Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (film)

'Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost' is a 1999 mystery horror comedy direct-to-video film based on the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! TV series in 1969. It was released by Warner Home Video through the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label on September 22, 1998. It was written by the teams of Rick Copp and David A. Goodman, and Glenn Leopold and Davis Doi, and directed by Jim Stenstrum. The film is the second installment in the Scooby-Doo direct-to-video film series.

Mystery Inc. are invited to the quaint New England town of Oakhaven by revered horror novelist Ben Ravencroft. While there, they find out about Ben's ancestor who the townfolk believe to have been a witch. Ben gets help from Mystery Inc. in proving the innocence of Sarah Ravencroft, although their investigation reveals the dark, hidden truths behind Ben's ancestry.

Detailed summary
In a museum, the curator leaves his office for the night. As he walks through the exhibits, he fails to notice that the gang have disguised themselves among them, until Shaggy breaks his cover to point out the weapon-welding Babylonian mummies that are behind Dr. Dean, causing him to flee, but now leaves Shaggy and Scooby at the mercy of the mummies. Shaggy then signals Scooby to release the net on them, although this is doesn't stop the zombies for long, and a chase ensues around the museum until a mystery foot trips up both of the mummies into a display.

The gang and the authorities arrive, with Daphne curious as to who helped Shaggy and Scooby, until Velma reveals, shockingly, is Ben Ravencroft, the famous horror writer. Together, they find out that the mummies were disgruntled archaeologists, Perkins and Griswald, who were upset with Dr. Dean for cutting funding on the Babylonian project. As Perkins and Griswald are removed, the former blames Ravencroft for sabotaging them. Ravencroft apologizes for upstaging the gang and tells them he was researching at the museum for his latest novel when he saw them acting suspicious. Velma, who can't contain herself, tells Ravencroft she is a big fan of his, while Ravencroft admits to being a fan of Mystery Inc., too. As they're all getting along so well, Ravencroft invites them to join him in going back to his hometown of Oakhaven during some fall downtime, to which they readily accept.

On the way to Oakhaven, Velma tags along with Ravencroft, while the rest drive follow in the Mystery Machine. All seems serenely quiet, until they run into unexpected traffic in the town square. Ravencroft introduces the gang to the Mayor, who informs them that the town is packed full of tourists because of the Autumn festival, which is highlighted by the Hex Girls, the town's own aspiring musical act, and the purported appearance of the ghost of Sarah Ravencroft, who was prosecuted in 1657 for being a witch. Ben, his ancestor, is annoyed by the Mayor opening up old wounds and profiting from Sarah. Mayor Corey takes the gang and Ben to the puritan village they set up while he was away, which he insists has spurned the reappearance of Sarah. Ben maintains that Sarah was a healer, who was misunderstood for using herbs as medicine.

During their time fooling around in the village, Scooby finds a shoe buckle for Shaggy. This leads into a discussion about all the old things found buried during the construction of the village, with Ben wanting to know if they had found Sarah's journal, which would clear the Ravencroft name. Fred asks the Mayor why he thinks it was Sarah's ghost, to which he responds is because she told him herself, and then speculated on her next appearance that night. Just then, Shaggy and Scooby get hungry and are brought to the local restaurant, where he Jack, the owner, will take good care of them, which Ben may regret after relaying a message through the Mayor to Jack that he would pay for everything, and Shaggy and Scooby do eat everything on Jack's menu.

Meanwhile, Ben invites Freddie and the girls to his studio, where he keeps a portrait of a pleasant Sarah Ravencroft, who is holding her journal under an oak tree. Ben explains how he's tried searching for the journal around the oak tree, but has found nothing. Soon night comes, and they go to puritan village where everyone else has gathered proceed to wait for Sarah's ghost to show. While waiting, Daphne can't help but notice how increasingly obsessed Ben has gotten with finding Sarah's journal.

Unsurprisingly, Shaggy and Scooby have bailed out of the night's activities, as they've been preoccupied eating everything in Jack's restaurant until there's nothing left. With their stomachs full, they slowly make their way to the village, noticing cars driving away from the same direction. They then walk into the Hex Girls, and try to act like studs, but are terrified by their fangs. They run away only to run into a fireball throwing Witch's Ghost. After fleeing for their lives, they run into their friends and Ben Ravencroft. Fred wants to know what direction the ghost came from, and by retracing Shaggy and Scooby's steps, they find some interesting clues. Their investigation is brought to a halt when their attention is turned to the Hex Girls rehearsing "Hex Girl".

After their performance, they are applauded, which irks the girls who would've rather performed without a crowd, but they become more friendly once they notice Ravencroft, who they see as some fellow eco activist. The Hex Girls quickly go back to rehearsing, while the gang and Ravencroft go back to investigating by splitting up. Fred suspects the Hex Girls, so he sticks around to spy on them with Daphne, while Velma and Ravencroft explore an old barn, and Scooby and Shaggy follow the mayor. Fred and Daphne see Thorn doing some sort of ritual, and become convinced that the Hex Girls are actually witches. Velma and Ben find a cherry picking truck in the barn. Scooby and Shaggy see the Mayor talking to and giving things to many of the townspeople. They then run into the witch again, who chases them past to Mayor and into Velma and Ben. Velma then tells the Mayor that she has a plan to catch the witch.

The Gang, Ben, and the Hex Girls meet in the woods. The witch appears and gives chase, but is captured by Daphne and Fred. The witch is revealed to be McKnight, who is Thorn's father. Velma then locates the truck among the trees. She explains that the truck lifted the witch and made her appear to fly, and also deduces that many townspeople were in on the trick, including Jack and the Mayor. Ben scolds the people involved for exploiting Sarah's good name for their benefit.

Back at Ben's house, the gang apologize to the Hex Girls, and Thorn explains the ritual was just to improve her vocals, and that she is actually 1/16th wiccan. The Mayor and McKnight then arrive, explaining that they had to use the witch to boost the towns economy because of lack of tourists. They then say that they did find the head marker for Sarah's grave, but still don't know where the grave is located. Velma then remembers that the buckle Scooby found is that same one one Sarah's diary in a painting Ben has.

The gang, Ben, The Hex Girls, McKnight, and the Mayor go to the spot where Scooby found the buckle. Scooby digs deeper, and discovers a chest. A excited Ben opens the chest to find not a diary, but a spell book. He then explains to a horrified Mystery Inc. that Sarah was indeed a witch, and that he created the case at the museum in order to meet the gang so they could find the book for him. Becoming insane with his new magical powers derived from the book, Ben captures McKnight, The Mayor, and the Hex Girls before resurrecting Sarah. But Sarah's ghost rejects Ben's idea of ruling the world together, and instead wants to destroy it. Horrified by this, Ben attempts to imprison Sarah back in to book, but she says only a wiccan can return her. Velma then gets an idea, and frees Thorn and asks her to read the spell, and sends Scooby and Shaggy to get the book. The gang tries to get the book many times, but Sarah keeps turning pumpkins, trees, and even a turkey into monsters to stop them. Eventually, the gang obtains the book, each throwing it to another person when they get captured, until it reaches Thorn. Thorn reads the spell, sending the witch and Ben, whom she grabbed hold of at the last second, back into the book. A burning branch falls on the book, disintegrating it. The gang then free the others, and the witch's monsters turn back to normal (except for the enormous turkey which the town can now use as a tourist attraction).

Later that night the Hex Girls (and the gang) give a concert to the townspeople and the tourists.

Memorable quotes
Shaggy: The trap worked, Scoob! Scooby: Yeah. Hee hee hee hee. Shaggy: Give me four! You're the man, Scoob! Scooby: You're the man! hee hee hee hee.

Ben Ravencroft: Mayor, tell Jack that anything they order is on me! Shaggy: Zoinks! Like, what a great guy. Scooby: Yeah, great! Daphne: You're gonna regret that offer, Ben.

Daphne: So, how's the food? Shaggy: Pretty darn good. Velma: Is there anything left in the kitchen? Jack: I'll be right back, boys. I've got to run to the market.

Shaggy: Thanks for everything, Jack. It was great. Especially those last twelve pies.

Shaggy: Girls. Scooby: Yeah, rirls. Shaggy: Like, hi, girls. Hex Girls: Hi.

Fred: Those Hex Girls seem kind of suspicious. Velma: I'll say. Fred: Daph and I should keep an eye on them. Velma: Gee, why is it that you always pair off with Daphne, Fred? Fred: Uh, well...

Daphne: So, Freddy, why do you always pair us up? Fred: Uh, well, I thought about that for the longest time and there's never been a good time to tell you. Maybe it's time that I--well, that I... Hey, here they come.

Thorn: See you in the morning. Bad dreams, sisters. Luna and Dusk: Bad dreams, sister Thorn.

Fred: Thorn seems like their leader. Let's follow her. Daphne: Are you sure that you're not just "stuck" on Thorn, Freddy?

Thorn: Daddy? Mr. McKnight: Hello, Sally. Luna: Your dad's the ghost? Fred: Your name is Sally?

Luna: We're eco-goths. Kind of like wiccans. Just ask Thorn, she is one. Thorn: Yeah, right. Sally McKnight, 1/16 blood on my mother's side.

Ben Ravencroft: "Let the evil from the past breathe again with fiery blast." Velma: No! Ben Ravencroft: "Let the dark wind whip the night to blow away the force of night!" Shaggy: Like, I know what comes next, buddy. Big trouble! Yikes! Ben Ravencroft: "Now, I summon ancient power." Velma: Ben, please stop! Ben Ravencroft: "This is evil's finest hour!"

Ben Ravencroft: This isn't one of your silly little mysteries. You can't solve me so easily. Hee hee hee. Velma: You won't get away with this, Ravencroft! Ben Ravencroft: Why? Because of you meddling kids? Fred: Hey! We're not kids!

Velma: We gotta go back for the book! Shaggy: Book? Can't we just wait for the movie?

Ben Ravencroft: Dreadful darkness, hear my cry. Bring back one who cannot die. Let the witch who perished here live again and reappear!

Ben Ravencroft: "Ancient evil, get thee hence. Only good can recompense all that's good... Sarah Ravencroft: Thinkest thou art a wiccan? Only a virtuous soul can imprison me.

Sarah Ravencroft: What... was... that? Shaggy: You're not melting. Like, it worked in The Wizard of Oz.

Thorn: "Ancient evil, get thee hence. Only good can recompense for the misdeeds you've done, witch return from whence you've come!"

Sarah Ravencroft: I WON'T GO BACK ALONE. Ben Ravencroft: No! Aaah! Nooooo!

Velma: Ben Ravencroft's last book is one the world will never buy.

Mr. McKnight: I guess you are a witch after all. Thorn: A wiccan, Daddy. A wiccan.

Characters
In order of appearance:

Mentioned and non-speaking characters are in italics


 * Dr. Dean (Frank Welker)
 * Velma Dinkley (B.J. Ward)
 * Daphne Blake (Mary Kay Bergman)
 * Fred Jones (Frank Welker)
 * Shaggy Rogers (Scott Innes)
 * Scooby-Doo (Scott Innes)
 * Exhibit narrator (Neil Ross)
 * Babylonian zombies (Frank Welker)
 * Police officers
 * Perkins
 * Griswald
 * Mayor Corey (Neil Ross)
 * Mr. McKnight (Peter Renaday)
 * Butter churning woman (Jennifer Hale)
 * Waitress
 * Jack (Bob Joles)
 * Witch's Ghost
 * Thorn (Jennifer Hale)
 * Luna (Jane Wiedlin)
 * Dusk (Kimberly Brooks)
 * Willard
 * Molly Parken
 * Mr. Beeman
 * Thorn's mother
 * Sarah Ravencroft (Tress MacNeille)
 * Turkeys (Frank Welker)

Locations

 * United States
 * New England
 * Museum of Natural History
 * Oakhaven, Massachusetts
 * Miller's Creek
 * Puritan village
 * Oakhaven Restaurant
 * Ben Ravencroft's mansion
 * Music stage
 * Hardware store
 * Molly Parken's Bed and Breakfast
 * McKnight house
 * Ben Ravencroft's apartment
 * Europe

Objects

 * Scooby Snacks
 * Sarah Ravencroft's spellbook

Vehicles

 * The Mystery Machine

Development
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island was intended as a one-off and the crew were given total autonomy, but when it sold better than expected, Warner Bros. felt it was necessary to add their own writers, who worked in live-action. Rick Copp and David A. Goodman wrote the story like a classic episode of Scooby-Doo, where the movie ends with the fake ghost, but Davis Doi and Glenn Leopold rewrote the third act to reveal the twist of a real ghost. The crew felt like Leopold wasn't paid his dues for this film, so that's why he has the "Story By" credit in the next DTV, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, so he could receive residuals from what he would've lost out on with Witch's Ghost.

Filming
Between the recording of Zombie Island and Witch's Ghost, Billy West, the voice of Shaggy, had been cast as Fry and several other characters in the Fox prime time sitcom Futurama, so the role was recast with Scott Innes, who was also the current voice of Scooby.

Music
Louis Febre was the composer. Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus performed the "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" theme song.

Behind the scenes

 * Ben Ravencroft is a parody of both Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft.
 * When Scooby pretends to play guitar, he duck walks like Chuck Berry.
 * When Velma fake falls, she cries, "Help me. I've fallen and I can't get up", which was a popular catchphrase in the late 1980s/early 1990s from a United States-medical commercial.
 * Shaggy tries melting Sarah Ravencroft by chucking a bucket of water on her, as that's what happened to the Wicked Witch of the West in the MGM musical film The Wizard of Oz.

Errors

 * For some reason Fred was not given blue irises in this film.
 * Shaggy calls Dr. Dean "Professor", while Velma calls him "Doctor".
 * Presumably it's intentional, but the guards' nametags are empty.
 * When Scooby takes a picture of himself and Shaggy, the teal in Scooby's dogtag is dark red.
 * From a distance, Velma and Ben while in the latter's car have little detail given. Velma's mouth is missing, as is Ben's jacket.
 * Ben seems uncomfortable hearing about the graphically gruesome retelling of one of his book's ending from Velma, and therefore likely relieved that they arrived at the same moment in Oakhaven. Even if this was apart of his act, he still wrote it and a little hypocritical of him to act that way. The book could be considered a clue to his actual evil nature.
 * The tourists are so friendly it's a little unclear who's supposed to be with who. For instance:
 * The male African American tourist was holding the arm of a blonde mother's young son.
 * The middle-aged man wearing a plaid shirt and overalls even looked like he had a family when watching Scooby with the butter churn, a young child of ambiguous gender had his or her arms wrapped around his legs. (His purported wife was also in other parts of the village by herself, too.)
 * The man who was made sick by Scooby smiling at him when his face was full of cranberry sauce, was earlier laughing at Shaggy in the pillory, and he was standing particularly close to a woman, possibly his wife.
 * It's unclear what the corn husk dolls are doing on the tree stump, whether the villager is showing his or work or they're actually for sale. (Since there was already a gift shop there as well.)
 * In the last shot of some of the tourists watching Shaggy in the pillory, the blonde mother disappears. Possibly because she's already moved onto watching the butter churner, even if it is a tad bit fast.
 * At one point, the male African American tourist and a few other tourists are laughing at Scooby with the butter churn, but quickly disappear.
 * The young woman in the pillory is presumably the girlfriend of the young man wearing the shirt jacket (since he's with the woman in the pillory), but her hair is in a ponytail, she's not wearing her jacket, and she's now wearing hoop earrings.
 * The puritan boy has modern-day sneakers.
 * A minor note, but Scooby didn't find another "shoe buckle" for Shaggy when he asked the former.
 * Inside the Oakhaven Restaurant, there's a life-size thermometer on the wall next to the entrance.
 * The man Scooby was disturbing (or harassing) must've had a big appetite as he had both a steak and a burger on the same plate.
 * During Scooby's harassment of the same customer, a kid in a booth behind them from afar was frozen as he went to put a spoon in his mouth.
 * The customers in the booth next to Scooby and Shaggy are already looking over at them when they just sit down, making them look a little rude. Maybe they read the same newspaper as Ben or it their scene was mixed up with their later reactions to the duo's monstrous appetite and table manners?
 * Why doesn't the Witch Ghost appear to tourists, if that was the main idea of the scam, but always attacked only Shaggy and Scooby, instead?
 * Scooby isn't completely against his canine instincts of liking bones as seen in the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "3-D Struction".
 * The first time the picture of Skull Cap is seen the words are darkened and the skull image has holes in the shape of teeth. Seconds later, is now in red and the skull is designed a little differently with the top of the mouth filled with teeth.
 * When Fred, Daphne and Velma are in Ben's study during the day, the wall with framed pictures includes The Dead Mall, The Caretaker's Coffin Nails and Skull Cap (the former two were also referenced), but when the gang and the Hex Girls (and shortly later joined by Mr. McKnight and the Mayor) are there at night, The Caretaker's Coffin Nails has been replaced with The Catenate Mall (the images in both pictures do actually look alike), and a fourth one, S.A.T.B. Camtempt, has also been added. From a distance, "S.A.T.B." was actually closer to "Stab", and at first the second and last word isn't distinguishable, only in a close-up does it say "Camtempt". Since "camtempt" isn't a word, it mostly likely was supposed to say "contempt". This isn't known for sure, but if the change was intentional, it may have meant to say "Stab Contempt", which would be pushing an already borderline dark film meant for kids. What this says about the yellow hands and if they're a substitute for red is equally as unknown.
 * When the Mystery Machine parks in Oakhaven, the right window is empty.
 * There seems to be confusion over the gender of the female African American tourist's partner. From afar the partner looks to be a male with a ponytail, but close-up shots have the partner looking more feminine wearing lipstick and has breasts.
 * Most of the tourists are given flesh colored scelera at the puritan village.
 * When the plaid-shirted middle-aged tourist takes a picture of Shaggy in the pillory, the blue stripe on the right side of his baseball cap switches to the left.
 * The pre-ill customer has flesh colored scelera and his face is off-model when he laughs at Shaggy in the pillory.
 * The butter churner's face is randomly off-model every time she's seen from a distance.
 * The back of Scooby's dogtag is purple instead of teal, when he laughs after Shaggy says the corn husk doll hat makes a good fit on the former.
 * The Mayor's scelera is flesh colored he talks with Ben and Velma at the puritan village, and later when the waitress walks past him, Shaggy and Scooby, and when he points out Jack.
 * The two children who run past the mayor, Ben, and Velma as they talk, also have flesh colored scelera.
 * The customers standing outside the restaurant have no detail on their face, except for the few that have a line drawn across.
 * When Shaggy tells Jack he and Scooby will have two orders of everything, the booth next to them is noticeably empty.
 * As Fred, Daphne and Velma walk into during which the customer who Scooby made ill run past them and out of the restaurant, Fred's scelera is flesh colored.
 * When Jack says he has to make a trip to the market, Daphne's pupils are kind of bugged-out.
 * The gray hair around the male African American tourist's head changes with each turn he makes as he talks.
 * Ravencroft asks the Hex Girls where they're from, despite literally being told before by Mayor Corey that they were locals. Unless he meant their specific addresses.
 * At night the pictures of Ben's framed works are full of mistakes (not to mention it has replacements and additions:
 * The Dead Mall now says "Dead The".
 * At a distance, it looks like the "u" in Skull Cap has been replaced with an "i". There are also two other unidentifiable words after "Skull", although the last one is presumably "Cap". The "u" is missing when Fred apologizes to the Hex Girls.
 * What is presumably a building in The Catenate Mall, is drawn differently to how it looks up-close. It also has the yellow hand prints of S.A.T.B. Camtempt.
 * From a distance, the first word on the fourth one goes from "Stab" to "S.A.T.B." when the screen goes to a close-up. Also from a distance, the second and last word looks scribbled in.
 * When Mr. McKnight and Mayor Corey walk into the study, the writing and images on all four are missing, with an obscure shadowy/silhouette on the first one.
 * The black holes in the chest should've really already revealed some of the spell book.
 * Velma's face is off-model when Daphne asks Ben why go through the elaborate plan of getting their help. This also happens after Velma answers for her that they wouldn't have if they knew the truth.
 * The sound of the mayor tapping on the door of Ben's study cuts right before his last one.
 * The patient treated by Sarah in Ben's twisted fantasy and the "grateful patient" who supposedly painted the picture of Sarah could be connected, but this isn't outright confirmed.
 * While Wicca is a nature-oriented religion that did not appear until the 20th Century, nature-oriented spiritual healers could very well have existed in the 1600s. Additionally, being a religion, Wicca is not passed down through bloodlines (that would be like someone saying they have "Catholic blood" or being "1/16th Catholic").
 * Velma is correct in stating that the modern-day word for witch comes from the word wicca. However wicca is a masculine Old English word that means sorcerer, meaning that wicca and witch are technically synonyms.
 * The man who's about to vomit from seeing Scooby smiling at him while his face is covered in cranberry sauce, suddenly replaces the group that had already been occupying the booth before him (who had also been reacting to how much (and how) they were eating). It could be argued that the group before him quickly left, if it weren't for the fact that, that when he rushed out, he put a check on the counter.
 * The way the young woman at night leaves after saying that maybe the Witch's Ghost would return the next day, it looks like it's in reverse of her turning to say something, only her dialogue removed.
 * The timing of Ben finding the gang's Moat Monster case is inconsistent with how it was depicted in the previous film. In the previous film it was a case long ago for the gang, but Ben is just finding it as if it's recent. The photo also troubles the timeline, as Daphne and Fred both wear the new outfits introduced in the previous film, when they should be wearing their original ones, making it appear as if that case had been retconned as one of the newest ones.
 * At the end of the last film, the gang and Detective Neville were supposed to back up each other's stories that werewolves and zombies were real. From an in-universe point of view it could be assumed that no one believed them, but from the writer's perspective (considering both films have the same principal crew) it would be a continuity trap. The point of the last film was to bring them "back together", not make them famous or even professional. In fact, Daphne's whole role of a TV journalist/presenter is dropped which was presumably the whole point of even giving her the more professional wardrobe to begin with.
 * Hopefully the gang actually informed Dr. Dean of his corrupted security guards.
 * Ben didn't need to be so elaborate since the gang were none the wiser until it was too late anyway.
 * It's unknown why Sarah would have a banishment spell in her own spell-book.
 * Sarah seems to be a tangible ghost as she can touch objects and people, she can get wet, and a bucket can get stuck on her head.
 * Apparently the enormous turkey either crashed or was hiding in a house after it ran away from Scooby and Shaggy.
 * Despite reading from the same page, Thorn recites a slightly different spell than Ben.
 * It's unknown why the enormous turkey doesn't revert back like the other transformed objects when Sarah is defeated.
 * None of the people watching the Hex Girls perform "Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air" are the tourists from the beginning of the film. It's possible the ones who are watching it are citizens.
 * The gang don't seem to have a problem with playing their instruments, but later in three movies later in Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire, they're more realistically portrayed as terrible musicians, instead of automatically being good. It's possible they were faking their way through on this account.
 * With the exception of Scooby's bongos, the rest of the gang's instruments aren't heard. Possibly they were drowned out by the Hex Girls' own music.
 * Thorn looks like she's waving to the viewer(s) as opposed to the audience watching them.

Everlasting influence
The Hex Girls gained a small following, considering they reappeared in the aforementioned fifth DTV, ''Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire, and the What's New, Scooby-Doo?'' episode "The Vampire Strikes Back". They also appeared in different incarnations in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episodes "In Fear of the Phantom" and "Dance of the Dead", and the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? episode "I Put a Hex on You!"

There was also a failed attempt at a Hex Girls spin-off TV series with creator Rick Copp and co-writer David A. Goodman, which occasionally gets revisited.

A middle-aged tourist in plaid and overalls went onto have cameos in the third and fourth DTVs, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, respectively, and a third cameo in the nineteenth DTV, Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy.

Trailers
Trailer #1:

Trailer #2: