Calvin eagerly anticipates nine o' clock on October 31st, the time where he starts trick-or-treating. When the clock strikes nine, he bursts into his room and informs Hobbes and Socrates that they're going trick or treating, to the former's horror. They get in their costumes, then meet Andy and Sherman and head out.
While they trick or treat, Dr. Brainstorm emerges from the bushes, spying on them with Jack. He intends to scare them and Take Over the World somehow, and gets out his inventions to prepare.
Not long after, Brainstorm gets an idea - there's an Old, Dark House near them, and he could lure the protagonists there to scare them! He discreetly gives them a sheet of paper with its address, and they dutifully follow it. After entering, the floor gives way, and Andy, Socrates, and Sherman find themselves stuck in the basement, though they find their way back to the first floor before long.
Calvin and Hobbes find themselves in a fork in the road, and while they ponder which way to go a painting suddenly points left. Calvin doesn't think much of it ("You know, there's one thing I like about creepy places like this: the paintings are so friendly!"), but in reality Jack is spying on them from behind it. Brainstorm gets ready for his first trick of the night.
He dresses up as Dracula and pops out of a coffin to scare Andy and Sherman. It doesn't work at all, and Brainstorm ends up locked in the coffin.
Meanwhile, Calvin and Hobbes continue walking down a corridor, engaging in a little Who's on First?-type dialogue, and Socrates does likewise by himself. Brainstorm attempts to scare him, this time posing as Dr. Frankenstein, and this ends with him being electrocuted.
After all this, the group reunites and prepares to leave before Brainstorm shows up one last time, now with a Wolf-Man mask, but he trips and dislodges it, exposing him. None of the boys are interested, and they fly home in the box as a ghost holds up a card reading "The End".
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Brainstorm calls Hobbes "Bobbes".
- Ask a Stupid Question...: "Huh. Where do you think we are?" "South America's got my vote."
- Classical Movie Vampire: Andy dresses as one.He was wearing one of those fancy capes that are red on the front, and black on the back, and then curved up over his head. He also had a black suit on with a red tie. He had white makeup on his face, as well as some black eyeliner, and some of those novelty plastic vampire fangs.
In other words he was all set. - Continuity Nod: Hobbes references the ghost in Calvin's chamber.
- He also remarks that no kid is coming to their house to trick or treat after the prank Calvin pulled on them last year (from the same episode).
- Fangs Are Evil: Averted with Brainstorm, and the lack of them is lampshaded by Andy.
- For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: Jack is complimented on his costume by a trick-or-treating kid.
- Giant Spider: Jack dresses as one.
- Grand Theft Me: Brainstorm (as Dr. Frankenstein) pretends to do this to Socrates.
- Halloween Episode
- Hand Wave: Brainstorm fires off a lot of these when questioned about his Dracula costume.
- Insult Backfire: "Very funny." "Thank you."
- Menace Decay: Calvin claims that Halloween itself has suffered this - it's never truly scary, merely cute or creepy.
- Mobile Shrubbery: Brainstorm and Jack do this while spying on Calvin and co.
- Nightmare Retardant: A woman dons a werewolf mask and tries to scare Calvin and company. Hobbes vanishes, but the others don't flinch. The narration afterwards says she grumbled to herself about how no one finds her frightening.
- Dr. Brainstorm also finds himself dealing with this as well.
- Non-Ironic Clown: Socrates dresses as one.
- Old, Dark House: The setting for most of the episode.
- Periphery Demographic: Played with: Andy says the only thing that's creepy about modern-day Halloween are trick-or-treaters older than 13.
- Portrait Painting Peephole: Jack uses one.
- Shout-Out: Jack leaves at one point to watch Comedy Central.
- Not long after, this exchange occurs:
Jack: How'd it go, Frank?
Brainstorm: Shut up, TV's Jack. - This Is Gonna Suck: Jack remarks something to this extent when Brainstorm prepares his plan.
- Wasn't That Fun?: Socrates says this after the floor gives way.
- Who's on First?: Calvin and Hobbes do this.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Calvin says "Trick or treat-eth!" at one point.
