Nightfright (episode)


 * This page is for the episode. For the character, see Nightfright.

Nightfright is the nineteenth episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

Premise
Shaggy has won a contest to have dinner with the actor Vincent Van Ghoul. While Shaggy and Scooby are eating in his spooky mansion four monsters invade, including one called Nightfright.

Synopsis
Shaggy and Scooby are watching a Vincent Van Ghoul movie containing zombies. As the door bell rings, the Vincent Van Ghoul character had just turned into a zombie. They answer the door and Vincent is standing in fron of them.

It takes them a little while to realise that he's not a zombie and that he's the real Vincent Van Ghoul. He claims that they won the essay competition about having diner with Vincent. They both seem pretty pleased, but Vincent explains that only them and an eskimo ever sent anything in.

Vincent takes them to his house in his car, which is actually a herse. The house has many special effects including sprinklers that give the feeling that it's raining. When they enter, they are astonished to find a large and wealthy-looking house. Vincent plays a small tune on the piano and the whole place locks up. He then invites them to sit down for a meal.

While eating, Vincent talks of eyes watching him all the time and that he believes creatures are lurking in the shadows, ready to attack him. Suddenly the Mutant Bee, one of Vincent's movie monsters, appears. Shaggy, Scooby and Vincent run from the dining room. Another monster, Dr. Phobos appears near the stairwell. They head towards the front door and Prof. Jantzen appears. Shaggy renches the wooden door away, but realises that a metal barrier is blocking their way. Another creature, unknown to Scooby, Shaggy or Vincent himself, arrives and takes down each monster in turn. The creature claims that it is Nightfright. It then flies away.

After a bit of panicking and the piano tune not working, Vincent confesses that the creatures were just actors for scaring them, but Nightfright was real. He calls for help through a secret camera installed into a statue. It turns out, that the whole thing was being filmed. Two production people stand behind the screen arguing that Vincent isn't following the script properly. Shaggy and Scooby say to the camera for them to call Mystery Incorporated for help.

Nightfright appears again, and Vincent brings Shaggy and Scooby down a passage that leads to the library. There they are trapped. Vincent brings down bars from the roof of the entrance and Nightfright is unable to break through them.

Velma receives a phone call from the production people. She calls Fred who is about to have a meal at The Bloody Stake with Daphne. He says to Daphne about Shaggy and Scooby being trapped and that they must leave. Daphne sighs.

Back at the house, Nightfright is breaking through the bars and he chases Scooby, Shaggy and Vincent up some carpeted stairs. The rest of Mystery Incorporated arrive and find two underground pipes that lead from a power block into the house. They use this to enter the place. When attacking, Nightfirght stumbles from the top of the stairs to the ground and then disappears as the mystery gang arrive.

Vincent leads them to his room where Nightfright has chased them to. Fred, Shaggy and Scooby barricade the door. While thinking of a plan, Daphne has a look at a few abandoned scripts, one reading "Scream! Scream! Time for you to die." They realise that this is what Nightfright had been saying to them. Vincent explains that he was offered the role of Nightfright. Fred finally thinks up a trap.

Vincent, Shaggy and Scooby walk out of the room as bait. Nightfright appears once again, but this time, Vincent becomes brave and acts as if the creature is just an annoyance and not scary at all. They walk down the stairs and then back up, and Nightfright doesn't give up. They return to Vincent's room where they trap the creature. Vincent says that he was actually really scared.

Nightfright turns out to be Argus Fentonpoof, the assistant of the production team, but also the writer of Nightfright himself. He wanted revenge on Vincent for wrewriting his script and making it better. Argus was of course, forgotten about and wasn't to help write anything else.

The executive producer of the show appears and explains that this show was brilliant. For the first time, the culprit thanked the meddling kids because he now had publicity. Sitting at Vincent's dining table, the executive producer asks if the gang would like to be part of their own show, but they refuse. At the very end, they all share a creepy laugh.

Villains

 * Nightfright/Argus Fentonpoof

Suspects
None

Locations

 * Crystal Cove
 * Rogers Mansion
 * Vincent Van Ghoul's home
 * The Bloody Stake

Notes/trivia

 * This episode originally aired March 24, 2011 on Canada's Teletoon.
 * There are many references to Vincent Price's work in this episode:
 * Mutant Bee parodies The Fly
 * The Repellant Dr. Phobos parodies The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
 * Prof. Jantzen in Castle of Runny Discharge is like Prof. Jarrod in House of Wax.
 * Van Ghoul talks about "tingling", which references the movie The Tingler. (He may actually be saying "tinkling", which is bathroom humor but still could be a joke reference).
 * Harry Shneste-Boysen suggested to Mystery Inc. that they could have their own TV show based on them travelling around solving mysteries and trapping monsters, a similar plot to various incarnations of the franchise. However, Boysen later stated "Who the heck would watch that?" after the gang disliked his idea.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

 * Vincent plays the security code on his organ. A while later, he plays it again, but it is much shorter.
 * When sitting at the dining table with Vincent, Scooby is closer to the end of the table. After Vincent has stood up, Shaggy is closer to end of the table.

Home media

 * Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Season 1, Part 2 - Crystal Cove Curse

Quotes
"Scream, scream! Time for you to die."
 * - Nightfright.

"None of this would have happened without you meddling kids. Thanks!"
 * - Argus