- 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[]
Seated in his castle with his crystal ball, Vincent Van Ghoul predicted that the Chest of Demons will be opened.
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 Bogel 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 Bogel 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 Ursolvania, 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 ends 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 the criminal Flim-Flam. Bogel 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 Daphne agrees to fix the plane and be gone. Arriving back where they'd left the aircraft, the kids find only tire tracks leading into the temple. As Shaggy struggles to open the door, Bogel realizes he locked it by mistake, which enrages Weerd. Outside, Flim-Flam remarks that he's got a friend in town that might be able to help them get in.
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 into a back room and introduces 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 trapped in the Chest of Demons are also hidden inside.
Vincent also informs them 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 at night. Soon will be nighttime, so he urges them to leave. 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 a stage performance.
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 wolfsbane, Scrappy warns that wolfsbane 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, enchanting Scooby, who starts to sing along, not noticing Ghoulio's transformation into a werewolf. Soon Shaggy and Scooby become aware of Ghoulio's change and 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's oblivious to her suffering. 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 through her skin, and her fingernails turn into claws. Shaggy releases his grip as a look of horror washes over her face. She begins to morph, ears and nose extending, fur pouring from every pore. 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 break through the door.
Everywhere they turn, there are were-Ursolvanians. Shaggy and Scooby think it's the end for them when the manhole lid they are standing on lifts up, revealing Flim-Flam and Scrappy, who have sought refuge in the town's sewage system. 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 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 that Bogel and Weerd have just finished chiseling out. They block it to prevent the werewolves from coming in, but the barricade fails, and the lycanthropes emerge from a pile of stones. Cornered once again, Flim-Flam douses the pack of rabid townspeople with his Lotsa Luck Joy Juice, which instantly reverts them to humans. 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, Bogel 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 it 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.
Vincent Van Ghoul then tells Shaggy and Scooby that because they unleashed thirteen of the foulest "specters and ghouls" upon the face of the earth, they must return each of them to the chest since they can only be recaptured by those who set them free. He gives Daphne a crystal ball so that they may stay in close contact with one another. Flim-Flam manages to get the plane repaired, dumping cases of Lotsa Luck Joy Juice into the gas tank to substitute for fuel. The gang flies away, with their newest member at the wheel, to begin their hunt for the thirteen ghosts. Bogel and Weerd yell, "Aloha" to Mr. Van Ghoul from the tail of the plane, and Scooby's giant rubber ducky trails behind them all in the moonlit sky.
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
- Rubber Ducky
- Lotsa Luck Joy Juice
- Crystal ball
Vehicles[]
Cast[]
Songs[]
| Song | Credits | Performed by | Character performance by |
|---|---|---|---|
| "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before" | Credits | Hamilton Camp | Ghoulio |
Notes/trivia[]
- The name of the episode is also the title of the song featured in it.
- This episode marks the first time Daphne undergoes a transformation, in this case, a werewolf.
- This is the only episode to heavily feature the familiar musical score heard throughout Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and the other early incarnations of the show.
- In this episode, it was the citizens of Ursolvania who were responsible for imprisoning the ghosts in the chest. This aspect of the story was completely ignored in the DTV 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 the aforementioned DTV.
- Flim-Flam's "Lotsa Luck Joy Juice" is seen again in the aforementioned DTV.
- Recent Boomerang reruns and the show's home video release cut out the episode's title card for unknown reasons.
Miscellaneous[]
- "Zoinks" count: 2.
- "Rikes" count: 1.
- "Ruh-roh" count: 2.
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.
- The opening poem is recited by Vincent Van Ghoul in the same metre as Edgar Allan Poe's famous supernatural poem, "The Raven".
- 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 noticeably 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.
- The crystal ball sits in the cockpit of the Mystery Flying Machine five minutes into the show, long before Mr. Van Ghoul gives it to Daphne.
- 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.- A Scooby-Doo! Valentine Bouquet Digital DVD released by Warner Home Video on January 12, 2021.
Quotes[]
Vincent Van Ghoul: (Chanting) |
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! |
Vincent Van Ghoul: There go the 13 foulest specters and ghouls on Earth! And they'll haunt the world until they're returned to the Chest. |
External links[]
- TBA
| Previous episode: | Series: | Next episode: |
| The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo | Scoobra Kadoobra |