Before Marley's ghost appears, a series of small bells begin ringing in Scrooge's main room. In those times, large homes would have a staff of servants and in each main room was a pull cord attached to one of the bells in a series. When a particular bell rang, the servants would know to which room in the house they were being summoned. This row of bells would be located in the kitchen or in some other staff room, not in a main room.