Ranking All the Scooby-Doo Halloween Episodes

Spooky season is officially here! Back in 2016, I did a review of all Scooby-Doo Christmas themed media (and a part 2 in 2017). Given there are equally as many Halloween-themed episodes and films, I thought it would be fun to do the same with the Halloween episodes. I also want to do something a little different with these and actually give my ranking of them from worst to best for this month's editorial article. That also means the article that I've had backwritten since May for some reason won't get posted this month again, but I'll post it eventually lol. As my dying wish, I'll instruct the doctors to "tell my children...post the article" hahahahaha. (It's not that special of an article, it's just average lol)

10. Scooby-Doo and the Spooky Scarecrow
It definitely says something about the quality of Scooby-Doo Halloween media that even my least favorite Halloween episode is still really good. I know a lot of people really enjoy this special, and I do too, but in considering all the episodes I'd watch to get in the Halloween mood, this is probably the one I'd watch last. There's certainly nothing bad about it, but it feels like a very average Scooby episode to me. There's not really anything special about it, it's just there. Granted, Cornfield Clem's design is amazing, particularly how he can extend his arms. I honestly think that it's the corn maze setting that brings it down a little for me. Nothing about the special felt particularly spooky or Halloween-y, other than the fact that they mention Halloween several times. Yes, the gang dresses up in costumes, but it feels brief and like the rest of the episode could be just a regular Scooby-Doo episode of them solving a mystery in a corn maze. It's not a bad episode by any means, and there are many Halloweens I do watch this episode, but it's just not as good as the other episodes for me.

9. Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner?
It was so hard to rank some of these, because they're all just so good! "Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner?" comes out second-to-last, but that doesn't mean I think it's any less amazing of an episode! While the trick-or-treating and Halloween-related part of the episode is short, the plot that the gang has to save a real ghost's home is such a cool twist on the classic Scooby-Doo formula. Essentially, if you're going by the gang's age rather than the order the episodes aired, this is canonically the first time they meet a real supernatural being. The ghost of Bartholomew Byford Boo is such a cutie, both from his voice and personality. In an otherwise silly series, the ghost of Boobeard definitely stands out as one of the more creepy, menacing villains. I've also always been amused by Fred listing out 89 suspects when they capture the ghost, getting even as random as his third grade English teacher haha.

8. The Headless Horseman of Halloween
​I already know people are going to think I ranked this way too low haha. While it's another amazing episode with an incredible villain, the plane scene is what really dragged this down for me. It felt like it took the episode completely out of the Halloween mood, and it seemed to drag on after a while. This would have ranked much higher if not for the ending, but I've never really cared for that part in what is otherwise a great episode. I love the lore they give behind the villain (and just the fact that they used such an awesome villain), and it's neat the gang is going to a Halloween party at the Cranes' house, since in the original Legend of Sleepy Hollow (which is what this episode is based off of), the name of the person the Headless Horseman decapitated was Ichabod Crane. Of course, I absolutely love Scooby-Dum because he's adorable, so that was also a big bonus for this episode. I always have thought it was odd Shaggy refers to Scooby-Dum as Scooby's brother in this episode, when it's clearly stated in the prior episode he was in that Scooby-Dum is Scooby's cousin.

7. Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!
I was a big fan of this movie, especially after the prior two DTVs weren't the greatest. I have already written a review for this one which you can read here, but I'll recap the main points again. I enjoyed the Scarecrow as a villain quite a bit, and the whole movie felt cinematic. I didn't mind that the whole film was basically a car chase to get away from the living pumpkins; in fact, I'd say the pumpkins' constant presence made it feel more sinister and Halloween-y. I enjoyed all the references to previous Scooby-Doo media, and I stand by my assertion in my original review that I really want to see a movie now with the gang solving the mystery of the ghost of the Three Stooges lol. Bill Nye and Elvira surprisingly fit super well in this film, and their inclusion didn't feel cringey or forced even though it was technically another crossover. I was super happy to see Daphne's quirky personality from Be Cool, Scooby-Doo return, as I'm a big fan of that version of Daphne. The film felt like the perfect combo between SDMI and BCSD. I was absolutely shocked that the sheriff from the last two films was the villain behind it all. It was nice to see those three films tied together, even if I'm not a big fan of the first two. I was happy they explained why Velma got so obnoxiously skeptic in the prior two, as well. The only aspect of the film I didn't care for was the 60's bubblegum pop. I know they were trying to make it feel like a Where Are You chase scene, but it just didn't feel the same. I'll end this review the same way I ended the last one, because I'm still so surprised: so Elvira's hair is just a monkey? hahahaha

6. To Switch a Witch
This is quite possibly the darkest Scooby-Doo Halloween episode of them all, as it's based around the real-life events of women who were accused as witches being burned alive in Salem. It's pretty dark that they also try to force Scooby to confess by tying him up and dunking him in water, and it's especially dark that the entire town is still practicing witch burning even though it's 1978. It's definitely one of the darkest times in our history, as so many innocent women were killed, so this episode has feels especially grim to me. I'm a huge fan of the villain, the Ghost of Milissa Wilcox. Her green hair and face are so cool looking! She's always been one of my favorite villains of The Scooby-Doo Show. The cemetery also has one of the creepiest vibes to any cemetery in a Scooby episode, IMO. I haven't watched the episode since I researched this for one of the recent fun facts, but in discovering that The Mark of Mormal on Milissa's grave is a real-life symbol used by Anton LeVay, leader of a Satanist cult, I think the episode is going to feel even creepier to me when I watch it next. The bit where Shaggy and Scooby were trick-or-treating was cute, well, until they were kidnapped and put in stocks that is lol. Though it's not my all-time favorite of the Halloween episodes, it definitely is the darkest of them and I love this one so much for that reason.

5. Halloween
I'm a huge fan of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, so honestly I consider pretty much anything from that series to be top-notch material. "Halloween" is certainly no exception; it's got tons of great humor while also having a creepy mystery, and even giving us some backstory into Fred's life. I love that the whole mystery is centered around Fred being terrified of the one villain he couldn't catch when he was little (and it's cool to get meet Rose, who would later be a prominent part of the series finale). The fact that Fred's been scared of this witch for so many years and afraid to solve a mystery on Halloween made the villain seem even more terrifying. Even though they'd already used Baba Yaga in "House of the Nightmare Witch" from SDMI, I thought they did a great job using her in a way that felt new and different, rather than just recycling what SDMI had already done. Shaggy's dressing up a pocket is quite possibly the best costume I've ever heard of, except perhaps a friend of mine saying she was going to dress up as the scariest thing of all: "the future" hahaha. The reference where Shaggy dresses up as Mr. Hyde was neat, and Fred going into a party of wolfmen saying he's going to rip their faces off one by one is still one of my favorite jokes of the series. I also enjoyed the old horror movie style filter over the chase scene! Though I will admit when I was watching the episode before it came out in the US in the most legal way possible, I didn't realize it was a filter and I thought it was because the video quality of the file dropped lol. In fairness to me though, even JCB said he was confused about the filter when he first watched the episode, because apparently someone added that bit in last-minute without telling him haha.

4. A Scooby-Doo Halloween
This is the quintessential Scooby Halloween episode for many fans. It never fails to get me in the Halloween mood, and it pains me to put it at #4 because it's so good, but alas, here we are haha. I loved getting to learn more about Velma's family history, and because Banning Junction is a real-life place that I've been to several times, I have even more nostalgia around the episode. As a side note, I stopped writing for a moment to research about the actual 100th anniversary of Banning Junction, which was last year. Amusingly, the first few results that came up were all stuff that I'd written for this blog lol. Since the 100th anniversary unfortunately landed during the pandemic, sadly everything was virtual. In fact, an article that listed the "best things to do for the 100th anniversary of Banning Junction's Halloween" were very pitiful things like "get take out at a restaurant" and "participate in a virtual coloring contest" lol. Anyway, the scarecrows were super creepy villains, the plot of the ghost of the town's mayor returning after 100 years was very entertaining, and it just all around feels like an iconic Halloween episode.

3. Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King
I know there are many fans who would rather watch paint dry than subjecting themselves to this "wacky" film, but honestly, it's not only one of my favorite pieces of Scooby-Doo Halloween media, but it's in my top 10 favorite Scooby films of all time. Yes, it is very strange and out there, but I think it's weird in a fun, quirky way. It so iconically represents all the wonder and whimsy behind the magic of Halloween. I don't even really mind that Fred, Velma and Daphne don't have a huge part in this, because the way they built the Halloween World and the all various monsters (especially the Goblin King) was so amazing. This film instantly puts me in the Halloween mood and I watch it every year. While it's understandable why some people might not like it, I feel like this film gets a little bit of a bad rep because it's fun for what it is, even if it's not traditional Scooby.

2. Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School
Those that have been following the blog for a while know that this is my all-time favorite Scooby movie, so it was almost an impossible choice to rank this one and the next. I ultimately ended up putting this one at #2, because the Halloween scene in it is admittedly a bit brief. I can't say enough good things about this movie. The concept of Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy going to a school for ghouls is a perfect flip of the classic Scooby formula where they're trying to catch monsters. The girl ghouls are absolutely adorable, and Revolta and the Grim Creeper such cool villains. The entire premise behind this film is so amazing. This is a must-watch for me every year around Halloween. If they could keep the tone consistent with this film, which the Warner Brothers executives admittedly don't have a great track record, I would love to see a spin-off focusing on just the girl ghouls, similar to what I did with my fanfic Fangs for the Memories. I'm admittedly afraid to suggest any sequels though now, because the original is so perfect and I feel like it would be too easy for them to screw up.

1. A Halloween Hassle at Dracula's Castle
This is my all-time favorite Scooby-Doo Halloween episode. I'm a huge fan of any episode with all of the classic Universal monsters in a group, and I love episodes in castles, so the episode already had a lot going for it lol. That aside though, the plot of this episode in general is so perfect. In mentioning for "Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner?" how the episode is a reversal of the classic Scooby-Doo formula, this episode does it even better, since it's the most famous and powerful monsters in the world asking the gang for help (plus bonus points for the monsters seeming evil at first, then revealing that they were friendly, only to reveal at the end that they actually were evil the whole time). Besides my love of the villains and plot, I also adore the settings: even in the first two seconds of the episode, the autumn gust of wind puts me in a Halloween mood instantly. The atmosphere of the castle is super creepy and gives the whole episode a very clearly dark undertone. This is the perfect Scooby-Doo Halloween episode for spooky season.

I hope you enjoyed reading my rankings of each of these episodes! There are definitely a few other Scooby films I tend to watch around this time of year even though they aren't necessarily Halloween themed - Boo Brothers and Reluctant Werewolf feel like great Halloween movies to me, and Witch's Ghost has such a peaceful late autumn feeling to me. I also wanted to note that I didn't include episodes in this ranking that just mention Halloween - for example, "Escape from Mystery Manor" from SDMI briefly discusses how the Darrow Mansion went underground on Halloween night.

And hey, if you want, feel free to post your rankings in the comments to see how they compare to mine! :)