''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

, and the seventh incarnation of the studio's ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'' franchise. It premiered on , and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour program. Thirteen episodes of the show were made in 1985. It replaced '' Scary Scooby Funnies'', a repackaging of earlier shows; another repackaged series, '' Scooby's Mystery Funhouse'', followed. The series also aired in reruns on

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

in the 1990s, on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

, and from time to time on Cartoon Network's sister channel

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

until 2014. With 13 episodes, it is currently the shortest-running series in the ''

'' franchise to date. A follow-up film, '' Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost'', released in 2019, featured the previously unseen 13th ghost and ended the series. The entire series is also available on the Boomerang and Tubi streaming services.

Plot

In the initial episode, the gang are thrown off course on a trip to Honolulu in Daphne's plane, landing instead in

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. While inside a temple, Scooby and

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

are tricked by two bumbling ghosts named Weerd and Bogel into opening the Chest of Demons, a magical artifact that houses the 13 most terrifying and powerful ghosts and

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

s ever to walk the face of the Earth. As the ghosts can only be returned to the chest by those who originally set them free, Scooby and Shaggy, accompanied by Daphne, Scrappy-Doo, and a young con artist named Flim Flam, embark on a worldwide quest to recapture them before they wreak irreversible havoc upon the world. Assisting them is Flim Flam's friend, a

warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicati ...

named Vincent Van Ghoul (based upon and voiced by

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

), who contacts the gang using his crystal ball and often employs magic and witchcraft to assist them. The 13 escaped ghosts, meanwhile, each attempt to do away with the gang lest they are returned to the chest, often employing Weerd and Bogel as lackeys. Fred Jones and

Velma Dinkley Velma Dinkley is a fictional character in the '' Scooby-Doo'' franchise. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange turtleneck sweater, a short pink pleated skirt (or in later episodes an A-line skirt, or sometimes shorts), knee socks, Mary Ja ...

were both absent in this incarnation. In Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost, it is revealed that they were away at summer camp.

Production

The series was created and produced by Mitch Schauer. Tom Ruegger was associate producer and story editor, the irreverent,

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

-breaking humor found in each episode resurfaced in his later works, among them '' A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation a ...

'', and ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, until ...

''. Of ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', Ruegger recalls not being fond of the Flim-Flam character or the other added characters in the cast. As with most of the other early-1980s ''Scooby-Doo'' entries, original characters Fred Jones and

do not appear, and the enemies were real (within the context of the series) ghosts and not simply humans in costume. ''13 Ghosts'' ended its run after 13 episodes and was replaced by reruns of '' Laff-a-Lympics'' in March 1986, before the end of the season. After a hiatus, Ruegger and ABC decided that they would overhaul the series entirely, developing ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' in 1988. At the time of the cancellation, twelve of the thirteen ghosts were recaptured in the chest of demons with the show stopping production before the last ghost could be found. Originally it was debatable if Captain Ferguson, the antagonist of the episode "Ship of Ghouls", counted as one of the thirteen ghosts. However it was later confirmed by ''Curse of the 13th Ghost'' writer Tim Sheridan that Captain Ferguson was one of the thirteen. To date, it is the last ''Scooby-Doo'' running series to have featured Scrappy-Doo, who was removed as a regular character after the three ''

Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 ''Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'' is a series of 10 syndicated made-for-television animated films produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' programming block from 1987 to 1988, featuring the studio's ...

'' movies in 1987-8. A direct-to-video film released in 2019, ''Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost'', resolves the open ending of the original and features the entire gang helping Vincent Van Ghoul in capturing the last ghost.

Voice cast

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

–

and Scrappy-Doo *

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

–

* Heather North – Daphne Blake *

Susan Blu Susan Maria Blue, better known as Sue Blu, is an American voice-actress, voice-director, and casting-director in American and Canadian cinema and television. She most notably voiced Arcee in '' The Transformers: The Movie'' and Seasons 3 and 4 of ...

– Flim-Flam * Arte Johnson – Weerd * Howard Morris – Bogel *

– Vincent Van Ghoul

Additional voices

* Bob Arbogast *

Gay Autterson Gay Ruby Hartwig (born February 2, 1943, also professionally credited as Gay Hartwig, Gay Autterson and Gay Autterson Hartwig) is an American voice actress who has done voice-overs for animated television series by Hanna-Barbera. She is mostly kno ...

* Hamilton Camp * Vicki Carroll *

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other ...

* Marshall Efron *

Patricia Elliott Patricia Elliott (July 21, 1938 – December 20, 2015) was an American theatre, film, soap opera, and television actress. Early life Elliott was born July 21, 1938, in Gunnison, Colorado to Clyde and Lavon (née Gibson) Elliott. She claimed dire ...

* Dick Erdman *

Bernard Erhard Bernard Erhard (February 6, 1934 – November 1, 2000) was an American actor. Career Early in his career, Erhard worked as a music teacher at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), and directed numerous theater productions there. ...

Linda Gary Linda Gary (born Linda Gary Dewoskin, November 4, 1944 – October 5, 1995) was an American actress. Career Live-action appearances Gary worked as a voice-over artist in animation and also appeared in two live-action films, 1977's ''Joyride T ...

Joan Gerber Joan Gerber (July 29, 1935 – August 22, 2011) was an American voice actress who provided voices for a variety of cartoons. Her most challenging voice role was "all the children in a Japanese train wreck" for a '' Godzilla'' television episode ...

* Philip Hartman *

Alice Hirson Alice Hirson (born March 10, 1929) is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She began her career on stage, before roles on daytime soap operas. She is best known for her roles as Mavis Anderson in the CBS prime time soap ope ...

* Bob Holt * Marilyn Lightstone * Kenneth Mars * Edie McClurg * Sidney Miller *

Pat Musick Patricia Anne Musick is an American voice actress, who has provided numerous voices in many television shows, films and video games. She and her husband, Jeff Whitman, a personal manager and set construction coordinator, are the parents of actre ...

Alan Oppenheimer Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s. Early life Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...

* Bob Ridgely * Michael Rye * John Stephenson *

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until h ...

* Les Tremayne * B.J. Ward *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

Episodes

Home media

On June 29, 2010,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

(via

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) released ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1.

Reception

The series was heavily profiled in the Christian fundamentalist documentary ''Deception of a Generation'' as an example of occult influences on children's entertainment.

Follow-up film

35 years after the series end a follow-up film called '' Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost'' was released in order to tie-up the loose end that revolved around the 13th Ghost, Asmodeus.

References

External links

Official Scooby-Doo website
*

– The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo

– Profile on ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' {{DEFAULTSORT:13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, The 1985 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings 1980s American animated television series 1980s American horror television series Scooby-Doo television series American Broadcasting Company original programming American animated television spin-offs American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated fantasy television series American children's animated horror television series American children's animated mystery television series American children's animated supernatural television series Animated television series about teenagers English-language television shows Television series about ghosts Television series by Hanna-Barbera Television series created by Tom Ruegger Television series created by Joe Ruby Television series created by Ken Spears Television series created by Mitch Schauer