The Gnarled One was the disguise of "Big Eddy" Eats.
Physical appearance[]
The Gnarled One was an animate tree of an unknown species, barren and having no leaves. It had large, arm-like appendages with thin and long branching fingers with sharp tips, as well as relatively-short roots which functioned as legs. One of its front roots had a hole in it resembling a tree hollow. It had a black, snake-like tongue and glowing lime-green eyes with no pupils.
Personality[]
The Gnarled One was a hostile monster with attacked its victims either by chasing or using its roots. It did not speak, instead having a bellowing, dinosaur-like roar.
Powers and abilities[]
- Roots: The tree was capable of summoning large, stretchy tree roots which rapidly grow and break out of the ground. These roots are strong enough to grab people and constrict them, as well as bending steel. Velma explains that Eats uses a sound frequency to cause the roots to grow. When the sound frequency is no longer played, the plant almost immediately withers and disintegrates.
History[]
Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?[]
Season two[]
The Gnarled One was the disguise of competitive eater "Big Eddy" Eats, who terrorized the hot dog-eating contest to shut down the factory and prevent Eats' rival, Joey Chestnut, from beating him in the contest. The disguise was based on the local legend of a cursed tree on that purportedly appeared from the ground after it was cut down by settlers to make space for the factory. The Gnarled One was first seen interrupting the contest between Eats and Chestnut, terrorizing the audience. When the factory attempted to host a do-over competition, the monster attacked again, forcing the current factory owner, Mr. Haggerty, to shut the factory down until the monster was captured.
Big Eddy Eats unmasked.
The Gnarled One encountered Mystery Inc. for a third time when Mystery Inc. successfully lured it into appearing. Falling into a trap prepared by Fred, the Gnarled One was doused in mustard and onions before being tangled in sausage strings and caught in a ceiling fan. Eats was subsequently unmasked, exposed for his crimes, and handed over to authorities.
Appearances[]
- Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?
- 204. The Hot Dog Dog! (no lines)