The Spirits of '76

The Spirits of '76
Details
Air date	December 18, 1976
Chronology
Previous episode	The Ghost of The Bad Humor Man
Next episode	The Curse of the Viking Lake

The Spirits of '76 is the sixteenth and final episode of The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, later repackaged as the sixteenth and final episode of the first season of The Scooby-Doo Show.

Premise

In Washington, D.C., the gang gets locked up in the Splitsonian Institute for the night. This institute is chock full of antiques, inventions, and of course ghosts! For example the ghosts of Benedict Arnold, William Demont, and Major Andre.

Synopsis

When the gang visits the Splitsonian Institute in Washington D.C., they get locked in and are trapped over night since they museum has a time lock. While they are there, they encounter Mr. Clive, a cheery watchman, Mr. Wilit, the engineer, and a security guard that Shaggy nicknames "grumpy old grumper." They decide to look around when they begin to notice strange happenings, such as a locomotive steam engine that starts up every few minutes. While they are looking around, some of the mannequins begin to move. The gang is then chased by the ghosts of Benedict Arnold, William Dumont, and Major John Andre. They manage to escape them and search for clues.

They follow wet footprints to a dead end in the wall. Then they search the basement, where they find an old cotton gin that begins to turn on. They can also hear the automated train going off upstairs at the same time. Velma inspects the cotton gin, and notices several of the parts of it are newer the the rest. They follow the belts of the cotton gin, as well as wet footprints to the end of the wall. Scooby switches a lever that flips a hidden switch, allowing the wall to turn. The gang follows a flooded cavern to a concrete wall with a huge hole drilled in it by a machine. They discover huge bags of money there. On the other side of the wall, there are dozens of printing presses. The gang catches the three ghosts after Scooby traps them with one of the antique planes.

They unmasked the Ghost of Major Andre, who is an accomplice. Then they unmask the Ghost of William Demont, who is Mr. Wilit, the city engineer. Finally, Shaggy addresses the Ghost of Benedict Arnold as "grumpy old grumper", and tells him that the jig is up. However, when he unmasks the ghost it is not him, but the cheery Mr. Clive!

A government agent shows up to arrest them. The gang explains that they were trying to dig through the wall in the museum to reach the money inside of it. However, the agent explains that all of their efforts were in waste, as the money is worthless.

Cast and characters

Actor	Character
Don Messick	Scooby-Doo Mr. Clive
Casey Kasem	Shaggy Rogers
Frank Welker	Fred Jones Mr. Wilit
Heather North	Daphne Blake
Patricia Stevens	Velma Dinkley
John Stephenson	Mr. Grumper Government agent Ghost of Benedict Arnold Ghost of William Demont Ghost of Major Andre

Villains

• Ghost of Benedict Arnold/Mr. Clive
• Ghost of William Demont/Mr. Wilit
• Ghost of Major Andre/henchman

Suspects

Suspect	Motive/reason
Mr. Grumper	His manner made him suspicious, as well as his wet shoes.
Mr. Wilit	He said he was sleeping inside the museum. He also left wet footprints behind just like grumpy old Grumper.

Culprits

Culprit	Motive/reason
Mr. Clive as the Ghost of Benedict Arnold Mr. Wilit as the Ghost of William Demont Their henchman as the Ghost of Major Andre	To steal money from the mint.

Locations

• Washington, D.C.
  • Splitsonian Institute

Notes/trivia

• This is the series finale of sorts of The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, but new episodes would air under the Scooby's All Star Laff-A-Lympics banner, and later became episodes of The Scooby-Doo Show.
• The title of the episode is a reference to the year it was aired.
• The "Splitstonian" Institution is an obvious parody of the Smithsonian Institution, a group of museums, and research centers established in 1846, and administered by the U.S. government. Its headquarters is located in Washington D.C..
• The United States Mint is located a little over a mile north of the Smithsonian Institution.
• Benedict Arnold was a general who changed sides in 1779, and opened secret negotiations with the British to hand over West Point. Major John Andre was a British spy (therefore not an American traitor) who was carrying plans of Arnold's plot to the British when he was captured and hanged in 1780. William Demont was an adjutant (assistant officer) to Colonel Robert Magaw during the Battle of Fort Washington in 1776. Demont switched sides, and joined the British.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

• None known.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

• Several times there are impossible scenes. William Demont is shown watching when the gang talks to Mr. Wilit. Role-trading among the culprits could explain that, but once Mr. Clive is in front of all three figures and then they move immediately after he leaves the room.
• Just like the plane in the episode What A Night For A Knight, how is it possible for vehicles in a museum to have enough fuel (or steam) to operate?

Home media

• The Scooby-Doo!/Dynomutt Hour: The Complete Series DVD set released March 7, 2006.
• Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales Around the World compilation DVD set released May 15, 2012.

Quotes

Previous episode:	Series:	Next episode:
The Ghost of The Bad Humor Man	{{{series}}}	The Curse of the Viking Lake