Mystery of the Ghosty Goose is the first stories in Scooby Doo... Where Are You! #19, by Gold Key Comics. It was followed by Real Gone Ghosts.
Premise[]
The gang are in Canada when they come across flocks of geese that are being stripped of their feathers by a mysterious giant ghostly goose.
Synopsis[]
The gang are fishing in a forest in Canada when they hear the sound of a goose. They see its shadow and follow it, although Scooby and Shaggy fall behind and encounter a talking tree. After they warn the others, Fred deducts it to be a costume from the tracks it leaves behind. Scooby pounces on the tree, but it turns out to be a Royal Northwest Mounted Police sergeant. Fred apologises to him, and the Mountie realises who they are.
He introduces himself as Sergeant O'Doome, and explains the shadow - A giant ghost goose flies over Silver Lake and mysteriously strips wild geese of their feathers after they rest during migration. Several volunteers have chosen to knit sweaters for the affected geese. Scooby and Shaggy try to get the geese to wear the sweaters, but they instead honk at them. The two go back to the others to track down the giant goose instead.
After driving the Mystery Machine through the snow, Velma consults their map and points out that Silver Lake is close-by. The goose flies overhead and attacks them, catching Daphne and Fred in the process. The other three find that the divebomb caused the Machine to get sunk into the snow. Velma suggests they use their baggage carrier to help rescue the others.
Daphne and Fred quickly figure out the ruse, as the giant ghostly goose is a disguised plane. Its underside opens, releasing thousands of feathers and launching the two down. They discover a radio shack where the goose has landed. Elsewhere, the other three are using a wooden sled and arrive at the radio shack - But not before crashing into a small marsh, where the man guarding the shack is scared off by them being covered in mud. The gang regroup and overhear a radio conversation.
The mystery is pieced together - The goose is a ploy to smuggle geese feathers and sell them for a profit, but the guard's reaction to seeing Scooby, Shaggy and Velma has driven them to flee the area. Daphne spots some wild geese overhead, and the gang formulate a trap: Shaggy and Velma dress themselves in the feathers to act as decoys, while Scooby helps Fred and Daphne catch the crooks in their goose. The goose flies overhead and sucks up the feathers Shaggy and Velma put on themselves. In order to vacuum the feathers up, however, it needs to be close to the ground. The other three of the gang tie a rope around a trees, catching the criminals and bringing Sergeant O'Doome.
The culprit behind the operation is Snooks McSneak, who was using the plane to suck up feathers and sell them out of season illegally. The wings had giant vacuums in them and diverted the intake scoops to boost the power of the slipstream to gather more feathers. O'Doome takes him and his henchmen off to jail, but not before suggesting again that the gang should help knit sweaters. They agree, and soon are knitting sweaters, with Daphne remarking that Scooby makes a good model for the sweaters.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Sergeant O'Doome (only appearance)
Villains:
- Ghosty Goose (only appearance)(no lines)(disguise)
- Gaffer (only appearance)
- Snooks McSneak (only appearance)
- Unnamed henchman 2 (only appearance)
Other characters:
- Canadian geese (only appearance)(no lines)
Locations[]
- Canada
- Silver Lake
- Radio shack
Objects[]
- Sweaters for geese
- Baggage carrier
- Feathers
- Net
Vehicles[]
- The Mystery Machine
- Sergeant O'Doome's van
- Goose plane
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Sergeant O'Doome | He knew all about the Ghostly Goose. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Snooks McSneak, the gaffer and another henchman | To poach wild geese and sell their feathers. |
Notes/trivia[]
- 1973, the year this was published, was the 100th anniversary Centennial of the creation of the original Royal Northwest Mounted Police. The Mountie is dressed in the well-known Red Serge uniform with Stetson hat and high brown boots with spurs. At that time, the RCMP carried a six-shot .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver with a 5" barrel in black steel that was made for them by special order - it had a horse and rider emblem stamped into the metal near the thumb release and is not available for civilian purchase on the used market.
- The goose turns out to be an airplane that is disguised as a giant Canada Goose which is used to fly over flocks of grazing geese in order to suck up their feathers by vacuum pressure. Goose feathers are used for warming insulation in jackets and "down" bed covers and are known for their water repellant properties. While they are not especially valuable - certainly not to the extent used in this case, as they are obtained legally by manufacturers through farming - the issue here is that wild Canada Geese are being left featherless and vulnerable and that the method itself is illegal (unlicensed), bringing the attention of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (though, in fact, the case would be initially investigated by another federal or provincial ministry agent, perhaps involving the RCMP if warranted).
Miscellaneous[]
- Scooby Snacks bribe: 0.
- "Zoinks" count: 8.
Reprints[]
- Scooby-Doo! Classic Comics: Vol. 1 CD-Rom (Sep 2009)
- Scooby Doo Mystery Comics V2 #1 Murray Comics (Australia 1983)
Quotes[]
Shaggy: Oh, the poor geeses! When night comes they'll freeze without feathers! |