Generations of families fondly remember their favorite moments in the Scooby-Doo series. Whether it's the tongue-in-cheek plots, the suspenseful unmasking scenes, or the Scooby snacks, the franchise has a certain enduring relevance for audiences of all ages through its many TV shows, movies, and comics. Not only that, Scooby-Doo continues to this day, with new iterations across multiple forms of media seeking to hone in on that appeal.
Some premises and characters introduced in the franchise, however, have an undeniably darker tone than others. Perhaps due to children subconsciously blocking some aspects from their minds, there are definite elements to Scooby-Doo that are darker than audiences remember.
10 Make A Beeline Away From That Feline
The episode "Make a Beeline Away From That Feline" is surprisingly dark, as it focuses on elder abuse and a predatory doctor. In the episode, the gang visits Daphne's Aunt Olivia, who lives in New York. Almost immediately upon their arrival, Scooby witnesses a terrifying cat creature making a hasty escape with some jewelry.
Soon after, the episode begins to take a notably dark turn, revealing that Aunt Olivia, a kindly, frail old lady, has been suffering from haunting nightmares where she transforms into a cat creature and robs jewelry stores. Perhaps even more disturbingly, the audience learns that she has actually been hypnotized and preyed upon by her once trusted doctor, who uses the guilt-ridden Aunt Olivia as an unwitting pawn in his crimes.
9 Spooky Space Kook
Fans familiar with the Doctor Who episode "Silence in the Library" understand how unsettling a skeleton in a spacesuit can be. The "Spooky Space Kook" emits a creepy maniacal cackle that still echoes in the heads of Scooby fans to this day.
The episode also plays on the human fear of the unknown, with the premise of the episode revolving around a "haunted flying saucer" landing near an abandoned airfield. As if a flying saucer wasn't troubling enough, a ghost alien leaving a glowing trail of footprints is enough to haunt even the bravest viewers.
8 Foul Play in Funland
It should come as little surprise that no good can come from an abandoned amusement park, especially one named "Funland." One particularly dark aspect of the episode "Foul Play in Funland" is that the villain isn't someone in a mask, but rather an actual robot, Charlie.
Complete with lifeless eyes and an expressionless mouth, Charlie stalks Scooby and his gang throughout the amusement park with superhuman speed. At the end of the episode, audiences discover that Dr. Jenkins created Charlie to operate the amusement park solely with robots. However, his wife sabotaged Charlie, believing that robots shouldn't work "where children come to have fun."
7 The No-Face Zombie Chase Case
Scooby-Doo fans are undoubtedly familiar with the iconic No-Face Zombie character in the episode, "The No-Face Zombie Chase Case." When characters are described as having no face, it's a good bet the content will be dark and memorable.
In the episode, Scooby and the gang pursue a faceless, shrouded being who doesn't talk but instead makes unnerving grunting sounds. Though a robot, it turns out the No-Face Zombie was a "real" threat, operated by the nefarious Mr. Dilly whose amusing name betrays his darker intentions.
6 Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
Like "Foul Play in Funland," Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is disturbing because the creatures are real, rather than just a human villain in disguise. The premise even made its way into the film's tagline, "This time, the monsters are real." An especially memorable scene in the movie involves a skeleton illuminated by green light, literally re-growing decrepit skin to become a zombie.
If "real" zombies aren't terrifying enough, the gang also encounters werecats, who are not only responsible for killing many of the island's inhabitants but also have the ability to absorb their victims' souls in order to preserve their immortality.
5 The Creepy Case of Old Iron Face
Imagine being pursued by a towering specter, said to haunt a prison island. He wears an iron mask with glowing green eyes so that no one can look upon him. Now picture the specter riding killer sharks while brandishing a whip, and you have the premise of the episode, "The Creepy Case of Old Iron Face."
Haunted prisons and disturbing specters aside, the episode's conclusion is especially dark. The gang learns the ghost was Mama Mione, who took it upon herself to transport prisoners off the island, thus reintroducing thieves and murderers into society.
4 Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare
Released in 2010, Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare is often referred to as one of the darker entries in the franchise. The Woodsman, in particular, still haunts the nightmares of fans familiar with the movie. Legend says he was once a mean former counselor, driven insane by severe head trauma.
Equally frightening, the film takes place at an abandoned campground, reminiscent of Camp Crystal Lake from Friday the 13th, providing the Woodsman with ample opportunities to creepily pursue the Mystery Gang.
3 Bedlam in the Big Top
The idea of a ghost clown who hypnotizes his victims is disturbing enough, but the episode "Bedlam in the Big Top" amplifies the dark elements of Scooby-Doo. The writers must have decided an evil clown wasn't frightening enough for children in the late-'60s, so they decided to make it a ghost who controls unsuspecting innocents through hypnosis.
In the episode, the Mystery Gang is hypnotized and forced to partake in the ghost clown's unsettling circus performance. The group learns the clown is actually Harry the Hypnotist, who was fired from the circus— not because of some deadly and nefarious act, but rather, because he was caught stealing from the establishment.
2 The Harum-Scarum Sanitarium
Any premise involving a haunted sanitarium is a recipe for nightmare fuel. In the episode "The Harum-Scarum Sanitarium," the Mystery Gang witnesses several ambulances carrying "dead" patients inside a sanitarium in the middle of the night. Of course, they decide to spend the night in the aptly named Shady Sanitarium in order to investigate the disappearing patients.
During their stay at the sanitarium, the gang is relentlessly pursued by the ghost of Dr. Coffin who, with a name like that, was perhaps in the wrong occupation. Scooby and pals eventually uncovered a gold smuggling operation, involving human-shaped casts of gold and wigs.
1 Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost
Widely considered one of the most frightening films in the franchise, Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost features real ghosts rather than masked villains. Ben Ravencroft, a horror writer and primary character in the movie, tells Scooby and the gang that his late wife, Sarah, was once persecuted as a witch and now haunts the town of Oakhaven.
However, the movie's dark aspect is that Sarah wasn't the Wiccan herbalist Ben described her to be, but rather a malevolent witch bent on destroying the world rather than ruling it with her husband.
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