A Night Louse at the White House is the ninth episode of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries and originally aired on November 3, 1984. With a story by Charles M. Howell for part 1 and a story by Charles M. Howell and Tom Ruegger for part 2, this episode sees the return of Velma as everyone (except Fred) visits the White House.

A Night Louse at the White House – Episode Review

The episode opens with a bumper with Scrappy telling his uncle Scooby that we’ve got quite the episode coming our way. We then have our 80’s Thriller themed opening song and we begin with an exterior shot of the White House. All of the gang are wearing formal wear, including Scooby and Scrappy who both wear suits.

During a formal dinner at the White House, news reporter Jessica Byline interviews Velma about NASA, where she explains some plans to an upcoming space station are kept in a computer that only the president (and some high level officials) has access to. Nearby, Shaggy and Scooby goof off by making silly faces at the camera until an irritated Daphne pulls them out of frame.

Jessica then moves on to interview the Ambassador of Klopstokia, who expresses great interest in the new space program—though his wife seems far more concerned with having some pastries and tea. Next, Jessica speaks with Senator Bullhorn, who, along with his wife, is firmly opposed to the space program.

Just as the President prepares to make a major address regarding the initiative, the Ghost of George Washington materializes out of thin air. Panic sweeps through the crowd and they run away. Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby run into the Ghost of Washington, where Scooby bumps into him knocking a a brass eagle statue off of the ghost and onto the ground. Scrappy finds the brass eagle, but before they can investigate further, the secret service mistake Scooby for the ghost (as Scrappy has accidentally caught poor Scooby in a trap) and pins the blame on Scooby.

Watching the broadcast at home, Scooby’s parents, Mumsy-Doo and Dada-Doo, see the accusations. Determined to clear their son’s name, they pack their bags for Washington, D.C., with Mumsy-Doo making sure to pack Scooby’s galoshes.

Back at the White House, the President reassures the gang that he knows they are innocent, offering to clear them completely if they help catch the real culprit. They follow White House curator Marilyn Maxie as part of the investigation. Marilyn reveals that the brass eagle is actually a bedknob from one of the guest rooms, prompting the gang to split up and find the missing piece. Disguised as maids, Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne check the bedknobs in the Klopstokian Ambassador’s room, and Daphne notices Klopstokia is sleeping with his shoes on. Meanwhile, Velma and Scrappy pose as exterminators to inspect Senator Bullhorn’s quarters, finding that Senator Bullhorn also wears his boots to bed.

On their way to search Marilyn Maxie’s room—once used by President Ulysses S. Grant—Shaggy and Scooby are startled when an arm reaches straight out of a wall painting. Seconds later, Grant’s ghost blocks their path. The gang turns on their heels, only to run headlong into the Ghost of Theodore Roosevelt. Dodging both ghosts, they duck inside the room and barricade the door behind them. Daphne discovers a bed post that perfectly matches the brass eagle, but the moment she twists it into place, a hidden trapdoor springs open, plunging them into a dark, secret chamber.

Part 1 then ends with our trio of Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby seeing a glowing light approach them in the dark passageway causing Scooby, Daphne and Shaggy to fall through the floor as they run away.

Part 2

After plunging through the floor, Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne cling to loose floorboards until Velma and Scrappy hoist them back to safety. Exploring the subterranean corridors, the gang discovers a hidden chamber packed with original presidential portraits. The real canvases had been secretly removed from their frames and swapped out with the peephole duplicates upstairs. When Shaggy spots Abraham Lincoln’s portrait, Scooby playfully mimics the 16th president—only for the actual Ghost of Lincoln to appear, chasing the gang back toward the main floor.

Back on ground level, the sleuths gather the President, the First Lady, the Ambassador, his wife, and Senator and Mrs. Bullhorn to unveil their findings. Velma deduces that the phantom hauntings are merely a cover to plunder the nation’s priceless presidential artwork, pointing the finger at Marilyn Maxie because only she had universal key access to every room.

Before the case is closed, the Ghost of Washington bursts in and snatches a brass eagle from the Oval Office. Twisting the eagle onto a flagpole, the spirit opens an ultra-secure vault housing NASA’s mainframe computers, grabs a reel of classified computer tape, and bolts for the roof.

The gang gives chase, startling the ghost into dropping the reel, which unfurls across the rooftop. Washington hastily scoops it up and hops into an idling getaway helicopter piloted by Lincoln’s ghost. As the chopper lifts off, a loose end of the tape dangles out the door. Shaggy and Scooby grab hold and end up dangling in midair, prompting Scrappy, Daphne, Velma, and the President to commandeer a second helicopter in pursuit (the President flies the helicopter). Slipping from Shaggy’s grip, Scooby grabs the trailing tape—which snags directly on the Washington Monument, bringing the rogue helicopter crashing down.

The two ghosts recover the tape and flee on foot. Scrappy, the President, Daphne, and Velma touch down to pursue them, trailed closely by Jessica and her cameraman. Just then, Mumsy-Doo and Dada-Doo arrive in a third helicopter overhead. Mumsy-Doo drops Scooby’s galoshes down to him, but they score direct hits on Washington and Lincoln instead, knocking both phantoms into the reflecting pool.

Unmasked in the water, the ghosts turn out to be the Klopstokian Ambassador and his wife—foreign spies using the haunting as a smokescreen to steal NASA’s space secrets. With the traitorous couple carted off to jail, Marilyn Maxie is completely cleared of suspicion, and Scooby’s parents celebrate by dancing with Senator and Mrs. Bullhorn. In gratitude, the President treats Mystery Inc. to an extravagant White House banquet, where Shaggy and Scooby waste no time digging in.

My Review

I give this episode a 6.5 out of 10. I’m a Canadian, so American history is kinda boring to me, and I don’t get all the references either. This one is a bit too silly, with lots of gags, lots of costume switches, and minimal spookiness.  Still, it’s well written and overall, it’s a fun watch, so I don’t recommend you skip it.