Written & storyboarded by Deena Beck, Jason Dwyer, Roan Everly, & Amish Kumar
Craig and his friends plan the ultimate trick-or-treating route to pay off their candy debts to Kit and avoid a lifetime ban from the Trading Tree. Their venture is threatened when legends of a headless monster named "No-Neck Natthew" seem to become reality. Meanwhile, Duane is haunted by a very persistent trick-or-treater.
Tropes:
- Actor Allusion: Duane is swindled by a trick-or-treater who keeps coming back to the door in a slightly modified costume each time, which also happened to Terry Crews' character on Everybody Hates Chris.
- Bland-Name Product: “Poppin Pebbles” are a reference to the classic popping candy, Pop Rocks.
- Blatant Lies: Courtney flips off the lights in the smoothie shop to make the scene more dramatic for the story Tabitha is telling the Stump Trio. When Tabitha’s finished and the customer behind the kids asks if he can finally have his smoothie, Courtney lies and says the power is out.
- Call-Back: Handlebarb and Cannonball are dressed up as the Rhino Racers from "Dog Decider".
- The Cameo: The jerkhole customer from "Turning the Tables" appears in the witches' smoothie shop.
- Cheap Costume: Bobby just goes as himself the first time he trick or treats at the Williams house. The next time he's Bobby, but with a backpack.
- Chekhov's Gun: The “Poppin Pebbles” from the Witches’ story, as well as the ones Craig confiscated from Jessica to keep safe, end up being what helps the kids stop the monster attacking the creek.
- Cold Open: Instead of beginning with a title card, the episode instead opens on the witches telling the Stump Trio the story of No-Neck Natthew.
- Coordinated Clothes: Kelsey and Mortimor are disguised as each other.
- Creepy Child: Bobby goes all out with this role in order to extort Duane for all the candy he has.
- Danger Takes A Back Seat: Bobby hides in the back of Duane's car to scare him.
- Deliberately Cute Child: The Stump Trio recruit Jessica to join them on their trick-or-treating quest so she can use her cuteness to bring in more candy.
- Foreshadowing:
- Big Red’s Long List of everything she owes the Trading Tree for at the beginning of the episode foreshadows the reveal that it was her pretending to be No-Neck Natthew.
- Bobby mentioning that he has other ways of getting his candy when he can’t get it from the Trading Tree foreshadows his persistence in trick-or-treating later in the episode.
- Gag Haircut: The combination of popping candy and soda is so powerful that when Big Red is revealed, she has a big stripe shaved down the middle of her hair from the explosion.
- Headless Horseman: No-Neck Natthew. He’s even said to use a jack-o-lantern for a head when his ghost comes back to haunt the creek.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Like most fantasy elements that appear in this otherwise realistic show, it’s unclear if the kids really did see a ghost or if it was all their imagination. This is even lampshaded by J.P.J.P.: Yeah, we saw a headless ghost kid! I think.
- Mood Whiplash: When Kit starts her Halloween announcement, the kids of the creek are excited and giddy to hear what she has to say. However, the mood changes when Kit reveals that she plans to collect everyone's debts.
- "Pan Up to the Sky" Ending: The episode ends with the kids being driven home by Duane as the camera pans up to the full moon in the night sky.
- Real After All: After Big Red’s revealed to be the No-Neck Natthew monster, the real ghost of Natthew reveals himself to have been the astronaut kid all along and gives the Stump Trio his Halloween candy as a thank you for helping kids who have had their Halloween candy stolen. He then disappears, leaving behind his astronaut helmet as the only proof that he had even been there at all.
- Shockingly Expensive Bill: A variation. All the kids in the creek are shocked by how much they owe Kit at the Trading Tree, except for Bobby who, ironically, has no debt at all.
- Shout-Out:
- Craig’s Halloween costume is Slide the Ferret, a Sonic the Hedgehog Expy.
- Duane and Nicole dress up and act like Steve Urkel and Missy Elliott, respectively. The latter ends up being an unintended Call-Forward, with Missy Elliot getting a guest role later playing a childhood rival of Nicole's.
- The astronaut kid makes several classic space movie quotes including, “In space, no one can hear you scream” and “Houston, we have a problem”.
- Soda-Candy 'Splosion: The Stump Trio are told the tale of No-Neck Natthew, whose head exploded after being challenged to consume soda and "Poppin' Pebbles" simultaneously, and now haunts those who steal others' candy. When No-Neck Natthew appears to start haunting them, they defeat it by filling its torso with Poppin' Pebbles and soda, blowing it up to reveal that it was Big Red the whole time.
- Special Edition Title: The ending sequence song gets a spooky twist for this episode.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: Bobby terrorizes the Williams house, refusing to leave no matter how much Halloween candy Duane gives him.
- Urban Legend: The Ghost Story of No-Neck Natthew - a kid who mixed popping candy with soda and his head exploded, so now every Halloween he comes back to punish those who steal other trick-or-treaters’ candy.
- Visual Pun: The last piece of candy J.P. eats before No-Neck Natthew gets them is a candy bar called “Last Meal” with the tagline “Better make it last”.J.P.: Guess it’s time for my last meal.
- Waxing Lyrical: Nicole constantly quotes Missy Elliott lyrics while in her costume.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: No-Neck Natthew. It's a family name, apparently.
- Your Head Asplode: Allegedly what happened to No-Neck Natthew:Tabitha: And his head guts went everywhere!” [splattering sound effects] “And then his thoughts splattered all over the trees!
