- This article is about the episode. For the featured song of the same name, see To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before.
To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before is the first episode of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo.
Premise
Forced to land their plane near a village of werewolves, Shaggy and Scooby are tricked into opening the Chest of Demons and releasing thirteen dangerous ghosts.
Synopsis
Vincent Van Ghoul sits in his castle, predicting the opening of the Chest of Demons with his crystal ball.
In a long-deserted temple in the Himalayan Mountains, the thirteen ghosts that are locked inside the Chest of Demons begin to grow antsy. The ruckus awakens Bogle and Weerd, the temple's two resident spirits, and Weerd theorizes that if they open the chest, the powerful imprisoned specters will consider them heroes. When Bogle points out that only the living can open the box, Weerd declares that some of the stupidest mortals alive are heading their way.
Meanwhile, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, and Daphne are aboard The Mystery Flying Machine, looking forward to a tropical Hawaiian vacation, when Daphne realizes something isn't right. There's snow outside of their private plane's windows. She checks to see if they have the right map and discovers it is a map for the Himalayas, not Hawaii, which has thrown them 7,000 miles off course.
Back down in the temple, Weerd jinxes the plane, causing the fuel to gush out. As the two engines fail, Scooby becomes so scared that he starts chewing Shaggy's hair. Suddenly, the aircraft begins to descend from the sky. Daphne takes the wheel and Scrappy copilots as Shaggy and Scooby attempt to parachute from the plane, but when Scooby pulls the ripcord, his rubber ducky pops out of the pack and begins inflating. The increasingly giant rubber ducky pushes itself out of the door, catches the wind, and becomes entangled on the plane's tail, dragging the panicked duo along with it.
Meanwhile, a young con-artist named Flim-Flam is being run out of Yursovania, a town whose inhabitants do not seem to be interested in his "Lotsa Luck Joy Juice" despite the claim that it will remove all curses, jinxes, and evil spells. Just then, the gang's plane swoops down over the village at such a low altitude that the aircraft is practically on the ground. Flim-Flam declares this as evidence that the town has bad luck, and he uses the distraction as an opportunity to slip away, grabbing hold of the dangling rubber ducky as it zips past.
An ox-cart winds up in the plane's path and a pair of cattle are swept onto the wing alongside Shaggy, Scooby, and Flim-Flam. Everyone's catapulted into the snow when the Rubber Ducky snags a statue at the temple and stops the plane dead in its tracks. Daphne questions how they're going to get to Hawaii, so Flim-Flam offers her flowers and his services. But before he has a chance to do anything, a town guard comes and arrests them for crashing in a no-crashing zone and aiding and abetting Flim-Flam. Bogle and Weerd decide to use this opportunity to drag the plane into the temple to ensure the kids cannot leave.
The gang is brought to trial before the honorable Judge Burgermeister, whose name Scooby and Shaggy can't help but salivate over. The judge raves that he wants them all out of town before sundown, so they agree to fix their plane and be gone. Arriving where they left the aircraft, the kids find tire tracks leading into the temple. As Shaggy fights to open the door, Bogle realizes he locked it by mistake, which enrages Weerd. Outside, Flim-Flam says he's got a friend in town that might be able to help them out.
The boy takes the gang to the local tavern, and after exchanging looks with the locals (who are not pleased to see they haven't left), Flim-Flam takes them to a back room and introduces them Vincent Van Ghoul. The gang takes a seat, Mr. Van Ghoul looks into his crystal ball and tells them that he does indeed see their plane in the temple, but they must not enter because the thirteen ghosts are locked in the Chest of Demons, which is also hidden inside.
Vincent also warns that the thirteen ghosts are angry for being locked up and had placed a curse on the townsfolk, a curse that transforms them into werewolves nightly, and it soon will be nighttime. The mayor and his assistant overhear the conversation and both agree that the gang must not be allowed to leave. Shaggy is in a rush to get out but is stopped by the mayor, who insists they stay, and seats them at a table
to view the show.
The curtains part, a coffin on stage opens up, vampirish Ghoulio emerges and begins to sing "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before." As the headliner croons, the mayor asks if Daphne is enjoying her drink. She replies in the affirmative and asks what it is. When he replies that it's wolfbane, Scrappy warns that wolfbane turns people into werewolves. Daphne scoffs and dismisses the notion.
Suddenly, a wolf is heard howling in the distance, and we see a full moon through the window. Everyone but Daphne decides that it's a good idea to leave, but only Scrappy and Flim-Flam make it out before Ghoulio slams the door in Scooby's face. The creepy showman continues his song, and Scooby starts to sing along, not noticing Ghoulio's transformation into a werewolf. Soon Shaggy and Scooby become aware of Ghoulio's change and then realize that every single one of the townsfolk has also turned into a monstrous beast.
Daphne turned werewolf
Shaggy goes toward Daphne to tell her they need to find a way to escape, but he's so focused on the other werewolves that he doesn't notice what's happening to her. Feeling ill and shaking, Daphne stands before a window looking at the full moon. Shaggy grabs her arm to get her attention, but dark grey fur suddenly bursts from her pores, and her fingernails turn into claws. Shaggy releases his grip, as a look of horror washes over her face. She begins to morph, with her ears and nose extending as fur pours out of her face. Her teeth sharpen to points, and jaw extends into a muzzle. With her transformation now complete were-Daphne and the other werewolves try to get Shaggy and Scooby, but the two manage to get out the door.
Surrounded, Shaggy and Scooby think it's the end for them when the manhole lid they were standing on lifts up, and it turns out its Flim-Flam and Scrappy who have sought refuge in the town's sewer. Shaggy and Scooby enter the drain, but were-Daphne follows them in. Cornered and out of options, Flim-Flam splashes some of his Lotsa Luck Joy Juice on were-Daphne, curing her of her sudden case of lycanthropy.
The gang makes it out of the sewers and enters a hole in the temple door made for them by Bogle. They block it to prevent the werewolves from coming in, but the barricade fails, and the werewolves get in. Cornered once again, Flim-Flam cures the beasts with his Lotsa Luck Joy Juice. The mayor then explains that the reason they wanted the gang to leave before sundown was so they wouldn't know about the curse. Daphne then asks the mayor about their plane, but he says he has no idea what happened to it.
Elsewhere in the temple, Bogle and Weerd trick Shaggy and Scooby into thinking they're contestants on their favorite game show "Let's Make 'Em Squeal." The boys are told that they could take home a brand new Ghoul DeVille convertible car, but Weerd asks if they'd prefer to trade for either The Mystery Flying Machine, a two-story dog house, or the contents of the mysterious "box." Shaggy and Scooby pick the third option and open the Chest of Demons, releasing the thirteen ghosts, who steamroll their way out of the temple as one enormous specter which breaks apart and disperses like fireworks in the dimming sky.
Vincent Van Ghoul then tells the kids that because they let the ghosts out, they must return them to the chest. He gives them a crystal ball so that they may contact one another. With their plane repaired, the gang flies away with a new member to begin their hunt for the thirteen ghosts.
Characters
Main characters:
- Gang
- Scooby-Doo
- Shaggy Rogers
- Scrappy-Doo
- Daphne Blake
- Flim-Flam (first appearance)
Supporting characters:
- Vincent Van Ghoul (first appearance)
Villains:
- Bogel (first appearance)
- Weerd (first appearance)
- Townspeople of Ursolvania (as werewolves) (only appearance)(transformation)(redeemed)
- Constable (only appearance)(redeemed)
- Bürgermeister (only appearance)(redeemed)
- Daphne as a werewolf (only appearance)(transformation)(redeemed)
- Ghosts released from the chest (first appearance)(cameo)
- Ghoulio (only appearance)
Other characters:
- TBA
Locations
- Vincent Van Ghoul's castle
- Himalayas
- Temple Village
- Ursolvania
Objects
- Chest of Demons
- Crystal ball
Vehicles
Cast
Songs
| Song | Credits | Performed by | Character performance by |
|---|---|---|---|
| "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before" | Credits | Hamilton Camp |
Notes/trivia
- Because the plot that's revealed during the opening credits sequence had not yet been established, the scene was omitted from this episode, so the show's title is never shown. During the debut ABC broadcast, they cut to a "13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" title card with a cast photo at the first commercial break, but this hasn't appeared in reruns or on the DVD release.
- The name of the episode is also the title of the song featured in it.
- The name "Ghoulio" is un no way a reference to rapper Coolio, who didn't hit the music scene until nearly a decade later.
- This episode marks the first time Daphne undergoes a transformation, in this case, a werewolf.
- In this episode, it was the citizens of Yursolvania who were responsible for imprisoning the ghosts in the chest. This aspect of the story was completely ignored in Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost, which credited Vincent Van Ghoul and Mortifer Quinch for first capturing the ghosts.
- The steamroller of ghosts that's seen emerging from the chest reappears in Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost.
- Flim-Flam's "Lotsa Luck Joy Juice" is revisited in Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost.
Cultural references
- The title of the episode/song is a parody of "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", a hit for both Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, sung with slightly-changed lyrics and in a Hungarian Bela Lugosi accent.
- Scooby sings, "Hawaii lies over the ocean, Hawaii lies over the sea!" This is a take-off of the Scottish folk song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean".
- Flim-Flam's sales patter, "Ya got trouble, that starts with T, and that rhymes with B, and it stands for..." is taken almost verbatim from the 1957 musical, The Music Man. The song, "Ya Got Trouble," is sung by Harold Hill, a similar con-artist character.
- The mock game-show Let's Make 'Em Squeal parodies the popular game show Let's Make a Deal. Weerd assumes the persona of "Haunty Maul" for this gag, spoofing co-creator and original host Monty Hall.
Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches
- The total number of were-Daphne's fingers keeps switching back and forth from five to four.
- In the shot before Daphne points to the temple to answer where the plane was dragged, Flim-Flam's skin is notceably lighter. This also occurs when he introduces the gang to Vincent Van Ghoul, and when they all return to the temple.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities
- While trying to fend off werewolf Daphne, Flim-Flam shoots the cork out of a bottle of Lotsa Luck Joy Juice, and in the next shot, the bottle is still corked.
- Throughout the episode, the Mystery Flying Machine already has the crystal ball. Even after Daphne gets it, it appears in the cockpit before she even boards the plane, unless Scrappy or Flim-Flam had taken it from her.
- Odd geographical discontinuity: what is a European village complete with a Bürgermeister doing in the Himalayas (between India and Tibet)?
- How did a giant-sized airplane pass through the small doors of the temple?
Home media
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!: The Complete Series DVD set released by Warner Home Video on June 29, 2010.
Quotes
Vincent Van Ghoul: Once upon a midnight dreaming, I woke up to a ghostly screaming, so I gazed into the crystal ball to see what was new. And what I watched was truly shocking! The demon chest, it was unlocking -- unlocking the 13 ghosts of Scooby-Doo! |
'Shaggy: Himalaya, Honolulu, what's the difference? Daphne: About 7,000 miles! |
Flim-Flam: Lotsa Luck Joy Juice! It's a lucky charm in a bottle! Lotsa Luck removes all unwanted curses, jinxes, and evil spells. It's also a great rocket fuel and a darn good dandruff remover! |
External links
- TBA