Hassle in the Castle

Hassle in the Castle is the third episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!.

Premise
After getting lost in the fog, the gang arrive on Haunted Isle, where they meet an unearthly ghost haunts an old abandoned castle.

Synopsis
The gang are out on a fishing expedition but have become lost in the fog. Their boat runs aground on Haunted Isle, the location of the Vasquez Castle, an old pirate fortress. On their way to the castle to find help, they find a threatening note warning them to leave. Inside the castle, they contemplate the portrait of Vasquez the pirate; Daphne falls through a trapdoor; and the rest of the gang flees in a panic when a cackling laugh breaks out. The rest of the gang tries to find Daphne, but Scooby and Shaggy become separated from Fred and Daphne and meet up with a talking skull. A panicked Shaggy idly asks for a calm-inducing ham sandwich, and the sandwich materializes out of mid-air. Fleeing again, Scooby and Shaggy find Daphne and Fred and Velma, and the full gang is then threatened by the Phantom, a billowing, sheet-wrapped figure. Fred, Shaggy and Scooby try to tackle the apparition, but they pass right through it; the Phantom then disappears through a wall. Even Velma thinks that they must have stumbled onto a genuine haunting.

Daphne discovers a giant key engraved with the message "Second Passage of The Old Bell". They deduce that this must refer to a book, and they find The Old Bell in the castle library; the second passage in the book refers to "catacombs." Beneath the castle they find a room stocked with magician's props. The Phantom appears, spreading panic; for a moment it looks as though Shaggy is being sawn in half before it is revealed as a trick. Fred, Daphne and Scooby try fleeing on a magic carpet. When they all regroup after losing the Phantom, they resolve to catch the Phantom; to that end, they send Scooby (dressed up in a hat, trenchcoat and moustache) out to lure the Phantom into a trap. He brings the Phantom in but lands in the trap himself. Fortunately, he falls out of the trap, catching the Phantom, who is unmasked as Bluestone the Great, a magician-turned-crook wanted in six states. Bluestone was searching for the Vasquez treasure and using his magic tricks to frighten snoopers away. Scooby then goes digging for the treasure, but only finds a squirrel.

Villains

 * Phantom/Bluestone the Great

Suspects
None

Locations

 * Haunted Isle
 * Vasquez Castle

Notes/trivia

 * Although this episode was the third to air, it was the second produced. Any time Warner Home Video releases the series in order from the first episode, they always put A Clue For Scooby Doo and Hassle in the Castle in production order instead of air date order. Of course, nothing is lost because there's no continuity between episodes, but it might be a problem for those that use the play all feature since it will show those episodes in the opposite order.
 * This is the first episode in the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! series to use the standard title card sequence.
 * This is the first episode of the series where the gang does not meet any suspects. In fact, aside from Scooby and the gang, the only other characters are the Phantom/Bluestone and the police officer.
 * This episode contains the first trap of the series.
 * The Phantom is just referred to as "Ghost" in his model sheet.
 * Bluestone the Great is simply referred to as "Magician" on his model sheet.
 * This is the first episode to use a skull prop to scare intruders away and then imply that it could be real.
 * Shaggy's sandwich, the Super Shaggy Sandwich, has a similarly sounding successor called the Shaggy Super Sandwich in A Night of Fright is No Delight.
 * Rin Din Din is a reference to Rin Tin Tin, a famous movie star dog in the early 20th Century.
 * This episode was one of four Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episodes, (the other three being A Clue For Scooby Doo, Jeepers, It's The Creeper, and The Backstage Rage), that were selected for the 1998 VHS Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries by being voted "Most Popular" by the fans.
 * The Phantom appears as a common villain throughout the Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights video game. It is referred to as the Ghost.
 * A profile on the Phantom is feature in DC Comics' Scooby-Doo! #74 in the story, Who's Who In Scooby-Doo. It is referred to as the Telescope Ghost, on account of what it was using at the beginning of the episode.
 * In Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion Ride, the Phantom appears as a real ghost scaring riders in the bedroom.

Miscellaneous

 * Food: Double triple-decker sardine and marshmallow fudge sandwich; ham sandwich
 * Disguises: Human
 * Scooby Snacks bribe: 3
 * Zoinks count: 1
 * It may be a coincidence that the armour in Fred's trap resembles the Black Knight from the first episode.

Cultural references

 * After Shaggy politely thanks the skull for telling him where the gang went the skull replies, "S'awright", the tradmark reply Senor Weñces's Pedro (the head in a box) does.
 * Fred tries to talk Scooby into being Laddie and then John Wayne in order to catch the phantom.

Adaptations

 * This episode was adapted in Gold Key Comics' Scooby Doo... Where Are You! #2. It was renamed Phantom of the Castle.
 * In the continuity of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, before the start of the series, the gang captured the Phantom of Vasquez Castle. Since the show is set in Crystal Cove, the castle would have to be somewhere in town or close to the shore since the castle in this episode is on an isle.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

 * While Fred is shown holding the boat steering wheel, the wheel hasn't been drawn into his left hand, only his fingers are holding on, and his right hand is just next to it.
 * In the first close-up of the gang on the boat, Velma's skirt loses its pleats the entire time. At the same time, Scooby's spots on his back are missing, even when the camera switches to another close-up showing just him and Velma.
 * When Freddy takes the map, he's looking at the back until Scooby's close-up, when the map is suddenly turned correctly.
 * The Phantom is nearly always transparent (he is usually a projected image), but when Scooby is about to fall on him. He ought to be solid since Scooby lands on a flesh-and-blood human being.
 * Bluestone wears gloves throughout the episode, except when Scooby falls on him.
 * Bluestone's costume has a separate mask at episode's end, although it doesn't look that way at any other time.
 * Shaggy's ear turns brown for a moment, as do the whites of Scooby's eyes, and Daphne gets a yellow cuff.
 * The page they're on says "2", despite the fact that they're half way through the book.
 * When the gang finds the door that fits the key, the room looks different in two different shots.
 * "Into the closet," says Fred, but the closet has stairs and passageways inside.
 * According to the solution to the mystery, all the flying objects are moved by wires. When Freddy and Daphne unroll the magic carpet, why don't they notice the wires?
 * The falling anvil produces white "force lines" common to cartoons to denote moving objects. Only these lines remain in the shot.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

 * It's not explicitly stated, but the Phantom would most likely be based on Vasquez.
 * Shaggy politely thanks the skull for saying "thataway," although, without a hand to point with or eye movement, there is no actual indication.
 * The key they find is novelty size.
 * In trying to give a hint in the clue, the key probably meant to find a passage in the second page of the book. Either that or there was bad communication between the writers and animators.
 * Freddy asks what happened to Daphne although he can clearly see the trapdoor closing.
 * At the time of this episode Rin Tin Tin's name was not trademarked (it wasn't until 1993) so it could've been used instead of "Rin Din Din". Perhaps the writers did it intentionally or perhaps they didn't and thought three real-world names in a row was a bit too much?
 * Bluestone claims that he used wires to levitate. If that was true, who was working the wires?
 * How did the suit of armor in the trap grab Scoob by the collar?

Home media

 * Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries VHS released April 13, 1988.
 * Scooby-Doo's Original Mysteries DVD released March 14 2000.
 * Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers VHS released August 22, 2000.
 * Scooby-Doo's Original Mysteries VHS released June 4, 2002.
 * Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers DVD released June 4 2002.
 * Scooby-Doo's Greatest Mysteries DVD set released May 6, 2003.
 * Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons DVD set released March 16, 2004.
 * Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers Mini-DVD released April 26, 2005.
 * Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: Volume 1 - A Monster Catch DVD set released January 27, 2009.
 * Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Series DVD set released November 9, 2010.
 * Scooby-Doo! and the Pirates compilation DVD released August 30, 2011.