Mystery Magical Special is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television special

Television special

A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...

 aired on the Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon (TV channel)

Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

 television network. Advertised as a Halloween

Halloween

Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

-themed program, the special was originally produced in 1986, but continued air, often multiple times, every October for several years afterward.

Primarily, the special was designed to show off the talents of stage magicians Lance Burton

Lance Burton

Lance Burton is a stage illusionist. He has appeared on numerous television programs, and also performed for Queen Elizabeth and President Ronald Reagan...

 and Tina Lenert

Tina Lenert

Tina Lenert is an American magician, mime and harpist. She has performed worldwide and is known for combining elements of pantomime and magic. For many years she has been a regular performer at the world famous Magic Castle, in Hollywood where she has been voted Stage Magician of the Year by the...

, as well as capitalise on Marc Summers

Marc Summers

Marc Summers is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and a two-time talk show host. He is best known for hosting the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare and currently hosts Unwrapped on The Food Network.- Early career :Summers was born Marc Berkowitz in...

' then-newfound fame as the host of the game show Double Dare

Double Dare

Double Dare is a children's game show, originally hosted by Marc Summers, that aired on Nickelodeon. The show combines trivia questions with occasionally messy "physical challenges"...

. Shiri Appleby

Shiri Appleby

Shiri Freda Appleby is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her leading role as Liz Parker in the television series Roswell...

 and Jonathan Brandis

Jonathan Brandis

Jonathan Gregory Brandis was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter. He began his career as a child model and...

 and Trenton Teigen also appear, and John Astin

John Astin

John Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...

 makes a cameo appearance.

Summers' character and three young children (friends of his, all of whom seem to play themselves) arrive at a mysterious mansion after they get a flat tire. Within, they find, among other things, heads falling from the ceiling, Burton performing card tricks, and even a bizarre demon-like villain character who engages in a prolonged swordfight with Burton. At the end of this fight, Burton performs another display of his talents, wherein he reveals that the demon character never existed, and that the entire ordeal was, in his words, "just a trick". Afterward, the characters leave the mansion, where they meet another lost traveler, Stan Allen, magician, looking for a phone (he had run out of gas), whom they wryly tell to "help [himself]".