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

 * Food: Double triple-decker sardine and marshmallow fudge sandwich; ham sandwich
 * Scooby Snacks: 3
 * Zoinks: 1
 * 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.
 * It is thought by many to be the second episode in the series, but it is actually the third.
 * Scooby pretends to be John Wayne in order to catch the phantom in this episode.
 * This episode contains Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ' s first trap.
 * This is the first episode in the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! series to use the standard title card sequence.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

 * Velma's skirt loses its pleats.
 * Twice Scooby loses his spots.
 * 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.
 * When the gang finds the door that fits the key, that 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

 * Shaggy politely thanks the skull for saying "thataway," although, without a hand to point with or eye movement, there is no actual indication.
 * Freddy asks what happened to Daphne although he can clearly see the trapdoor closing.
 * Bluestone claims that he used wires to levitate. If that was true, who was working the wires?

Home media

 * Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers VHS released August 22, 2000.
 * Scooby-Doo's Original Mysteries VHS released June 4, 2002.
 * Scooby-Doo's Original Mysteries DVD released March 14 2000.
 * Scooby-Doo's Creepiest Capers DVD released June 4 2002.
 * 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.