Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens, 1843
Dickens's 1843 ghost story is free, short and built in five staves: a classic first project for an AI short or a seasonal series.
- First published
- 1843
- Author died
- 1870
- Original language
- English
Copyright status
| Where | Status |
|---|---|
| United States | Public domain. First published in 1843, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out. |
| European Union and United Kingdom | Public domain since 1 January 1941. Charles Dickens died in 1870, and the term is 70 years after the end of the year of death. |
| Other countries | Most countries protect a work for 50 to 100 years after its author's death, and some have transition rules. If you release or sell in a specific country, check its law. |
Status checked on October 26, 2026 against the sources listed in our legal guide.
On Christmas Eve the miser Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his dead partner Jacob Marley, wrapped in the chains he forged in life. Three spirits follow. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge the boy and the young man he was, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows him the Cratchit family and the sick child Tiny Tim, and the silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows him his own unmourned grave. Scrooge wakes on Christmas morning a changed man.
Free to use
- The 1843 novella: Scrooge, Marley, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Fred, Fezziwig, Belle and the three spirits.
- Dickens's dialogue, including "Bah! Humbug!" and "God bless us, every one!"
- John Leech's original illustrations (Leech died in 1864).
- Any version: modern, gender-swapped, in space, a horror film, a musical with your own songs.
Watch out for
- Later adaptations own what they created: the songs and puppets of The Muppet Christmas Carol, the designs of Disney's films and the scripts of every stage and screen version.
- Scrooge McDuck is a Disney character with trademarks of his own. The name Scrooge is free; the duck is not.
- Recent annotated editions and new translations are protected. Use the 1843 text or an old translation.
- AI models mix the many film versions together. Describe Dickens's spirits (the first is like a child and an old man at once, the last is a shrouded figure) and check every frame.
The full rules, with the laws and court decisions behind them, are in our guide to adapting public domain works.
An adaptation idea
One night, three visits, one ledger: Scrooge's story told entirely in his counting house, the spirits arriving through its door.
Adapt it in ScreenWeaver
These are the steps as they run in ScreenWeaver today. You read and edit every step, and you start every generation yourself, in the app.
- 1Download the 1843 text below. At about 29,000 words it fits easily in one PDF and is read for free if it has a text layer.
- 2Attach it to a film project and ask for the characters, places and objects. Create Marley's chains and the spirits as story elements with their own reference sheets.
- 3Write the art direction: Victorian London in fog and snow, candlelit offices, the Cratchits' small warm kitchen. Add a style image of your own.
- 4Ask for the scenes stave by stave, then the shots of each scene.
- 5Generate the frames in Storyboard, then the clips in Production.
How a whole book becomes scenes and shots: novel to storyboard.
Original texts
Where to get A Christmas Carol from a legal source
- Project GutenbergEnglishPublic domain in the US. Outside the US, check your own law. If you republish the file, remove the Project Gutenberg name and licence, as its licence asks.
- Standard EbooksEnglishA proofread edition that Standard Ebooks dedicates to the public domain (CC0).
- WikisourceEnglishSearch across editionsSearch results across editions. Each edition names its source: for a translation, check who translated it and when.
Questions
Is A Christmas Carol public domain?
Can I make a Christmas Carol musical?
Can I call my character Scrooge?
General information, not legal advice. Copyright, trademark and personality rights depend on the country and on the facts of each project. For a commercial release, have a lawyer check your chain of rights.
Other works to adapt
- The Legend of Sleepy HollowIrving's 1820 tale of the Headless Horseman is free, short and perfect for a first AI short film.
- The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar Wilde's novel is free in both its 1890 and 1891 versions. Paint your own portrait: the famous ones belong to their painters.
- Pride and PrejudiceAusten's 1813 novel is free to adapt, modernise and sell. The famous lake scene is not in the book: it belongs to the 1995 series.