SUPERNATURAL EXISTENCE
Jacob Marley is described as a ghost who appears to Scrooge, confirming his existence in a supernatural form. He is depicted as suffering penance and unable to interfere in human matters.
JACOB MARLEY
'That is no light part of my penance,' pursued the Ghost. 'I am here to-night to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer.' ... The apparition walked backward from him; and, at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that, when the spectre reached it, it was wide open. ... The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste and moaning as they went ... Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free.