Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost
Encyclopedia
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 cartoon
s. 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, which includes 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, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost features real ghosts instead of simple bad guys in masks, giving the film a darker tone. The videos sold well and received generally positive reviews in the press. The film has been adapted into a book.
Afterwards, Ben invites the gang to his home town of Oakhaven in New England
. But when they arrive, they find that the town has been built up by Mayor
Corey into a tourist attraction, complete with a replica of the town in the 17th century and the supposed ghost of a witch who haunts the town. Mayor Corey and pharmacist Mr. McKnight explain that the ghost is Sarah Ravencroft, a relative of Ben's, who was persecuted as a witch by the town in 1657. But Ben says that Sarah was actually a Wicca
n who used natural herbs to heal people, and even has a diary of all her patients that Ben wants to find to prove her innocence. Scooby and Shaggy find what appears to be a shoe buckle, and then go to a local diner for food, owned by the friendly Jack.
Ben, Fred, Daphne, Velma and many visitors stay out late and order to see the witch, but do not. But Scooby and Shaggy are chased by the fireball-throwing witch, and run into Ben and the gang returning home. The gang finds some broken branches at the scene and see a green glow coming from the treeline. As they get closer to the source of the light, the sound of guitar feedback can be heard, and when they reach a clearing they find the all-female goth
rock
band
, the "Hex Girls", rehearsing for a show. The band is composed of Luna (keyboards\vocals), Dusk (drums\vocals) and the beautiful Thorn (guitars\vocals). The gand 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 and Daphne see Thorn doing some sort of ritual and are convinced that the Hex Girls are actually witches. Velma and Ben find a cherry-picking truck
in the barn. Scooby and Shaggy see Mayor Corey talking to and giving things to many of the townspeople, then run into the witch again, who chases them towards Mayor Corey and into Velma and Ben. Velma then tells Mayor Corey that she has a plan to catch the witch.
The gang, Ben and the Hex Girls meet in the woods. The witch appears and gives chase, but is captured by Daphne and Fred. The witch is revealed to be Mr. McKnight, who is Thorn's father (and the gang finds out that her real name is Sally McKnight). Velma then locates the truck in the trees. She explains that the truck lifted the witch and made her appear to fly, and also deduces that many townspeople were in on the trick, including Jack and the Mayor. Ben scolds the people involved for exploiting Sarah's good name for their benefit. Back at Ben's house, the gang apologize to the Hex Girls, and Thorn explains the ritual was just peppermint
s and clove
s to soothe her vocal cords and that she's actually "1/16 Wiccan" on her mother's side. Mayor Corey and Mr. McKnight then arrive to apologize to Ben for using his ancestor in their little publicity stunt, explaining that they had to use the witch to boost the town's economy because of lack of tourists. Also, the Mayor recalls that Ben once inspired him that supernatural phenomena always attracts people. They then say that they did find the head marker for Sarah's grave, but still don't know where the grave is located. Velma then remembers that the buckle Scooby found is that same one on Sarah's diary in a painting Ben has in his house.
The gang, Ben, the Hex Girls, McKnight and the Mayor go to the spot where Scooby found the buckle. Scooby digs deeper and discovers a chest. An excited Ben opens the chest to find not a diary, but a spellbook. He then explains to a horrified Mystery Inc. that Sarah was indeed a witch and that he created the case at the museum in order to meet the gang, so they could find the book for him. Becoming evil with his new magical powers derived from the book, Ben captures Mr. McKnight, Mayor Corey and the Hex Girls before resurrecting Sarah. When Sarah's ghost is conjured, she rejects Ben's idea of ruling the world together, preferring to destroy it.
Horrified and disillusioned, Ben attempts to re-imprison Sarah in the spellbook, but she says only a true Wiccan of purity can return her. Velma then gets an idea: she frees the Hex Girls, and while Dusk and Luna try to release Mayor Corey and Mr. McKinght, Velma convinces Thorn to read the spell. Thorn reads the spell, sending the witch back to the book from where she was released. But Sarah won't go back alone and grabs hold of Ben at the last second, and they're both sucked back into the book. A burning branch falls on the book, disintegrating it (apparently forever trapping or killing the villains). The film ends with the Hex Girls and the gang giving a concert to the townspeople and the tourists, performing the song "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air".
performing Scooby-Doo, Where Are You.
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
animated films based upon Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
's Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
Saturday morning cartoon
Saturday morning cartoon
A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
s. It was released on October 5, 1999, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
(although with a Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. copyright) starting in 1998. The Mystery, Inc. gang, which includes Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo (character)
Scoobert "Scooby" Doo is the eponymous character and the protagonist in the Scooby-Doo animated television series created by the popular American animation company Hanna-Barbera...
, Shaggy
Shaggy Rogers
Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character from the American animated television series Scooby-Doo, about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and Shaggy's pet great dane, Scooby-Doo. Shaggy is a cowardly slacker more interested in eating than solving mysteries. He is the only...
, Fred, Daphne
Daphne Blake
Daphne Anne Blake is a fictional character in the long-running American animated series Scooby-Doo. Daphne, depicted as coming from a wealthy family, is noted for her red hair, her fashion sense, and her knack for getting into danger...
and Velma
Velma Dinkley
Velma Dace Dinkley is a fictional character in the American television animated series Scooby-Doo. She is prone to losing her glasses. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange sweater, short pleated skirt , knee socks, and Mary Janes...
, travel to a New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
town called Oakhaven after being invited by horror writer Ben Ravencroft. Like a number of direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
animated films released in the late-1990s and early-2000s, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost features real ghosts instead of simple bad guys in masks, giving the film a darker tone. The videos sold well and received generally positive reviews in the press. The film has been adapted into a book.
Plot
Ben Ravencroft, a famous horror writer of whom Velma is a big fan, assists the Mystery, Inc. gang in solving a case at a museum.Afterwards, Ben invites the gang to his home town of Oakhaven in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. But when they arrive, they find that the town has been built up by Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Corey into a tourist attraction, complete with a replica of the town in the 17th century and the supposed ghost of a witch who haunts the town. Mayor Corey and pharmacist Mr. McKnight explain that the ghost is Sarah Ravencroft, a relative of Ben's, who was persecuted as a witch by the town in 1657. But Ben says that Sarah was actually a Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n who used natural herbs to heal people, and even has a diary of all her patients that Ben wants to find to prove her innocence. Scooby and Shaggy find what appears to be a shoe buckle, and then go to a local diner for food, owned by the friendly Jack.
Ben, Fred, Daphne, Velma and many visitors stay out late and order to see the witch, but do not. But Scooby and Shaggy are chased by the fireball-throwing witch, and run into Ben and the gang returning home. The gang finds some broken branches at the scene and see a green glow coming from the treeline. As they get closer to the source of the light, the sound of guitar feedback can be heard, and when they reach a clearing they find the all-female goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, the "Hex Girls", rehearsing for a show. The band is composed of Luna (keyboards\vocals), Dusk (drums\vocals) and the beautiful Thorn (guitars\vocals). The gand 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 and Daphne see Thorn doing some sort of ritual and are convinced that the Hex Girls are actually witches. Velma and Ben find a cherry-picking truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
in the barn. Scooby and Shaggy see Mayor Corey talking to and giving things to many of the townspeople, then run into the witch again, who chases them towards Mayor Corey and into Velma and Ben. Velma then tells Mayor Corey that she has a plan to catch the witch.
The gang, Ben and the Hex Girls meet in the woods. The witch appears and gives chase, but is captured by Daphne and Fred. The witch is revealed to be Mr. McKnight, who is Thorn's father (and the gang finds out that her real name is Sally McKnight). Velma then locates the truck in the trees. She explains that the truck lifted the witch and made her appear to fly, and also deduces that many townspeople were in on the trick, including Jack and the Mayor. Ben scolds the people involved for exploiting Sarah's good name for their benefit. Back at Ben's house, the gang apologize to the Hex Girls, and Thorn explains the ritual was just peppermint
Peppermint
Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...
s and clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
s to soothe her vocal cords and that she's actually "1/16 Wiccan" on her mother's side. Mayor Corey and Mr. McKnight then arrive to apologize to Ben for using his ancestor in their little publicity stunt, explaining that they had to use the witch to boost the town's economy because of lack of tourists. Also, the Mayor recalls that Ben once inspired him that supernatural phenomena always attracts people. They then say that they did find the head marker for Sarah's grave, but still don't know where the grave is located. Velma then remembers that the buckle Scooby found is that same one on Sarah's diary in a painting Ben has in his house.
The gang, Ben, the Hex Girls, McKnight and the Mayor go to the spot where Scooby found the buckle. Scooby digs deeper and discovers a chest. An excited Ben opens the chest to find not a diary, but a spellbook. He then explains to a horrified Mystery Inc. that Sarah was indeed a witch and that he created the case at the museum in order to meet the gang, so they could find the book for him. Becoming evil with his new magical powers derived from the book, Ben captures Mr. McKnight, Mayor Corey and the Hex Girls before resurrecting Sarah. When Sarah's ghost is conjured, she rejects Ben's idea of ruling the world together, preferring to destroy it.
Horrified and disillusioned, Ben attempts to re-imprison Sarah in the spellbook, but she says only a true Wiccan of purity can return her. Velma then gets an idea: she frees the Hex Girls, and while Dusk and Luna try to release Mayor Corey and Mr. McKinght, Velma convinces Thorn to read the spell. Thorn reads the spell, sending the witch back to the book from where she was released. But Sarah won't go back alone and grabs hold of Ben at the last second, and they're both sucked back into the book. A burning branch falls on the book, disintegrating it (apparently forever trapping or killing the villains). The film ends with the Hex Girls and the gang giving a concert to the townspeople and the tourists, performing the song "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air".
Cast
- Scott InnesScott InnesScott Innes is an American author, songwriter, voice actor, and radio personality.He became known as the new voice of Scooby-Doo in the Scooby-Doo direct-to-video movies made between 1998 and 2001. From 1999 to 2001, he also voiced Scooby's best friend and owner Norville "Shaggy" Rogers...
- Scooby-DooScooby-Doo (character)Scoobert "Scooby" Doo is the eponymous character and the protagonist in the Scooby-Doo animated television series created by the popular American animation company Hanna-Barbera...
and Shaggy RogersShaggy RogersNorville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character from the American animated television series Scooby-Doo, about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and Shaggy's pet great dane, Scooby-Doo. Shaggy is a cowardly slacker more interested in eating than solving mysteries. He is the only... - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
- Fred Jones - Mary Kay BergmanMary Kay BergmanMary Kay Bergman was an American voice actress and animation voice over teacher, who was the lead female voice actress on South Park from the show's 1997 debut until her death and was best known as the official voice of Snow White for the Walt Disney Company starting in 1989 with the Snow White...
- Daphne BlakeDaphne BlakeDaphne Anne Blake is a fictional character in the long-running American animated series Scooby-Doo. Daphne, depicted as coming from a wealthy family, is noted for her red hair, her fashion sense, and her knack for getting into danger... - B.J. Ward - Velma DinkleyVelma DinkleyVelma Dace Dinkley is a fictional character in the American television animated series Scooby-Doo. She is prone to losing her glasses. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange sweater, short pleated skirt , knee socks, and Mary Janes...
- Tim CurryTim CurryTimothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
- Ben Ravencroft, - Jennifer HaleJennifer HaleJennifer Hale is a Canadian-born American actress and singer best known for her voice over work in video games like Grandia II, the Mass Effect trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Tales of Symphonia, the Metroid Prime trilogy, the Metal Gear Solid games, Brütal Legend, and Disney's...
- Sally "Thorn" McKnight - Neil RossNeil RossTheodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...
- Mayor Corey - Jane WiedlinJane WiedlinJane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:...
- Dusk - Kimberly BrooksKimberly BrooksKimberly Brooks is an American voice actress in the anime, feature films, video games, and theatre industry. She started her acting career when she was nine....
- Luna - Tress MacNeilleTress MacNeilleTress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
- Sarah Ravencroft - Bob JolesBob Joles-Anime Roles:* Dinozaurs" - Dr. Abbott* Transformers: Robots in Disguise - X-Brawn* Naruto - Fujin* Naruto Shippuden - Onoki-TV Roles:* Planet Sheen - Mr. Nesmith* Chowder - Mr. Fugu* Danny Phantom - Frostbite...
- Jack - Peter RenadayPeter RenadayPeter Renaday is an American voice actor.-Film:*The Aristocats as the truck driver*Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost as Mr.McKnight-TV series:*Angel as The Beast's Master...
- Mr. McKnight
Soundtrack
On September 14, 1999, the soundtrack was released featuring The Hex Girls performing Hex Girl and Billy Ray CyrusBilly Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
performing Scooby-Doo, Where Are You.