Vincent Van Ghoul

Vincent Van Ghoul is a supporting character in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, voiced by and resembling Vincent Price.

History
Van Ghoul is a renowned magician and warlock, with extensive knowledge of the supernatural. He is first visited by Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne, with Scrappy and Flim-Flam, after they need some help with their plane, which has crash-landed in a nearby temple in Nepal. After Shaggy and Scooby unwittingly unleash thirteen terrible ghosts from the chest in which they were locked, Van Ghoul tells them that they must trap them again. "Why us?" a terrified Shaggy moans, to which Van Ghoul replies, "Because you let them out!"

Despite being very angry with the pair for unleashing the ghosts, he agrees to help them in their ghost-questing, and gives the group a crystal ball through which he can contact them.

Role
Van Ghoul acts as a mentor, and readily guides Scooby and Shaggy (in the first episode it is strongly established that he believes the pair needs guidance to keep out of trouble). In "Scooba Kadoobra", he directs them to the palace where Maldor the Malevolent currently has taken over. Despite valiant effort on Scooby's part (by stealing the wand Maldor wants) it is Van Ghoul's advice that a Danish prince- Scooby himself, who is a Great Dane- that saves the day.

His role is more prominent in the next two episodes. In "Me and My Shadow Demon", he actually has to come to the gang via a flying carpet, due to malfunctions in his crystal ball thanks to the Shadow Demon. He helps them escape, and later filibuster until dawn, when Queen Morbidia and her monsters lose their power. In "Reflections in a Ghoulish Eye", the gang is falsely lured to a magic convention under the belief that Van Ghoul awaits them there. He reveals that it was a trick, disguising himself and coming to the convention. He, in disguise, hands Daphne the amulet they need, which proves useful when they are later trapped in a mirror haunted by a monster.

In the new series Mystery Incorporated, when Velma questions Shaggy about missing a date, Shaggy explains that he and Scooby fell asleep watching a Vincent Van Ghoul movie.

Similarities to Vincent Price himself
Vincent Van Ghoul is himself a parody of Vincent Price, who voiced him, and, like Price himself, presented his character in a pseudo-serious way. He often made serious comments that still managed to be funny, much as Price did.