Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost is the second in a series of direct-to-video animated films based upon Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was released on October 5, 1999, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation (although with a Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. copyright) starting in 1998.
The Mystery, Inc. gang (Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma) travel to a New England town called Oakhaven after being invited by horror writer Ben Ravencroft. Like a number of direct-to-video Scooby-Doo animated films released in the late-1990s and early-2000s, The Witch's Ghost features real ghosts instead of simple bad guys in masks, giving the film a darker tone. The film has been adapted into a book.
It is the second of the first four Scooby Doo direct-to-video film to be animated overseas by Japanese animation studio Mook Animation. This film marks the first time voice actor and radio-personality Scott Innes voiced Shaggy, as Billy West (who voiced Shaggy in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island) needed time for his roles as Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, and Dr. Zoidberg on Futurama.
Plot[]
After Ben Ravencroft, a famous horror writer of whom Velma is a big fan, assists her and the Mystery, Inc. gang in solving a case at a museum, he invites them to his hometown, Oakhaven, Massachusetts. When they arrive, they find the town converted into a tourist attraction by Mayor Corey, complete with 17th-century replicas and attractions based on the alleged ghost of Sarah Ravencroft, an ancestor of Ben's who was persecuted as a witch and executed by the Puritan townspeople in 1657. Ben disputes this, claiming Sarah to be a Wiccan who used natural herbs to heal people and reveals for years he has been searching for Sarah's medical journal to prove her innocence.
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are chased by a witch and run into Ben and the gang. They find broken tree branches at the scene and are drawn to an all-female Gothic rock band, "Hex Girls", led by Sally "Thorn" McKnight. The gang then decides to split up; Fred and Daphne stay to watch the Hex Girls, Velma and Ben go explore an old barn and Shaggy and Scooby follow the Mayor. Fred Jones and Daphne Blake see Thorn doing some sort of ritual and are convinced the Hex Girls are witches. Velma and Ben find a cherry picker truck in the barn. Scooby and Shaggy follow Corey, until they encounter the witch and flee to the gang.
The gang, Ben, and the Hex Girls meet in the woods. The witch appears and gives chase, but is captured by Velma. The witch is revealed to be Mr. McKnight, who is Thorn's father. Velma locates the truck and explains that the truck's arm made the witch appear to fly, with the townspeople jointly involved. Ben scolds everyone involved for exploiting Sarah's good name. Back at Ben's house, Fred and Daphne apologize to the Hex Girls and Thorn explains the "ritual" was for soothing her vocal cords and that she is actually descended from Wiccans. Corey and Mr. McKnight arrive to apologize to Ben for using his ancestor in their publicity stunt, explaining the witch was to boost the town's failing tourist economy and that they found inspiration from digging up the head marker for Sarah's grave; they kept it secret just not to upset Ben. It is then recalled that Scooby found what appeared to be a belt buckle earlier, which was actually from Sarah's diary.
Everyone goes to the buckle's location, where Scooby discovers the buried book, which is actually a spell book. Ben reveals that Sarah was indeed a witch, who wielded her terrible and evil magic against many people before the Wiccans used their abilities with nature to imprison her within her own spell book. He created the mystery at the museum and engineered the encounters with the gang, as he knew they could lead him to the book. After taking the book from Ben, the gang attempts to flee in the Mystery Machine, but Ben (with his newly acquired powers) renders the Mystery Machine useless by damaging its tires. Ben takes back the book and finally summons Sarah. He soon discovers, however, that she has no loyalty to him and her ambitions are to destroy the world, rather than rule it alongside him.
Disillusioned, Ben attempts to imprison Sarah, but she tells him that only a Wiccan could defeat her. The gang launches an attempt to get the book while Sarah begins to turn pumpkins, trees, and a turkey into monsters in order to stop them. Daphne and Velma free the Hex Girls and Velma convinces Thorn to use her inherited Wiccan power to read the spell to banish Sarah into her imprisonment. Sarah, however, manages to pull Ben in to make him suffer her fate with her, and they are both imprisoned inside the book. To ensure that the evil Ravencrofts can never return, a burning branch falls onto the book and destroys it. All of the monsters that Sarah had created have also returned to normal. The gang and townsfolk celebrate their deliverance with a Hex Girl concert with Scooby Doo and the gang (and the still-gigantic turkey) joining in on the performance.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Hex Girls (first appearance)
Villains:
- Ben Ravencroft (only appearance)(main story and flashback)
- Babylonian mummies (only appearance)(no lines)(Perkins and Griswald's disguise)
- Perkins (only appearance)(main story and flashback)
- Griswald (only appearance)(no lines)(main story and flashback)
- Security guard 1 (only appearance)(no lines)
- Security guard 2 (only appearance)(no lines)
- Mayor Corey (only appearance)(redeemed)
- Witch's Ghost (only appearance)(Mr. McKnight's disguise)
- Jack (only appearance)(redeemed)
- Willard (only appearance)(no lines)(redeemed)
- Molly Parken (only appearance)(no lines)(redeemed)
- Sarah Ravencroft (only appearance)(main story and flashback)(deceased)(ghost)
- Pumpkin monsters (only appearance)(no lines)(Transformation)(destroyed)
- Enormous turkey (only appearance)(Transformation)(redeemed)
- Evil tree (only appearance)(no lines)(Transformation)(destroyed)
Other characters:
- Dr. Dean (only appearance)
- Miscellaneous tourists (only appearance)(no lines)
- Female African American tourist (only appearance)(no lines)
- Female tourist wearing overalls (only appearance)
- Male African American tourist (only appearance)
- Middle-aged tourist wearing plaid shirt (only appearance)(no lines)
- Female African American tourist's partner (only appearance)(no lines)
- Elderly tourist wearing bow tie (only appearance)(no lines)
- Tourist wearing shirt jacket (only appearance)(no lines)
- Girlfriend of tourist wearing shirt jacket (only appearance)
- Waitress (only appearance)(no lines)
- Miscellaneous customers (only appearance)(no lines)
- Harassed customer (only appearance)(no lines)
- Horrified female customer (only appearance)(no lines)
- Ill customer (only appearance)(no lines)
- Puritan performers (only appearance)(no lines)
- Butter churner (only appearance)
- Puritan woman on spinning wheel (only appearance)(no lines)
- Gopher (only appearance)(no lines)
- Elderly patient (only appearance)(flashback only)
- Mrs. McKnight (only time mentioned)
- Turkeys (only appearance)(no lines)
- Mr. Beeman (photograph)(flashback only)
Locations[]
- Unnamed city or town 1
- Museum of Natural History
- Unnamed city or town 2
- Oakhaven, Massachusetts
- Miller's Creek
- Puritan village
- Oakhaven Restaurant
- Ben's mansion
- Music stage
- Barn 1
- Hardware store
- Molly Parken's Bed and Breakfast
- McKnight home
- Shed
- Barn 2
- Ben's apartment (flashback only)
Objects[]
- Corn husk dolls
- Sarah Ravencroft's spell book (destroyed)
- Pumpkins
- Butter churn
- Spinning wheel
- Bucket
- Skull Cap
- The Dead Mall
- The Catenate Mall
- S.A.T.B. Camtempt
- The Caretaker's Coffin Nails
- Scooby Snacks
Vehicles[]
- The Mystery Machine
- Ben's Car
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Mayor Corey | Seemed excited about the publicity generated by the ghost, and didn't care when Ben took offense to Mr. McKnight's T-shirts. |
| Mr. McKnight | Sold T-shirts with a picture of the witch's ghost. |
| Hex Girls | Had stage effects similar to the ghost's fireballs, and performed a ritual that looked like witchcraft. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Opening mystery | |
| Griswaldand Perkins
as the Babylonian mummies |
Wanted revenge on the curator for cutting their funding. (This later turns out to have been a hoax so Ben could meet the gang.) |
| Main plot – Fake ghost | |
| Mr. McKnight as the Witch's Ghost,
assisted by Mayor Corey, Jack, Willard, and Molly Parken |
To make the town a tourist attraction. |
| Main plot – Real ghost | |
| Ben Ravencroft | To become all-powerful, and to rule the world. |
| Sarah Ravencroft | Wanted revenge on the town for imprisoning her. |
Cast[]
| Scott Innes | Scooby-DooShaggy RogersBabylonian mummies |
|---|---|
| Mary Kay Bergman | Daphne BlakeWitch's GhostGirlfriend of tourist wearing shirt jacketFemale tourist wearing overallsHorrified female customer |
| Frank Welker | Fred JonesTurkeys
Enormous turkey Babylonian mummies |
| B.J. Ward | Velma Dinkley |
| Tim Curry | Ben Ravencroft |
| Kimberly Brooks | Luna |
| Jennifer Hale | Thorn
Butter churner |
| Jane Wiedlin | Dusk |
| Bob Joles | Jack |
| Tress MacNeille | Sarah Ravencroft |
| Peter Renaday | Mr. McKnight |
| Neil Ross | Mayor CoreyExhibit voice |
Songs[]
- Main article(s): Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (soundtrack)
| Song | Credits | Performed by | Character performance by |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" | Written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh
Produced by John Kelton and Keith Stegall |
Billy Ray Cyrus | N/A |
| "Hex Girl" | Music by Bodie Chandler
Lyrics by Glenn Leopold Produced and arranged by Gary Lionelli & Bodie Chandler |
Jennifer Hale, Jane Wiedlin and Kimberly Brooks | Hex Girls |
| "Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air" | |||
| "The Witch's Ghost" | Terry Wood, Angie Jaree and Gigi Worth |
Follow-up film[]
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