Headscratchers / The Ghost and Molly McGee

• Since Scratch is a ghost, and nothing he puts in his mouth goes through him, how can he eat?
  • Ghost magic, duh.
• In the intro and first episode, Molly really likes to emphasize that Scratch and her will be “together forever” “for all eternity”. Did Scratch actually make Molly immortal with the curse?
  • Maybe the curse's stipulation was as long as she lived (assuming she doesn't become a ghost - though Molly would probably be down for it), and that's what she meant.
  • Molly's most likely just getting overexcited by the idea of having a friend she doesn't have to leave behind, and "forever" is just an exaggeration on her part. Alternatively, there could be a chance that the curse extends into Molly's afterlife too.
• Who can actually see Scratch? Molly and her family can, but it seems like other people in the scene can’t.
  • It seems like Scratch has control over what humans can see him; he made himself visible to the McGees to try and scare them off, then just stayed visible to them after for convenience. There are some times where he seemingly becomes visible to others, such as when he scares a rival baseball player or when he turns into a bathroom sign to try and trick people into opening a door. However, animals and other ghosts seem to always be able to see him.
  • Word of God explains in this tweet thread how it works; when Scratch is blue he can be seen by anybody, and when he's white he's only visible to those who know about him already (ie the McGees).
• If unscary ghosts are sent to the Flow of Failed Phantoms, why hasn't Geoff been sent there yet?
  • "The Turnip Twist" implies that Geoff is actually competent at spreading misery despite his friendly demeanor and lack of intelligence. He's probably considered a Bunny-Ears Lawyer.
  • It's also possible that Geoff's territory is naturally miserable (possibly even moreso than Brighton), so Geoff doesn't have to do much to meet his quotas.
  • Or, like Casper the Friendly Ghost, the fact that he's a ghost means he can scare people without even trying.
  • This is reinforced in "Jinx vs. The Human World" when it's revealed that Geoff was the ghost that frightened Ruben as a child by accidentally sneezing on him.
• In Libby's first appearance, it's said that Andrea made her into an outcast from first grade until Scratch fixed it later that day. But in "Friend-Off" Libby mentions having gone to Andrea's sleepover in third grade. Why was she invited to a sleepover by the girl who made her an outcast two years prior? And for that matter, why did she go?
  • It’s possible that Andrea tricked her by pretending to have buried the hatchet. Considering that we’re also told that she wet the bed at the slumber party, and the fact that the hand-in-a-bowl-of-water prank is fairly well-known, it’s possible Andrea just was playing one big, cruel prank on her without her ever even realizing, thanks to her already pretty low self-esteem.
  • "First Day Frights" at this point can probably be chalked up to Early-Installment Weirdness, a remnant from the writers' original conception of Andrea as one of the main antagonists. The rest of the show firmly establishes that Andrea is more self-centered and vain than deliberately cruel. Libby joining along in ostracizing Molly is also grossly out-of-character by the standards of every subsequent episode.
• If Scratch can turn visible and invisible at will, and can choose who can see him while invisible at will too… why not always being invisible then? So that no one can catch him and whoever he’s with when they’re alone unexpectedly?
  • And what? Ruin the plot?
• Why didn’t Libby tell Molly or anyone else about the real story of the Tugbottoms until Molly asked first? It’s not like they would’ve told her Not Now, Kiddo since the Mayor and everyone else in town believed Molly’s claims without problems and Molly was shown as a huge Ezekiel fangirl, so there’s no way she would’ve never brought up the topic of him to Libby.
• How exactly are scaring assignments given out? A number of ghosts, both in the ghost and living worlds, are shown doing their own thing, without the council's input (such as Abraham Lincoln, and Ezekiel and Sally Tugbottom), while others (like Howlin' Harriet and Sonya Davis) only cause trouble in the human world for personal reasons, and cease doing so after getting closure. So how are they exempt from monthly scaring quotas while others aren't?
  • "Celebrity" ghosts like Lincoln and the Tugbottoms are probably of a high-enough status that they're not required to scare, whereas Scratch and Geoff are low-level grunts. The Council probably doesn't bother with enforcing quotas with Harriet or Sonya because they're technically still sowing misery.
• Let's get this awkward question out of the way: ghosts are the spirits of dead people, including famous historical figures and are supposed to sow misery among the living. So where do Hitler or any dead dictator, warlord, terrorist, murderer, or sexual predator exist within these setting rules?
  • They likely have a ghost equivalent to Hell in the Ghost World.
• How is it that Molly could see the sob-goblins in "Twin Trouble" when no one else could? Especially when ghosts have the habit of not showing themselves to anyone unless they want to be seen.
• How is it possible that Libby turned 12 in the episode "Mazel Tov, Libby!" (since Jewish girls have their Bat Mitzvah at that age) while she's in the same class as 13-year-old Molly? This would make her 11 for the first 10 episodes; how is it possible for someone to start 7th grade at age 11 going on 12?
  • She skipped a grade or two?
  • Libby is not an Orthodox Jew. It's mostly in Orthodox Judaism that girls celebrate their bat mitzvah at 12, a year earlier than boys. In other denominations, girls and boys alike celebrate their mitzvah at 13.
• How was Brighton Middle established in 1935 when middle school is a relatively recent Western invention that wasn't around during that time period?
  • Maybe it was originally Brighton Junior High School (the precursor to modern middle schools) but the just changed the name and a few things around a while back.
• How is it Andrea's app nearly put almost every store in Brighton out of business but the new Bizmart store only affected Davenport's?
  • The app story was wildly unrealistic. A good app can be helpful, but economies of scale to offer lower prices and the infrastructure to offer rapid delivery would be much more important. The Bizmart bit was more believable. Davenport's was apparently a traditional department store, so they would have been competing head-to-head but without the advantages of a national chain. Smaller shops that offer more specialized products and personalized service are actually more likely to survive competition from a big box retailer.
• Why can’t Scratch just extend the fearless curse forever?
  • The whole point was that total lack of fear caused Molly to expose herself to needless danger. While some fears can be irrational, it's only sensible to take precautions against things that can actually hurt you.
• How will Scratch remember everyone? Will there be a canon book?
• So, if Geoff was the one to scare Ruben, why doesn't he seem to recognize him in "Frightmare on Main Street"? It isn't like he has repressed memories about the incident, he instantly recognizes him in "Jinx vs. the Human World", so why does Ruben not even react to him?
• On a sillier note, how were Andrea's spare pajamas a perfect fit for the noticeably taller Libby? Pajamas are often deliberately made a bit loose and baggy so it's believable that she could fit into them, but they should have been obviously short on her.

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