A Halloween Hassle in Dracula’s Castle originally aired on October 27, 1984 and is the 8th episode of the New Scooby-Doo Mysteries. With a story by Paul Dini (most famous for being part of the creative team of the highly influential The Adventures of Batman, this episode sees the gang being hired as Ghost Busters by Dracula and his fiends.

On Halloween, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy and Daphne enter a costume store called the Tiny Shop of Terror, and encounter old friends Fred and Velma, who are tricked them into thinking they were Aliens. Dracula and Igor overhear that the gang are “Ghostbusters” so Dracula (the costume shop owner) invites them to his house for a Halloween Party.

The gang drive to the castle, with Fred driving, and they are all in costume. Scooby is a ghost, Shaggy is a werewolf, Daphne a Catwoman type superhero, Velma is a Witch and Freddy is a super hero. Oh and let’s not forget about Scrappy who is dressed as a bunny. At one point he even says ‘What’s Up Doc’.

At Castle Dracula, the gang meet Chandra the Unbelievably Remarkable and Quite Interesting Too. We also meet Dracula’s wife, a Sea Monster, the Invisible Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, a Mummy and a Wolfman. Chandra also takes note that Daphne is wearing the Moonstone Medallion.

During the party the Ghost of Dr. Van Helsing appears, and the gang soon figure out all of the monsters are real. Dracula has hired them to banish his arch enemy (the ghost of Dr. Van Helsing) from his home. Scared silly (except for Scrappy) the gang try to escape, but are locked inside by the invisible man, with all the monsters coming at them saying “We Want You!”

Part one fades to black and then part two kicks in. We learn the monsters want the gang to help them, as they are under the impression that the gang are ghostbusters. The ghost of Dr. Van Helsing has been terrifying them, even though the monsters have stopped their terrifying ways.

Daphne decides to take the case, and the searching for clues begins. The gang split up with Velma, Scrappy, Scooby, Shaggy, the Mummy and the Wolfman going one way, and Dracula, Dracula’s wife, Frankenstein, Fred and Daphne going another way.  Velma, Fred and Scrappy all carry torches, which ads to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, Velma is captured in the process (along with the Mummy).

Chandra the Unbelievably Remarkable and Quite Interesting Too casts a spell to drive the ghost out, but ends up making herself vanish as well as the invisible man, who is surrounded by dirt.  The ghost of Dr. Van Helsing then shows up and tosses Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy into a dungeon.

Scooby looks for a secret passage and ends up finding the Moonstone Medallion which grants his wish of getting out the dungeon.  We also find Velma bound up, along with the invisible man, and the Mummy (in a coffin).

Scooby makes another wish that reunites everyone, through the power of the Moonstone Medallion. Unfortunately, Chandra and the Ghost of Dr. Van Helsing show up to steal the Medallion. Chandra then uses her newfound power to take over the castle.

The monsters decide to make a last stand, instead of running away, and we get a fun little battle between Chandra and the monsters, where Chandra uses her magic to transform all of the monsters into baseball bats, puppies and windup toys.

Scooby manages to transform Chandra into a toad, and everyone is transformed back into normal.

Daphne unmasks the Ghost of Dr. Van Helsing, and we learn that it is Igor, who was tired of being ordered around. Chandra had been helping him, as she was in search of the Medallion.

With another mystery solved, Igor granted status as a monster and is now everyone’s equal. With the ghost gone, the monsters decide to return to being monsters and chase the gang out of the house.

My Score

I give this episode a 9 out of 10. It’s fun, it has a bit of a mystery to it, and it’s a bit scary at times. It’s also goofy, and lacks the atmosphere of classic Scooby-Doo. But, when looked through the lens of a goofy Halloween special that you can show to kids – this episode is perfect.