The scientist, dressed as a psychic and using T.D.'s snowglobe as a crystal ball, talks about the episode. Mariella gives Martha some flowers to deliver to an old, previously-abandoned house that she thought was haunted when she was a kid. This scares Martha, but Mariella reassures her that the house isn't haunted and it was just a silly childhood belief.
Martha, still scared, delivers the flowers. Meanwhile, an elderly couple and their Dalmatian are moving into the house, which was left to the wife in her will by her great-aunt, who was coincidentally also named Martha. The husband berates her for selling their previous house, but she retorts by calling him gullible. He claims that she's gullible too and tries to prove it by pretending there is a ghost in the house. She defends herself by saying she's afraid of the house, and reveals that it was rumoured to be haunted in her youth as well.
Martha enters with the flowers and nervously wanders around looking for the house's occupants. She then knocks something over, and when the couple hears the crash, the woman and the dog (whose name is revealed to be John) think it's a ghost. The man, however, believes it's unlikely. She goes out to where Martha is and says, "Who's there?". Martha replies, "It's me, Martha" and comes out with the flowers and draped in a sheet that fell on her before. This causes the woman to mistake her for a ghost, and she runs off screaming.
Martha runs back to Mariella's flower shop and tells Helen and T.D., but she thinks a ghost swooped at her (when it was actually one of the sheets). T.D. is curious, but Helen is doubtful. Meanwhile, the old lady is trying to convince her husband that the house is haunted by the ghost of her great-aunt Martha, but he doesn't believe it. Mariella reveals that the flowers were delivered to the wrong address, and she needs someone to get them and deliver them to the right one. Helen volunteers, with Martha tagging along because she's worried a ghost would eat Helen, and T.D. coming as well so that he can get a photo of the ghost.
At the house, the old couple examines the flower bouquet and finds drool on the handle of the basket, which the wife mistakes for "ghost slime". The husband is confident it's not, and he tries to read the note on the bouquet, but he can't because it's dark and the power isn't on.
Helen, Martha, and T.D. arrive at the house, and T.D. is eager but Helen and Martha are nervous. Helen cautiously enters and hides on a chair, while the old couple enter the room. Martha then goes to enter the house because she's worried about Helen, while T.D. follows because he doesn't want to "miss all the fun", but the old man locks the door. When Martha calls for Helen, this scares the couple and they run upstairs, then Helen comes out, finds the flowers, and prepares to leave. When the couple sees Helen wrapped up in the sheet from the chair she was hiding on, the man is finally convinced the house is haunted. Helen finds the door is locked, so T.D. and Martha tell her to look for a door in the kitchen.
T.D. and Martha go to the back of the house, and Martha, thinking she hears ghostly footsteps, sneaks through the window. Helen, meanwhile, finds the kitchen door, but it's stuck. The old couple (whose names are revealed to be Mr. and Mrs. Parkington) show up and scream when they see her still wrapped in the sheet. When Martha comes out of the box she landed in, covered in old-fashioned women's clothes, they scream again and run into the next room. When Martha walks up to the bottom of the stairwell, the Parkingtons ask who she is and what she wants. Martha explains that she just wants the basement door to be opened. They open the door, and Helen and Martha are reunited, then T.D. kicks open the door and enters. He photographs them, Helen apologises for scaring them, and then the kids and Martha leave.
At Mariella's shop, Helen tries to reassure Martha that the house isn't haunted, but then T.D. finds a creepy outline of a woman on the photo.
This episode provides examples of
- Analogy Backfire: Mariella describes ghosts as "about as real as Big Minnie". However, unbeknownst to Mariella, Big Minnie does exist, so this just scares Martha even more.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Despite the existence of a talking dog, Mariella and Helen don't believe in ghosts.
- Bedsheet Ghost: Martha mistakes sheets for ghosts, and both she and Helen get mistaken for ghosts when wrapped up in sheets.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Big Minnie is briefly mentioned by Mariella, who still doesn't believe in her.
- Continuity Nod:
- Mr. Parkington mentions that Mrs. Parkington sold their previous house during "the pickle panic", which refers to them fearing people in pickle costumes in "Martha's Pickle".
- Helen mentions the Boxwoods' Halloween houses, which made an appearance in "Martha to the Rescue".
- Death Glare: Helen glares at T.D. for joking about her dying in the house.
- Ectoplasm: Discussed when Mr. Parkington sees a slimy substance on the basket and Mrs. Parkington thinks it's "ghost slime". It's actually Martha's drool.
- Electromagnetic Ghosts: Discussed when Mrs. Parkington wonders if the ghost turned off the electricity.
- Evil Laugh: T.D. does a Dracula-like chuckle before Helen enters the house.
- Faint in Shock: Implied. Mrs. Parkington is seen reclining on the couch while her husband fans her, implying that after she ran off screaming, she passed out.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Played for Laughs. When T.D. and Martha think Helen is trapped by a ghost, T.D. becomes jealous of her.
- Haunted House: Discussed. The house is very old and spooky-looking, and several characters wonder if it's haunted. It's ultimately left ambiguous.
- Heroic Dog: Discussed when Martha wants to save Helen from the ghost.
- Loud Gulp: Martha gulps when she first sees the old house.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: We never find out if the outline of the woman on T.D.'s photo is a real ghost, a weird lens flare, or a painting.
- Mistaken for Undead:
- Mrs. Parkington thinks Martha is the ghost of her great-aunt, due to being draped in a sheet and having the same name.
- Mr. Parkington thinks Helen is a ghost when he sees her wrapped in a sheet.
- Not So Above It All: Despite scoffing at the idea of ghosts, Mr. Parkington is still startled by the portrait of Great-Aunt Martha, he becomes fearful when he hears Martha calling for Helen, and he's eventually convinced that the house is haunted when he sees Helen wrapped in a sheet.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons:
- T.D. tells Helen to look for a flashlight since "haunted houses always have flashlights". The house is (probably) not haunted, but there still is a flashlight.
- Mrs. Parkington is right that Helen and Martha are friends, however, she thinks Helen is a friend of her Great-Aunt Martha's, who is also a ghost.
- If the image on T.D.'s photo was a real ghost (which it may or may not have been), then everyone was correct that the house was haunted, but they mistook the wrong people for ghosts.
- Speak in Unison: When the Parkingtons see the painting of Great-Aunt Martha, they yell, "Aunt Martha!" in unison.
