin]

My brain insists on reading Scrooge's lines in the voice of Patrick Stewart, and I am okay with that. And now my brain is too, and I'm okay with that as well.

I suppose that the various people's names are the relevant clues here? Yes
Are all the names relevant? Only the ones that don't appear in the original text? All but Scrooge? All but "Scrooge" and "Ebenezer" All but Scrooge and Marley? Are the repeated instances of some names relevant? No
Should we consider the names in groups, like the towns in the previous stave? No if so, should we group them by the sentence in which they appear? or the paragraph?
Is any of the text from Stave II, besides these names, needed to find the solution for this stave? There is text that will aid in figuring out what you need to do.

[Doriana]

In the case of Marley, is the relevant name "Marley" or "Jacob Marley"? Or are "Jacob" and "Marley" both relevant?

Telegrams / telegraphy relevant?

First letters of the names relevant? Last letters? n-th letters?
Frequency of letters relevant?

[Balin]

In the case of Marley, is the relevant name "Marley" or "Jacob Marley"? Or are "Jacob" and "Marley" both relevant? Just "Marley"

Telegrams / telegraphy relevant? In a way

First letters of the names relevant? Last letters? All, but there is something key about last letters n-th letters?
Frequency of letters relevant? No

[trebor]

Are the names anagrams?

[Balin]

Are the names anagrams? No (or I should technically say, "Not all")

[wunderland]

Are anagrams of any of the names relevant?
Is the order in which the names are mentioned relevant? Do they need to be arranged in a particular order? If so is the order determined by the last letters?
Is Morse code relevant? The "Telegram" messaging app? Any of the various newspapers named "The Telegraph" or variations thereof? Telegraphy equipment? Ciphers connected with telegraphy? Messages that were commonly sent as telegrams? Telegraphy as a metaphor for something else?

[Doriana]

Any of the following anagrams relevant?
Ali --> ail
Tali --> tail
Soli --> soil
Remani --> remain
Derali --> derail
Suti --> suit
Brina --> brain
Brida --> braid

[Balin]

Are anagrams of any of the names relevant? Some
Is the order in which the names are mentioned relevant? Yes Do they need to be arranged in a particular order? They're already in the relevant order If so is the order determined by the last letters? thus No
Is Morse code relevant? Yes (so No to rest) The "Telegram" messaging app? Any of the various newspapers named "The Telegraph" or variations thereof? Telegraphy equipment? Ciphers connected with telegraphy? Messages that were commonly sent as telegrams? Telegraphy as a metaphor for something else?

Any of the following anagrams relevant?
Ali --> ail
Tali --> tail
Soli --> soil
Remani --> remain
Derali --> derail
Suti --> suit
Brina --> brain
Brida --> braid
All of them

[Doriana]

Are there any relevant anagrams that span more than one name? That include words other than names?

Any of the following relevant?
Cludiero --> cloudier
Cludiero --> crude oil
Carlo --> carol
Carlo --> coral
D'Andre --> darned
D'Andre --> dander
Debra --> beard
Debra --> bread
Clare --> clear
Bertha --> breath
Herod --> horde

[Balin]

Are there any relevant anagrams that span more than one name? No That include words other than names? No

Any of the following relevant?
Cludiero --> cloudier This
Cludiero --> crude oil
Carlo --> carol This
Carlo --> coral
D'Andre --> darned
D'Andre --> dander This
Debra --> beard
Debra --> bread
Clare --> clear This
Bertha --> breath
Herod --> horde
Unanswered are No, but there's one for "Debra" that you're msising

[Doriana]

Debra --> debar?
Are we missing any other relevant anagrams?

EDIT because I was wrong, new post to follow

[Doriana]

Are the last letters of the anagrams relevant? Of the names before we anagrammed them? Of the names that are not anagrams? Relevant that the anagrams are created by moving the last letter?

[Balin]

Debra --> debar? Yes
Are we missing any other relevant anagrams? Yes, see below

Are the last letters of the anagrams relevant? No Of the names before we anagrammed them? Yes, in relation to... Of the names that are not anagrams? Yes, in relation to... Relevant that the anagrams are created by moving the last letter? Yes

[wunderland]

Alex --> axle?
Lina --> lain?
any more?

[Acridian9]

Relevant that those names that are anagrams end with a vowel? If so, are we supposed to do something with the other names that end with a vowel?

"-"s and "."s in the narrative relevant?

[Balin]

Alex --> axle? Error on my part - that should be "Alec" (I've edited it) - so No
Lina --> lain? Yes
any more? One more

[wunderland]

Reegen --> renege?

Did you miss Acridian9's questions?

[biograd]

Has anyone gotten that Lucas --> Claus? That seems like the most obvious one after Carlo --> carol.

[Balin]

Reegen --> renege? Yes

Did you miss Acridian9's questions? Yes

Relevant that those names that are anagrams end with a vowel? No, but you're right in that there's something involving last letters that is relevant If so, are we supposed to do something with the other names that end with a vowel? Yes, and the ones that end with a consonant

"-"s and "."s in the narrative relevant? No

Has anyone gotten that Lucas --> Claus? No, but that is not a correct anagram for the puzzle. That seems like the most obvious one after Carlo --> carol.

[Doriana]

Do the anagrammed names and the non-anagrammed names form two distinct groups that should be considered separately? Same question for the names that end in vowels and names that end in consonants.

Length of the names relevant?

[Balin]

Do the anagrammed names and the non-anagrammed names form two distinct groups that should be considered separately? I have to answer this one as No. Also it's probably leading you astray to think of them as "anagrams" Same question for the names that end in vowels and names that end in consonants. This one's a flat No

Length of the names relevant? No

[biograd]

Is it relevant that the names are in groups, i.e. either pairs of people who were physically together (like Lucas and Carlo, or Bronwyn and Clare) or sets of people in the same category (like the siblings Remani, Matt, Sanji, Derali, Sasha, and Suti)? Is it relevant which (new) position in the word the last letter is moved to when forming the "anagrams" (I notice that in all the siblings in the set I mentioned, it's moved to the second-to-last position)? Are we supposed to change something at that same position in the other names with which the "anagrammed" names are grouped? I notice that in the pairs there is never more than one anagrammed name, and the larger groups like the siblings always also contain some anagrammed names and some that are not.

[Balin]

Is it relevant that the names are in groups, i.e. either pairs of people who were physically together (like Lucas and Carlo, or Bronwyn and Clare) or sets of people in the same category (like the siblings Remani, Matt, Sanji, Derali, Sasha, and Suti)? No Is it relevant which (new) position in the word the last letter is moved to when forming the "anagrams" (I notice that in all the siblings in the set I mentioned, it's moved to the second-to-last position)? No Are we supposed to change something at that same position in the other names with which the "anagrammed" names are grouped? No I notice that in the pairs there is never more than one anagrammed name, and the larger groups like the siblings always also contain some anagrammed names and some that are not. Hadn't realized that. Good observation, but it's irrel.

[wunderland]

Should we be transforming the non-anagrammed names? by moving their last letters? moving other letters? adding letters? removing letters? changing letters? swapping letters with other names?
Are Morse code representations of the names relevant? of the anagrams? of transformations of the non-anagrammed names? of the last letters of the names? of something else in the puzzle text? of anything?

[Balin]

Should we be transforming the non-anagrammed names? Or at least trying to, Yes by moving their last letters? Yope moving other letters? adding letters? removing letters? Yes changing letters? swapping letters with other names? No to rest
Are Morse code representations of the names relevant? Translating the names into Morse is irrel of the anagrams? Also No of transformations of the non-anagrammed names? of the last letters of the names? of something else in the puzzle text? No to these as well of anything? But Yes, some form of Morse code representation is relevant

[wunderland]

Some of the names form words if their last letters are removed e.g. Hosea --> hose, Alec --> ale etc. Is this relevant?

[wunderland]

Ah, I think I see what's afoot. The anagrams are dashes, the names that make words by removing the last letter are dots, and the rest are breaks between letters? Which would give us:
MENTAL BLOCK

[Balin]

Some of the names form words if their last letters are removed e.g. Hosea --> hose, Alec --> ale etc. Is this relevant? Yes, and...

Ah, I think I see what's afoot. The anagrams are dashes, the names that make words by removing the last letter are dots, and the rest are breaks between letters? Which would give us:
MENTAL BLOCK Exactly! And a MENTAL BLOCK might help Scrooge move on from his past.

(Excellent job - you're already thinking like a puzzlehunter!)

[Balin]

Stave III: Repeat the Sound

I did not sleep before the second hour came, as the images of the past continued to play in my mind. But the ring of two bells came with a flash of light, as before my eyes my bedchamber lit and I saw a tremendous giant appear before my eyes.

“Merry Christmas!” it cried.

I stood. “You are?”

“I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Come, follow, and know me better.”

Without hesitating, I obeyed.

The giant led me through the streets, where men, women, and children alike walked along the cobblestones, greeting each other, friend or stranger alike. He, too, greeted everyone he passed, though none heard him.

“It’s the spirit of the holiday, of course!” his voice boomed, as we made our way to a small house along a poorer street.

“Spirit, where are we?” I asked.

“This is Bob Cratchit’s house,” he answered.

“Bob Cratchit!” I exclaimed. “I never knew my clerk lived in such a squalid place.”

“He cannot afford more,” the giant said, and I felt a pang running through me. “But though this house is minuscule, there is abundant happiness here.”

I looked through the window. “Where is Bob? I cannot see him.”

“He is with his son, Tiny Tim,” the giant said. “They are walking home from church.”

“Show me.”

The giant nodded, and we were alongside Bob and Tim as they made their way down a side street. I did not hear what they said, for as we passed a small hall, the sounds of singing and music came from inside. The Cratchits shared a few words, then went inside. We followed.

Inside the hall, there was a small crowd standing in a circle and clapping, as several musicians inside the circle played their instruments. Bob and Tim joined the circle, the boy on his father’s shoulders as they clapped along.

While the crowd clapped, a group of ladies stood up in the center and intoned, “Music, now, go from a person!”

“Twelve seconds before they've started singing,” remarked the giant. “The crowd should become even cheerier soon.”

I looked through the grinning faces in the crowd, to my surprise spotting my nephew Fred and his wife Clara clapping and stamping along. Before I could say anything, another woman sang out, “Hum melodic aria! Hear the joy!” and a second followed, singing, “Now watch too, you mass lot.”

The giant murmured, “Twenty seconds. They’re a joy, aren’t they?”

“But their words make little sense,” I said. “And why would I need to watch them if I can hear?”

“It always adds to the experience to watch, as long as you know you’re actually watching them.”

He looked in as, “Music brought to whom? All men!” cried another of the musicians.

“A pleasant gentleman,” remarked the giant. “Only twenty-four seconds and he’s already as joyful as anyone.”

Another man stood up and sang, “Resound, coda! Our music, reach you!”

“It’s been just twenty-eight seconds and the crowd is following the music. Isn’t this wonderful?”

“It is.” I paused and asked, “How could I watch someone else?”

“People imitate.” The giant looked back into the circle. “Interesting. Usually the most popular performers sing first, but today, this Christmas-”

He stopped as a man in the center of the circle of musicians stood up and shouted, “Man, unstick! Music to all people!”

“How long’s it been?” I asked the giant. “Their words still make little sense.”

“Thirty seconds,” he said. “And it’s not about how you begin, but how you end!”

As if cued by the spirit’s words, a woman stood in the circle and belted, “Sound up a guitar! Shout, London!”

A group of singers stood up, their voices echoing through the hall with “Up upon it, brought in climax!”

The crowd applauded as the musicians played along, a small section of the crowd breaking into uncoordinated dance. But the Cratchits were leaving, and the spirit and I followed.

“Was that not a wonder?” the giant asked. “Thirty-five seconds, and those men and women have the crowd only beginning to be joyful.”

“Only thirty-five seconds?”

“Give or take. Sometimes I’m off a little.”

I was about to respond, but seeing Tiny Tim’s joy as he hobbled home alongside his father, I chose to keep my words in. Instead, I watched the boy as he described the musicians with exaggerated arm movements, coughing between his descriptions.

“Spirit,” I asked as we reached the Cratchit’s house once more, “will the child live?”

He gazed at Tiny Tim as he and his father were embraced by the rest of the Cratchit household. “My vision is limited. But I believe that, if the course is not changed, the child will die.” He paused. “Of course, if he’s going to die, he had better do it and decrease the surplus population.”

I swallowed. “Spirit…” But how could I ask for forgiveness? Those words had come from my tongue only that day.

“Come,” he said. “My time grows short.”

We stepped forward and found ourselves in front of a cemetery. I had heard the giant’s voice grow hoarse as he spoke, and now I saw that his hair had grown white.

“On the stroke of twelve, I will be gone,” said the giant, lifting his robe to reveal two decrepit children. “But look upon Ignorance and Want, the children of man. Beware them both.”

I shuddered. “Spirit, is there no resource for them? No speck of joy?”

“Are there no prisons? No workhouses?” he retorted, again striking at my heart with my own words.

I heard the bells begin to ring. “Spirit, do not leave me joyless!”

The giant began to fade. “One more is to come, to show you that which you must see. Go forth, and know your fellow man.”

The final bell tolled, and he vanished.

[Acridian9]

I guess numbers from the ghost and words that don't make sense from the people are relvant here, right?
Only that? Other numbers in the narrative?

[Enjay]

Are the phrases the people sing/shout anagrams? Synonyms of other phrases? Cryptic versions of other phrases? Poor translations?

[Balin]

I guess numbers from the ghost and words that don't make sense from the people are relevant here, right? Yes
Only that? Again, there are quotes that provide hints to what you're supposed to do Other numbers in the narrative? No

Are the phrases the people sing/shout anagrams? Synonyms of other phrases? Cryptic versions of other phrases? Poor translations? No to all

[wunderland]

In the spreadsheet, we seem to have discovered that the last letters of the words make up abbreviations of the names of performers of Christmas music:
CWOMAN = Celtic Woman
MCAREY = Mariah Carey
WHOUST = Whitney Houston
NKCOLE = Nat King Cole
DARCHU = David Archuleta
CTOMLN = Chris Tomlin
DPARTN = Dolly Parton
PNTTNX = Pentatonix
Are these correct? relevant?

[Balin]

In the spreadsheet, we seem to have discovered that the last letters of the words make up abbreviations of the names of performers of Christmas music:
CWOMAN = Celtic Woman
MCAREY = Mariah Carey
WHOUST = Whitney Houston
NKCOLE = Nat King Cole
DARCHU = David Archuleta
CTOMLN = Chris Tomlin
DPARTN = Dolly Parton
PNTTNX = Pentatonix
Are these correct? relevant? These are all correct and relevant

[Acridian9]

Do we need Christmas albums from those acts? Or a single Christmas song?

Do the numbers represent: a year? the position of a letter in a title? a track number? position in a chart?

Do we have to adjust the 35?

[Balin]

Do we need Christmas albums from those acts? Or a single Christmas song? This

Do the numbers represent: a year? the position of a letter in a title? a track number? None of these

Do we have to adjust the 35? Yes

[Acridian9]

Is the number the position in a chart?

[Balin]

Is the number the position in a chart? No

[Acridian9]

Just to clarify: we need the same song for all acts, or one song for each act?
Also: the title of the song must contain the word "Christmas"?

[Balin]

Just to clarify: we need the same song for all acts, or one song for each act? Same song for every artist
Also: the title of the song must contain the word "Christmas"? No

[Acridian9]

O Little Town of Bethlehem? The Little Drummer Boy?
Do the numbers indicate verses of the song?

[Balin]

O Little Town of Bethlehem? No
Do the numbers indicate verses of the song? No

[Acridian9]

The Little Drummer Boy?

[Balin]

The Little Drummer Boy? No

[Doriana]

"Silent Night"?
Do the numbers indicate words in the song?

[Balin]

"Silent Night"? No
Do the numbers indicate words in the song? No

[Enjay]

Is it a song all those artusts have performed/released? Any of the following? Joy to the World? O Come All Ye Faithful? The First Noel? Have Yourself a Merry Litle Christmas?

Do the numbers represent seconds? Is the length of the song as performed by different artists relevant?

[Balin]

Is it a song all those artusts have performed/released? Yes Any of the following? Joy to the World? This one (and this was the puzzle where the stave title was a clue - "Repeat the sounding joy" is a lyric in "Joy to the World") O Come All Ye Faithful? The First Noel? Have Yourself a Merry Litle Christmas?

Do the numbers represent seconds? Yes Is the length of the song as performed by different artists relevant? No

[Acridian9]

So, my idea is, for each version, take the word at the specified time, i.e. for Celtic Woman version, the word at 12s, for Carey version the word at 20s, for Houston version the word at 20s and so on.

How much am I wrong?

[Balin]

So, my idea is, for each version, take the word at the specified time, i.e. for Celtic Woman version, the word at 12s, for Carey version the word at 20s, for Houston version the word at 20s and so on. Not quite.

How much am I wrong? You're aiming at the target but hitting the outer ring.

[Enjay]

Do the numbers of seconds represent certain points in the song? The amount of time before something happens? The amount of time something happens for? Are music videos relevant? Is it relevant that the numbers increase throughout the story?

To solve this, will we need to listen to Joy to The World? To all the versions of it by those artists? Read the lyrics to it? Watch a video of it being performed? Research something about the songs? The artists?

Does it matter when each artist released their version?

[Balin]

Do the numbers of seconds represent certain points in the song? Yope The amount of time before something happens? Yope The amount of time something happens for? No Are music videos relevant? No, but... Is it relevant that the numbers increase throughout the story? Only for story's sake

To solve this, will we need to listen to Joy to The World? Yes To all the versions of it by those artists? Yes Read the lyrics to it? No Watch a video of it being performed? Yope Research something about the songs? No The artists? No

Does it matter when each artist released their version? No

[Enjay]

Is it 8 different versions of JTTW that are relevant here? One version with all the artists on, like a remix or mashup (I'm assuming they've never all got together to collaborate...)

Should we be connecting different numbers of seconds to different artists? Do all the numbers of seconds apply to each of the artists?

Yope to watching a video - is any video relevant? A recording of some other kind (other than just the audio recording of the song?) A live performance? Some kind of visual representation of the song?

[Balin]

Is it 8 different versions of JTTW that are relevant here? Yes One version with all the artists on, like a remix or mashup (I'm assuming they've never all got together to collaborate...) I too am assuming so. No

Should we be connecting different numbers of seconds to different artists? Yes Do all the numbers of seconds apply to each of the artists? No

Yope to watching a video - is any video relevant? Yes A recording of some other kind (other than just the audio recording of the song?) I'll give you this - you're meant to be listening to the songs on YouTube A live performance? No Some kind of visual representation of the song? See prev

[wunderland]

Do we need to listen to a specific version of the song by each artist? or would any version on YouTube suffice?

[Balin]

Do we need to listen to a specific version of the song by each artist? or would any version on YouTube suffice? You need a specific version/video for each

[Enjay]

Would it be the "official" video? The version uploaded by the artist's Youtube channel? A live version? Studio version?

When we get the right videos, should we be stopping them after x seconds (x being one of the periods from the story?) Paying attention to what we hear at that point? To what we see? Should we be using the numbers of seconds with the videos in a different way? Do we specifically need to do this on Youtube - if the same videos were on another streaming sitre would that work? Are Youtube URLs relevant? Comments? Channel names?

[Acridian9]

Legth of the viodeos rlevant? Length of the instrumental parts of each version? Lenght of the first verse of each version?

Anything else relevant in the narative? (For instance: the spirit says “Twelve seconds before they've started singing,” and the version from Celtic Woman has an instrumental intro of 12s.)

[Acridian9]

Any of these correct?
Celtic Woman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGSGDxzMHQ
Mariah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tcbarFCk3w
Whitney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHhA-R0netY
NKCole
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcYty08BL2M
Archuleta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSqbrN93Aew
Tomlin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwAqzmgBafo
Dolly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jXA5Y5BOv8
Pentatonix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xo64Q2ucQ8

[Balin]

Would it be the "official" video? See next The version uploaded by the artist's Youtube channel? This A live version? Studio version? Could be either, see prev

When we get the right videos, should we be stopping them after x seconds (x being one of the periods from the story?) No! Paying attention to what we hear at that point? To what we see?
Should we be using the numbers of seconds with the videos in a different way? Yes Do we specifically need to do this on Youtube Yes - if the same videos were on another streaming sitre would that work? No Are Youtube URLs relevant? No Comments? No Channel names? Yes, only insofar as identifying the correct video

Length of the videos relevant? Length of the instrumental parts of each version? Length of the first verse of each version? No to these

Anything else relevant in the narative? Yes (For instance: the spirit says “Twelve seconds before they've started singing,” and the version from Celtic Woman has an instrumental intro of 12s.) Hmm... by my count, the voices come in for Celtic Woman at the 11-second mark, not 12...

Any of these correct? Of your linked videos, five are correct: Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, David Archuleta, Chris Tomlin, and Pentatonix.

[Acridian9]

This is the only video of the song on Dolly Parton's channel.... and I can't find one in N.K.Cole's channel or in Celtic Woman's channel!
Dolly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jXA5Y5BOv8

[Acridian9]

It seems there is no "Joy to the World" video on Chris Tomlin channel either.

[Balin]

This is the only video of the song on Dolly Parton's channel.... and I can't find one in N.K.Cole's channel or in Celtic Woman's channel!
It seems there is no "Joy to the World" video on Chris Tomlin channel either. Then my apologies. Either the official channel or a channel that uses the artist's name, even if not the official one. (You have the correct Chris Tomlin video already. The linked Dolly Parton video is not correct.)

[Enjay]

for Dolly - This one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZhFVA4UW84
Or this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XL4Z9O2xaQ

Celtic Woman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDmIddF7DfQ ?

Nat King Cole - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhDlbrLanAM ?

Do the various numbers of seconds apply to the artist clued immediately after them in the story? Immediately before?

It's only the audio of the relevant videos that is correct, not the visuals, is that correct?

[Acridian9]

Found this using the general YouTube search tool (but it comes out only if you force "dolly parton")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Hd20X5k-s
which you can see it comes from the official DP channel.... but it is NOT on the channel! (I guess a channel may just publish something wthout incluing it in the channel?)

[Balin]

for Dolly - This one? Or this? Neither

Celtic Woman? The linked video is correct

Nat King Cole But this one isn't

Do the various numbers of seconds apply to the artist clued immediately after them in the story? Immediately before? This

It's only the audio of the relevant videos that is correct, not the visuals, is that correct? Correct

Found this using the general YouTube search tool (but it comes out only if you force "dolly parton"), which you can see it comes from the official DP channel.... but it is NOT on the channel! (I guess a channel may just publish something wthout incluing it in the channel?) Apparently? Either way, that's the correct video.

[Acridian9]

How about this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhMwZw9yDvE

[Enjay]

OK, so:

“Twelve seconds before they've started singing,” “The crowd should become even cheerier soon.” = Celtic Woman

“Twenty seconds. They’re a joy, aren’t they?” = Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston

“A pleasant gentleman,” “Only twenty-four seconds and he’s already as joyful as anyone.” = Nat King Cole

“It’s been just twenty-eight seconds and the crowd is following the music. Isn’t this wonderful?” = David Archuleta

“Thirty seconds,” he said. “And it’s not about how you begin, but how you end!” = Chris Tomlin

“Was that not a wonder?” the giant asked. “Thirty-five seconds, and those men and women have the crowd only beginning to be joyful.” = Dolly Parton & Pentatonix

Is the above matching correct? Are the other things the giant says other than just the number of seconds relevant?

“Only thirty-five seconds?”

“Give or take. Sometimes I’m off a little.” - does this mean the numbers of seconds may not be exact?

“People imitate.” “Interesting. Usually the most popular performers sing first, but today, this Christmas-” - is this relevant to the puzzle? The idea of imitation? Which of the singers is most popular?

[wunderland]

or this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD3r5yYKg0U

Are the people's words relevant apart from their last letters?

[Enjay]

Another question - you answered this earlier - is it relevant that the voices come in just before the 12 second mark? Or were you just saying that was the wrong path to take?

Anything else relevant in the narative? Yes (For instance: the spirit says “Twelve seconds before they've started singing,” and the version from Celtic Woman has an instrumental intro of 12s.) Hmm... by my count, the voices come in for Celtic Woman at the 11-second mark, not 12...

Are instrumental parts vs vocal parts of the various songs relevant?

[Acridian9]

Does the 20 relate to Mariah and to Whitney? Same for 35 to Dolly and Pentatonix?

Is the spirit "off a little" for all numbers? Do we have to adjust them all?

[Balin]

How about this one? or this? I'll spare the random video hunt: the videos I'm using are:
Celtic Woman
Mariah Carey
Whitney Houston
Chris Tomlin
David Archuleta
Nat King Cole
Pentatonix
Dolly Parton

“Twelve seconds before they've started singing,” “The crowd should become even cheerier soon.” = Celtic Woman

“Twenty seconds. They’re a joy, aren’t they?” = Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston

“A pleasant gentleman,” “Only twenty-four seconds and he’s already as joyful as anyone.” = Nat King Cole He needs to be swapped...

“It’s been just twenty-eight seconds and the crowd is following the music. Isn’t this wonderful?” = David Archuleta

“Thirty seconds,” he said. “And it’s not about how you begin, but how you end!” = Chris Tomlin ...with him.

“Was that not a wonder?” the giant asked. “Thirty-five seconds, and those men and women have the crowd only beginning to be joyful.” = Dolly Parton & Pentatonix

Is the above matching correct? Yes, except for the two I flipped; see below Are the other things the giant says other than just the number of seconds relevant? Some of them

“Only thirty-five seconds?”

“Give or take. Sometimes I’m off a little.” - does this mean the numbers of seconds may not be exact? Yope

“People imitate.” “Interesting. Usually the most popular performers sing first, but today, this Christmas-” - is this relevant to the puzzle? Yes The idea of imitation? That was to point you to the correct YouTube videos, with the matching channel names to artist Which of the singers is most popular? Yes

Another question - you answered this earlier - is it relevant that the voices come in just before the 12 second mark? Yes Or were you just saying that was the wrong path to take? No, quite the opposite

Are instrumental parts vs vocal parts of the various songs relevant? That's a bit off the mark though.

Does the 20 relate to Mariah and to Whitney? Same for 35 to Dolly and Pentatonix? Yes to both

Is the spirit "off a little" for all numbers? Yes Do we have to adjust them all? Yes

I realized I made an error for a reason you haven't yet determined: Chris Tomlin should be clued by 24 seconds and Nat King Cole by 30. Apologies; I've edited the story text to match. (Or I haven't, because you're reading this comment while I'm editing it.)

[Enjay]

Are we looking for the difference between the number of seconds given and the point where the singing starts in each video? The difference between the number given and some other point in the video? Is what that point is clued by the giant's other words?

[Balin]

Are we looking for the difference between the number of seconds given and the point where the singing starts in each video? Yes, this. (There are some points where the singing might be thought to start at one second or the next. I'll correct anything that's off like this) The difference between the number given and some other point in the video? Is what that point is clued by the giant's other words?

[Enjay]

Celtic Woman: Story 12, actual 11 - difference 1
Mariah Carey: Story 20, actual 2 - difference 18
Whitney Houston: Story 20, actual 0 - difference 20
Chris Tomlin: Story 24, actual 16 - difference 8
David Archuleta: Story 28 the video's not available for me
Nat King Cole: Story 30 not available for me either
Pentatonix: story 35, actual 19 - difference 16
Dolly Parton: story 35, actual 15 - difference 20

Are these correct? Someone in the US will have to fill in the missing ones!

Do we need to convert the numbers to letters? A=1 etc?

[Balin]

Celtic Woman: Story 12, actual 11 - difference 1
Mariah Carey: Story 20, actual 2 - difference 18
Whitney Houston: Story 20, actual 0 - difference 20
Chris Tomlin: Story 24, actual 16 - difference 8
David Archuleta: Story 28 the video's not available for me
Nat King Cole: Story 30 not available for me either
Pentatonix: story 35, actual 19 - difference 16
Dolly Parton: story 35, actual 15 - difference 20

Are these correct? Yes, all correct
Someone in the US will have to fill in the missing ones! Turns out I'm in the US. David Archuleta starts at 27 seconds, Nat King Cole at 5 seconds.

Do we need to convert the numbers to letters? A=1 etc? Yes

[Enjay]

The letters I get can be anagrammed to A PARTY HAT - is that the answer? Should we order them by the number of video views? Some other measure of popularity?

[Balin]

The letters I get can be anagrammed to A PARTY HAT - is that the answer? You've added the initial A, but PARTY HAT is indeed the answer, as something that might help bring Scrooge joy Should we order them by the number of video views? Yes, exactly so Some other measure of popularity?

Well done; Stave IV will be up shortly.

[Enjay]

Phew! Well done everyone - time for bed for me!

[Balin]

Stave IV: Follow Me

The phantom glided towards me, the chill of its form enveloping me as it approached.

“You are the third ghost that Marley promised,” I said. “I admit that I fear you more than any that came before, but I shall follow.”

The spirit did not speak, but I heard a voice in my own brain as if it came from beneath the spectral hood: SAY NOTHING. THE LESS THAT IS SAID, THE SOONER YOU MUST LISTEN.

I nodded. “Lead on,” I uttered, then spoke no more.

I found myself in a small office that could have been my own. Those men attending were uninterested in the proceedings, mingling around a small luncheon table. My eye was caught by a heavy set of scales on a shelf in the corner, its balance tipped by a 12-shilling slug. The scales, to my surprise, resembled a set from my office that my book-keepers used in their accounting, a set of scales I had owned for years.

A man at the front of the office tapped a table and spoke. “We are gathered to read the final testament…” His voice faded away as I pondered: Some unhappy man has passed, and all those here are concerned about is their lunch.

One of the men - that’s José Perez, who has swept my chimney, I thought - stepped away from the luncheon table towards the scales. As he reached for it, the man at the front spoke up: “I’m sorry, but that has not been bequeathed to you.” Perez skulked away, and I noticed that he must have manipulated them, as the weight on the balance was now an eight-shilling slug.

The barrister (I presume) finished reading the testament and left, followed by most of the men who had parted, but Perez whispered something to a woman beside him before leaving.

How odd, I thought. That is Blanche Corrigan, my laundress. That she should be here as well is striking.

Blanche went to the corner, looking between the scales and a cheap replica on a higher shelf, that one lightly tipping with the weight of a one-shilling slug. “Which of these is the valuable one?” she muttered, taking the one from the higher shelf and slipping over to a window.

How foolish. I shook my head. Those are worth but pence; the others a hundred pounds.

She went to pass the scales out the window to Perez, who hissed, “Other one, you brick!” Blanche turned from the window, a 14-shilling slug falling from her pocket as she went and replaced the scales.

Carefully, she took the valuable set and the 6-shilling slug beside it and carried them to the window. “Excellent,” Perez whispered, taking the scales through the window and quickly departing with Blanche.

Where are they going, these looters of a dead man’s purse? I wondered. The phantom, seemingly reading my thoughts, touched my arm.

In an instant, we had advanced into a small cellar, where Perez and Blanche gazed at the scale, an 11-shilling slug beside it. “How can we divide this?” Perez asked, positioning a small saw over it at several angles.

Are they concerned with naught but its worth? I thought. Are they going to destroy it for money?

They did.

Blanche took the tiny saw and tore into the metal, slowly dividing the scales into two lengthy yet skinny scales, testing it with a nine-shilling slug to ensure the balance was not upset. “That’s brilliant,” Perez said, and Blanche sent a coy grin his way.

Let this be all of them, I thought. Spirit, show me no more of them. But remembering my promise, I did not speak.

Perez and Blanche each took one of the half-scales, leaving an eight-shilling slug on the table between them. They walked out of the cellar, then nodded at each other. “I’ll see you when the next rich businessman passes,” Perez said, before the two parted, walking away in opposite directions as if they had never seen each other.

A chill ran across me. It took all I could muster to refrain from speaking.

Spirit, I see that this unhappy man’s life might be my own. Let there not be none who mourn him.

The phantom touched my shoulder and we were back in the small office.

It had been completely emptied. There was no furniture, no curtains, no papers, not a thing. Only a four-shilling slug said that anything, a simple pair of scales, had been there.

As I stared, two more characters, both as unscrupulous in appearance as Perez and Blanche, stared at the empty room. “It’s cleaned out,” one muttered, before they turned and left.

Spirit, I thought, at least show me some grief connected with a death. There cannot be none who mourn at all in London this Christmas night.

The phantom touched my arm again, and we returned to the cemetery where I had first seen him. He gestured with an enrobed limb and I followed, passing beneath an unusual carving atop a cemetery gate - a sculpture of Justice, blind, holding a set of scales weighted down with a 20-shilling slug. As we entered the cemetery, I knew that what I witnessed here would be the truth of the future - if I did not heed Marley’s warning. I hoped that listening to the spirits would keep that an “if.”

We passed to a small section of the cemetery near a pond. There was a fresh grave near the water’s edge, a man standing above, speaking quietly and weeping. I recognized Bob Cratchit.

Not Tiny Tim! I thought.

But it was. I approached the grave and read the name on the stone - TIMOTHY CRATCHIT. Bob’s voice finished its eulogy: “...until we meet in heaven, Tim.” He turned and left.

I turned towards the phantom, who was already guiding me toward another stone. This one was dusted with a light snowfall.

Spirit, I thought, is this the man whose death has caused such unhappiness? Whose path has led to such tears?

The phantom nodded.

Spirit, I thought again, this time in desperation, are these the shadows of things that will be, or of things that may be only? A life can change!

The phantom gestured to the grave. I wiped away the snow, revealing the carved letters EBENEZER SCROOGE.

“Spirit!” I could remain silent no longer. “Have I not seen the lessons of the spirits this night? Have I not promised to change my ways? I promise to live Christmas in my heart all the year long!”

The phantom looked at me, and again I heard his ethereal unspoken voice in my head: SOME PROMISES CAN BE KEPT.

I shut my eyes in fear. “I do so vow, before you and man and God above!” I cried.

But I could not find myself able to open my eyes.

I was lying again on my bed, in a state like that of a dream.

[wunderland]

The "shilling slugs" are relevant, right?
Are the words spoken by various people (“We are gathered to read the final testament…” and so forth) relevant? Including Scrooge?
If we exclude Scrooge then there are 10 phrases. Relevant that the number of phrases matches the number of shilling slugs?
If we count contractions as one word each, then each phrase has a different number of words from 1 to 10. Is this relevant?
SAY NOTHING. THE LESS THAT IS SAID, THE SOONER YOU MUST LISTEN - does this mean we need to sort something according to the lengths of the phrases? If so, the phrases themselves? The slugs? Something else?

[Balin]

The "shilling slugs" are relevant, right? Yes
Are the words spoken by various people (“We are gathered to read the final testament…” and so forth) relevant? Yes Including Scrooge? Yes, some
If we exclude Scrooge then there are 10 phrases. Relevant that the number of phrases matches the number of shilling slugs? Yes
If we count contractions as one word each, then each phrase has a different number of words from 1 to 10. Is this relevant? Yes
SAY NOTHING. THE LESS THAT IS SAID, THE SOONER YOU MUST LISTEN - does this mean we need to sort something according to the lengths of the phrases? Yes If so, the phrases themselves? The slugs? Something else? Something else

[Acridian9]

Are the numbers meant to represent the position of a word? the position of a letter?

[Balin]

Are the numbers meant to represent the position of a word? the position of a letter? This

[Enjay]

Do we need to take a letter from the phrases said by the other people? From the phrases thought/said by Scrooge? Are the people's names relevant?

Edited to add: is it relevant that some of Scrooge's phrases are only partially in italics?

[Balin]

Do we need to take a letter from the phrases said by the other people? From the phrases thought/said by Scrooge? Neither
Are the people's names relevant? Yes

Edited to add: is it relevant that some of Scrooge's phrases are only partially in italics? The italics are to identify Scrooge's thoughts. That they're formatted as such is irrel.

[Enjay]

So is what we need to do:
Associate each shilling slug value to a phrase said by someone
Order these pairings by the length of the phrase (1 word to 10 words)
Use the shilling slug values to index into something yet to be determined to form a word/phrase?

Are the relevant names: Blanche Corrigan? Jose Perez? Marley? Bob Cratchit? Tiny Tim? Scrooge?
Is it relevant that Jose gets referred to by his surname once he's introduced, but Blanche by her first name?
Are their professions relevant?

[Balin]

So is what we need to do:
Associate each shilling slug value to a phrase Yes said by someone No
Order these pairings by the length of the phrase (1 word to 10 words) Yes, that is, order the pairings by the length of the phrase spoken during that part of the story
Use the shilling slug values to index into something yet to be determined to form a word/phrase? Yes

Are the relevant names: Blanche Corrigan? Jose Perez? These two Marley? Bob Cratchit? Tiny Tim? Scrooge?
Is it relevant that Jose gets referred to by his surname once he's introduced, but Blanche by her first name? I'll say "there's a reason for my writing it like that" and leave the rest for you to discover
Are their professions relevant? No

[Enjay]

These are the phrases I've picked out and the values mentioned closest to them - are these the right ones? If so, are the numbers associated to them correct? Is it relevant that some of the numbers are written out as words and some as figures?

12-shilling slug. “We are gathered to read the final testament…” (8 words)

eight-shilling slug. “I’m sorry, but that has not been bequeathed to you.” (10 words)

one-shilling slug. “Which of these is the valuable one?” (7 words)

14-shilling slug “Other one, you brick!” (4 words)

6-shilling slug “Excellent,” (1 word)

11-shilling slug “How can we divide this?” (5 words)

nine-shilling slug “That’s brilliant,” (2 words)

eight-shilling slug “I’ll see you when the next rich businessman passes,” (9 words)

four-shilling slug “It’s cleaned out,” (3 words)

20-shilling slug “...until we meet in heaven, Tim.” (5 words)

[Balin]

These are the phrases I've picked out and the values mentioned closest to them - are these the right ones? Yes If so, are the numbers associated to them correct? YesIs it relevant that some of the numbers are written out as words and some as figures? No

12-shilling slug. “We are gathered to read the final testament…” (8 words)

eight-shilling slug. “I’m sorry, but that has not been bequeathed to you.” (10 words)

one-shilling slug. “Which of these is the valuable one?” (7 words)

14-shilling slug “Other one, you brick!” (4 words)

6-shilling slug “Excellent,” (1 word)

11-shilling slug “How can we divide this?” (5 words)

nine-shilling slug “That’s brilliant,” (2 words)

eight-shilling slug “I’ll see you when the next rich businessman passes,” (9 words)

four-shilling slug “It’s cleaned out,” (3 words)

20-shilling slug “...until we meet in heaven, Tim.” (5 words)

[Enjay]

So we need to order them from the one-word phrase up to the 10 word phrase? Then use the associated shilling values in that order to index into something. Into the same something for all of the phrases? Something different for each? Are the different paragraphs relevant?

[Balin]

So we need to order them from the one-word phrase up to the 10 word phrase? Yes Then use the associated shilling values in that order to index into something. Into the same something for all of the phrases? Into the same type of something; not the same exact thing Something different for each? See prev Are the different paragraphs relevant? They'll help you figure out the somethings

[Balin]

RECAP of Stave IV:
Something needs to be determined from each "scene" within what the spirit shows Scrooge. From those somethings, letters must be indexed according to the value of the slug, and ordered according to the number of words in the line spoken in that "scene."

HINT:
Besides the slugs, what else appears (or is mentioned) in each scene?

[Enjay]

The scales?

[Balin]

The scales? Yes, and they'll help you figure out what needs to be indexed into.

[Enjay]

Should we be looking at the sentence that includes the mention of the scales? The mention of the weight? The adjectives used to describe the scales?

Is what we should be indexing into contained within the stave you've posted? Somewhere external?

Is the relevance of Jose and Blanche's name - that they are part of what should be indexing into? That they are a hint to something else?

[trebor]

Is the value difference when weights on the scales are changed (or when the scales are cut in half) relevant?

[Balin]

Should we be looking at the sentence that includes the mention of the scales? The mention of the weight? The adjectives used to describe the scales? All of these will help - look at the entirety of all 10 "scenes" surrounding the scales

Is what we should be indexing into contained within the stave you've posted? The words are not within the stave Somewhere external? They're not within one common source, if that's what you mean

Is the relevance of Jose and Blanche's name - that they are part of what should be indexing into? At some point That they are a hint to something else?

Is the value difference when weights on the scales are changed (or when the scales are cut in half) relevant? No

[Enjay]

Do we need to look back at the previous staves?

By somewhere external, I meant do we need to locate some text somewhere outside of this puzzle that we then index into using the weights?

[Balin]

Do we need to look back at the previous staves? No

By somewhere external, I meant do we need to locate some text somewhere outside of this puzzle that we then index into using the weights? You don't need to look for text; you need to find phrases that are not necessarily located in a particular text. The phrases are not located in the stave but are hinted at by the scenes in the stave

[Balin]

HINTS for Stave IV:
-The scales in each scene - and the context of each scene surrounding the scales - are clues to the phrases that need to be indexed into.
-The reason Perez is referred to by his last name and Blanche by her first name is that their other names (his first, her last) are parts of two of the phrases that need indexing.

[Balin]

(While Stave IV isn't finished, I'll post Stave V now as well.)

Stave V: Making Spirits Bright

The final words of the spirits twisted in my mind as I lay on my mattress, staring up into a pitch-darkness.

Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come - all four had warned me to change my ways, and I did so vow. For the rest of my life, I would live my life with joy and love, as the spirits showed me was the way of Christmas.

Each ghost had a word of wisdom for me; I could bank on that. Considering them all in junction, I now saw my way.

But I could not leave my mattress.

Desiring only to rush from my house and celebrate Christmas with the fellow men and women around me, those I now loved - I could not rouse myself from this state.

[Balin]

FINAL SET OF HINTS (since the deadline for the Christmas puzzle is the end of January 6):
-For Stave IV, the scales hint towards the homophone of a word in each of the phrases to be indexed.
-Stave V is a metapuzzle, meaning the answers to the first four staves are involved somehow.

[Enjay]

Is there any point in trying to work on the metapuzzle before we've got Stave IV or do we need all four answers to start the meta? So far we've got:
SHARP HACKSAW
MENTAL BLOCK
PARTY HAT

Do we need to anagram the 4 answers? Combine them with each other? Look for letters in common?

For Stave IV: are the phrases we need well known sayings? Christmas carols? Something to do with Christmas? We're looking for a pohrase or phrases that include the words Jose and Corrigan? Or homophones of those names?

[Acridian9]

For Stave V, are the phrases "merry Christmas" and/or "happy new year" part of the solution?

[Balin]

s there any point in trying to work on the metapuzzle before we've got Stave IV or do we need all four answers to start the meta? You might be able to brute-force it from the three you have.

So far we've got:
SHARP HACKSAW
MENTAL BLOCK
PARTY HAT

Do we need to anagram Yes the 4 answers? No Combine them with each other? No Look for letters in common? In common with what?

For Stave IV: are the phrases we need well known sayings? Yes Christmas carols? No Something to do with Christmas? No We're looking for a pohrase or phrases that include the words Jose and Corrigan? One phrase that includes "Jose," one that includes "Corrigan," and eight that include neither Or homophones of those names? No

For Stave V, are the phrases "merry Christmas" and/or "happy new year" part of the solution? No

[biograd]

It seems "Corrigan" has to be the clue here, since you said it was the actual name, and not a homophone of it (such as "core again"). Corrigan isn't a very common name, and I can't think of any sort of common saying that would include it.

In fact I was so drawing a blank on that one that I Googled, and there are only a few people/places I found that would have any sort of notoriety for the general population. Apparently there's a city of Corrigan, Texas, an actor named Kevin Corrigan, and a pilot from the 30s named Douglas Corrigan who made an unintentional flight across the Atlantic. Are any of those relevant?

Are these phrases "sayings" as you would normally think of them (such as "All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy"--one of the few I can think of that has a name in it in fact)? or just phrases that mean something as a whole (like "Even Steven" or "Lazy Susan")? or are they something like lines from movies/songs/some other creative work?

[biograd]

Hmm... I thought a bit more about the Corrigans I found along with Jose and the scales, and maybe I got something...

So the pilot Douglas Corrigan earned himself the nickname "Wrong Way Corrigan", and there's also "No Way, Jose". And I remember in a previous Christmas puzzle there were kids holding scales that represented the "many weighs" of saying "Merry Christmas" in "A Christmas Carol" (along with bags of thyme for the "many thymes" it was said). So, maybe each scene hints at a different kind of "weigh" that has a person's name associated with it? or just a phrase in general? Like, when Blanche handed Perez the scales through the window and he said "Other one, you brick", that could be the "wrong weigh", and when the office was completely empty with only a slug to indicate that the scales previously existed, that could be "no weigh". The scales cut down the middle could be "half weigh", though other than "house" I can't think of something that makes a phrase with that. Is this the correct line of thinking?

If it is, I can't think of any other phrases with names and the word "way"--though then again I would never have known about Corrigan either without Google.

[Balin]

It seems "Corrigan" has to be the clue here, since you said it was the actual name, and not a homophone of it (such as "core again"). Corrigan isn't a very common name, and I can't think of any sort of common saying that would include it. It's a clue, but not the clue.

In fact I was so drawing a blank on that one that I Googled, and there are only a few people/places I found that would have any sort of notoriety for the general population. Apparently there's a city of Corrigan, Texas, an actor named Kevin Corrigan, and a pilot from the 30s named Douglas Corrigan who made an unintentional flight across the Atlantic. Are any of those relevant? It's the latter, but you've foudn that out below...

Are these phrases "sayings" as you would normally think of them Yes, with one or two exceptions (such as "All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy"--one of the few I can think of that has a name in it in fact)? or just phrases that mean something as a whole (like "Even Steven" or "Lazy Susan")? or are they something like lines from movies/songs/some other creative work?

Hmm... I thought a bit more about the Corrigans I found along with Jose and the scales, and maybe I got something...

So the pilot Douglas Corrigan earned himself the nickname "Wrong Way Corrigan", and there's also "No Way, Jose". Both of these are correct phrases! And I remember in a previous Christmas puzzle there were kids holding scales that represented the "many weighs" of saying "Merry Christmas" in "A Christmas Carol" (along with bags of thyme for the "many thymes" it was said). So, maybe each scene hints at a different kind of "weigh" that has a person's name associated with it? or just a phrase in general? A phrase that has the word "way" ("weigh") in it - correct! Like, when Blanche handed Perez the scales through the window and he said "Other one, you brick", that could be the "wrong weigh", Correct, this scene is the "Wrong weigh, Corrigan" (Wrong-Way Corrigan) and when the office was completely empty with only a slug to indicate that the scales previously existed, that could be "no weigh". "No way, Jose" is one of the phrases, but for a different scene in the story The scales cut down the middle could be "half weigh", It's not, but good thinking though other than "house" I can't think of something that makes a phrase with that. Is this the correct line of thinking? It is, though neither "No way" nor "halfway" is correct (except "No weigh, Jose," which is one of the phrases)

If it is, I can't think of any other phrases with names and the word "way"--though then again I would never have known about Corrigan either without Google. None of the other phrases have names; all of them include the word "way."

[Acridian9]

Is "No weigh, Jose" the phrase for the scene "I’m sorry, but that has not been bequeathed to you"?

Is one of the phrases "part ways"? if so, for the scene "I’ll see you when the next rich businessman passes"?

Is one of the phrases "Any way you slice it"? if so, for the scene "That’s brilliant"? or for the scene "How can we divide this?"?

[Balin]

Is "No weigh, Jose" the phrase for the scene "I’m sorry, but that has not been bequeathed to you"? Yes

Is one of the phrases "part ways"? No if so, for the scene "I’ll see you when the next rich businessman passes"? But your guess is OTRT for this scene

Is one of the phrases "Any way you slice it"? Yes if so, for the scene "That’s brilliant"? or for the scene "How can we divide this?"? For the latter

[biograd]

When I said that "Corrigan" was likely the clue, I didn't mean that all of the phrases had something to do with that, but rather that there were so few phrases containing the name Corrigan that it was the most likely to help us deduce the first phrase, and from there the pattern for the others. That turned out to be the case.

After I posted that, I was thinking that one of the scenes about dividing up the scales was "When there's a will, there's a weigh" (which also kind of involves the name Will, though now we know there aren't names in all of the phrases). Since we now know that the one that literally mentions dividing is "any way you slice it", then maybe that one about the will goes with the scene about the rich businessman passing"?

[Enjay]

"That's brilliant" - "Weigh to go?" Or maybe the paragraph with "excellent"?

Should we be taking the versions of these phrases with "weigh" or with "way"?

[Balin]

I was thinking that one of the scenes about dividing up the scales was "When there's a will, there's a weigh" (which also kind of involves the name Will, though now we know there aren't names in all of the phrases). Since we now know that the one that literally mentions dividing is "any way you slice it", then maybe that one about the will goes with the scene about the rich businessman passing"? "Where there's a will, there's a way (weigh)" is indeed one of the phrases, but not for the scene about the rich businessman passing.

"That's brilliant" - "Weigh to go?" Or maybe the paragraph with "excellent"? "Way (weigh) to go" does go with "Excellent." Well done

Should we be taking the versions of these phrases with "weigh" or with "way"? You'll be indexing from the "way" phrases

[Enjay]

Does "where there's a will..." relate to the paragraph with "we are gathered to read the final testament"?

[Enjay]

And for the funeral scene - I am the way, the truth and the light? Stairway to heaven? Highway to hell? (surely not - Tim was a good boy!)

Any of these relevant - all the way? I did it my way? On the way? Highway?

[Balin]

Does "where there's a will..." relate to the paragraph with "we are gathered to read the final testament"?

And for the funeral scene - I am the way, the truth and the light? Specifically "the way, the truth, and the life," Yes Stairway to heaven? Highway to hell? (surely not - Tim was a good boy!)

Any of these relevant - all the way? I did it my way? On the way? Highway? Something involve "my way" and involving "highway" is a necessary phrase

[wunderland]

"My way or the highway"? perhaps for "Which of these is the valuable one?"

[Balin]

"My way or the highway"? perhaps for "Which of these is the valuable one?" Yes

[Acridian9]

"Go our separate ways"? for "I’ll see you when the next rich businessman passes"? or for "That’s brilliant"?
"Do it the hard way"?

Edit: and I guess the solution is "google maps"?

[Balin]

"Go our separate ways"? for "I’ll see you when the next rich businessman passes"? Yes or for "That’s brilliant"?
"Do it the hard way"?

Edit: and I guess the solution is "google maps"? Yes! GOOGLE MAPS would certain allow Scrooge to (ahem) change his ways.

(I think the only ones you were missing were "A little goes a long weigh" (for "That's brilliant") and "Out-of-the-weigh place" (for "It's cleaned out").)

Stave V, the meta, is all that's left. Go get it.

[Acridian9]

For Stave V, do we have to use all letters of the 8 words? only letters in a fixed position? first? last?
Is there a clue in the stave about which letters to use?

[Balin]

For Stave V, do we have to use all letters of the 8 words? No only letters in a fixed position? Not necessarily first? last? Not necessarily
Is there a clue in the stave about which letters to use? Yes

[Enjay]

Do we need to look for letters that are common between some of the 4 answers? That are unique to one of the answers? Is "Considering them all in junction" a clue to what to do? Is "I could bank on that" a clue?

Do we need anything from the previous staves other than thr four answers? Does "The final words of the spirits twisted in my mind" refer to the 4 answers? To the actual last words the spirits say in each stave?

[Balin]

Do we need to look for letters that are common between some of the 4 answers? No That are unique to one of the answers? Not quite, but I think you're OTRT Is "Considering them all in junction" a clue to what to do? Yes Is "I could bank on that" a clue? Yes

Do we need anything from the previous staves other than the four answers? Yest Does "The final words of the spirits twisted in my mind" refer to the 4 answers? No To the actual last words the spirits say in each stave? Yes (more specifically, to their final sentences)

[Enjay]

For each stave, do we need to consider the spirits' final sentence alongside the answer to that stave? Alongside the answer to a different stave? Do we need to combine them in some way? Find letters common between the sentence and the answer? Letters that are not common between them?
Are the different colours used for the spirits in each stave relevant?

Copying the last lines below for reference - are these the right sentences to be focusing on?

“Without these spirits, you have no hope of escaping these chains, these chains which torment more than any rack and crush more than any iron.”
SHARP HACKSAW

You may leave the cell in which you have lived, the cloister of your own unhappiness
MENTAL BLOCK

Go forth, and know your fellow man
PARTY HAT

SOME PROMISES CAN BE KEPT
GOOGLE MAPS

[Balin]

For each stave, do we need to consider the spirits' final sentence alongside the answer to that stave? Alongside the answer to a different stave? Do we need to combine them in some way? Find letters common between the sentence and the answer? Yes, more specifically... Letters that are not common between them? No
Are the different colours used for the spirits in each stave relevant? No

Copying the last lines below for reference - are these the right sentences to be focusing on? My error - it's their final quote, not exclusively their final sentence. The full quotes below are correct:

“Expect the first ghost when the bell tolls one. Without these spirits, you have no hope of escaping these chains, these chains which torment more than any rack and crush more than any iron.”
SHARP HACKSAW

“Have you yet seen? These events from your past telegraphed your future. Only now, watching them again, do you see. But you may still change. You may leave the cell in which you have lived, the cloister of your own unhappiness.”
MENTAL BLOCK

“One more is to come, to show you that which you must see. Go forth, and know your fellow man.”
PARTY HAT

"SOME PROMISES CAN BE KEPT."
GOOGLE MAPS

[Enjay]

I think you missed these two questions: For each stave, do we need to consider the spirits' final sentence alongside the answer to that stave? Alongside the answer to a different stave?

Are we looking for an answer made up of letters that have been taken from the quotes? From the stave answers?

Should we look at: the number of words in each quote? The first letters of words? Last letters? Certain other letters? Are all the letters of the 4 answers relevant? First letters? Last letters? Other specific letters? Relevant that each answer is two words?

[Balin]

I think you missed these two questions: For each stave, do we need to consider the spirits' final sentence (final quote, per my correction) alongside the answer to that stave? Yes Alongside the answer to a different stave? No

Are we looking for an answer made up of letters that have been taken from the quotes? Yes, certain letters From the stave answers? Yes, certain letters

Should we look at: the number of words in each quote? The first letters of words? Last letters? No to these Certain other letters? Yope Are all the letters of the 4 answers relevant? To an extent First letters? Last letters? Other specific letters? Relevant that each answer is two words? No

[Acridian9]

Do we need only one word from each quote? One that has the same letters as the solution for that stave?

[Balin]

Do we need only one word from each quote? One that has the same letters as the solution for that stave? Yes to both!

[Acridian9]

What I get is:
stave 1 "rack"
stave 2 "that"
stave 3 "cell"
stave 4 "some"
Is this correct?

[Acridian9]

How many words in the solution: 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? more?
Number of letters in the smallest word: 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? more?

Are there any more clues in the stave?

Any of these words in the solution: a? at? to? me? are? the? home? call? come?

[Enjay]

All four-letter words - there seem to be quite a lot of four letter words in the final stave ("For the rest of my life, I would live my life with joy and love", for example) - is this relevant somehow? Do we need to do something with the actual text of the final stave, or is it just cluing us as to what to do with the previous staves and answers?

[Balin]

What I get is:
stave 1 "rack"
stave 2 "that"
stave 3 "cell"
stave 4 "some"
Is this correct? Yes (though you have the words for 2 and 3 flipped)

How many words in the solution: 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? more? Four
Number of letters in the smallest word: 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? more? Three

Are there any more clues in the stave? I believe so

Any of these words in the solution: a? at? to? me? are? the? home? call? come? "The" is; none of the others are

All four-letter words - there seem to be quite a lot of four letter words in the final stave ("For the rest of my life, I would live my life with joy and love", for example) - is this relevant somehow? No
Do we need to do something with the actual text of the final stave, or is it just cluing us as to what to do with the previous staves and answers? It's just cluing you

[wunderland]

Something to help Scrooge get out of bed...

SET THE ALARM CLOCK?

[Balin]

Something to help Scrooge get out of bed...

SET THE ALARM CLOCK? Yes, and just hours before the Epiphany's end!

****SPOILER****

Epilogue: Let Your Heart Be Light

The alarm clock roused me and I rushed to the window. Christmas morning! The people were gathered in the streets, singing and speaking and making merry in every imaginable way. I hadn't missed it! I rushed to the streets, eager to join the crowds in merriment.

From that night on, I have not been the same Ebenezer Scrooge.

I made a vow to the spirits, and I have kept it. I have grown closer to Fred and Clara, who are expecting a child next year. I have raised Bob Cratchit's salary and done all I can for Tiny Tim; the doctors' treatment has done wonders and he appears to be recovering most well.

I do not think any of them will understand what caused me to change. Whenever I have mentioned the spirits, they have shaken their heads in amusement or incomprehension. But someday, should this story be told, I hope they understand. Even if they never do, I know they keep the spirit of Christmas all the year round, and that is enough.

To you, wherever you are, whenever you are, I wish you a most merry Christmas and a joyous New Year.

Yours in health,

Ebenezer Scrooge

* * * * * * * * * *

To all solvers and onlookers: congratulations on the solve; well done!

And may Scrooge's final words be true: have a most merry Christmas and a joyous New Year.

[wunderland]

Yay! Happy Christmas and New Year to you too, Balin, and thanks for keeping this fine tradition alive!

[Enjay]

Thanks Balin! That was fun.