Cartman was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. Young Cartman was as dead as a door-nail.

This is my drawing of Eric Cartman as the ghost of Jacob Marley for a crossover version of A Christmas Carol (and no, Chucho Krokk is not going to be Ebenezer Scrooge, so don't ask why).

(Note: I used the color scheme of Ghost!Cartman from my horror AU, South Park: Chains, which explains the ghostly chains around Cartman.)

South Park (c) Trey Parker, Matt Stone, South Park Studios, MTV Entertainment Studios and Comedy Partners (Comedy Central)
A Christmas Carol (c) Charles Dickens
South Park: Chains, idea and artwork (c) me