Years before, Scooby took part in saving the life of Colonel Beauregard Sanders. And so, with four others, Scooby's named in Sanders' will. The only way to claim the inheritance is for them to spend the night in the Colonel's mansion, which turns out to be haunted by two ghosts.
Tropes
- Alliterative Name: The late Colonel's attorney is Cosgrove Creeps. His partner's full name (retroactively) is Cuthbert Crawls. And one of the heirs is referred to as Nephew Normel.
- Amoral Attorney: The Phantom Shadows are actually Cosgrove Creeps and his partner Mr. Crawls.
- Bannister Slide: As the two green ghosts are fleeing Shaggy and Scooby, they jump on to a stair's bannister and slide down in in an attempt to escape. That backfires when Shaggy and Scooby beat them to the bottom and shut them into a washing machine.
- Bittersweet Ending: Velma lampshades the bitter part.Velma: We spent a night of fright for some worthless money in a haunted house that wasn't even haunted.
- The sweet part is when the gang finds a floating haunted bone, which Scooby happily chews on, proving he's not afraid of haunted bones. This gives the rest of the gang a laugh.
- Bond One-Liner: Upon catching the ghosts in a washing machine, Shaggy quips that they're "washed up."
- Darker and Edgier: The episode is essentially a toned-down version of a Ten Little Murder Victims plot, even having the other guests found in coffins, one of which is shaped like Scooby. Thankfully it turns out the Colonel's cousins were simply scared out of the mansion, and the bodies in the basement were dummies.note
- Dramatic Thunder: Accompanies the spooky location of the week.
- Evil Laugh: Both Phantom Shadows are prone to cackling whenever they're not snarling.
- Ghastly Ghost: Again, the Phantom Shadows. They clearly didn't have Mystery Inc.'s best interests in mind.
- Ghostly Gape: The Phantom Shadows have orange spots for eyes and a gaping orange mouth.
- Heroic Dog: While we're not given too many details, Colonel Sanders included Scooby in his will out of gratitude after the dog saved him from a fish pond some years prior.
- Improvised Weapon: Shaggy and Scooby use the mansion's wine bottles (specifically the corks) to attack and get away from one of the Phantom Shadows. The corks pop out like bullets.
- On One Condition: Scooby gets a fortune if he spends the night in the colonel's haunted house.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: The effort to get the treasure was all for nothing.
- Shout-Out: Shaggy orders Scooby not to fire the wine corks till he sees the green of the phantom's eyes, referring to orders supposedly given by the commander at Bunker Hill during the American Revolution.
- Songs in the Key of Lock: In the mansion is an organ, with a note that says to "feed the organ". Playing the "F", "E", "E", "D" keys in this sequence opens a secret passage.
- Stock Sound Effects: A recording of Big Ben chiming is used for when a grandfather clock in the mansion strikes the hour.
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That: The vinyl record will correctly predicts Scooby's "Haunted?!" exclamation.
- Tontine: The Colonel bequeathed his residence and one million dollars to be evenly split among five beneficiaries. Each beneficiary is required to spend one night at the residence to be allowed to receive their share of the estate. The shares of those who fail will go to the beneficiaries who don't fail. The lawyers who informed the beneficiaries about the will try to get rid of them to get the money but they get caught and Scooby-Doo, as the only beneficiary who spent a night at the Colonel's home, inherits the whole estate. Unfortunately, the dollars are Confederate money.
- Unexpected Inheritance: Scooby gets the chance at inheriting an unexpected inheritance worth millions — which turns out to be millions in Confederate currency, which was worthless (clearly they never thought of selling all that Civil War memorabilia to museums or other collectors).
- Video Wills: Of a sort; since the episode was made long before videotape became more common and affordable, the Colonel recorded an audible will onto a vinyl record.
- The Walls Are Closing In: The gang gets trapped between the encroaching walls of the room they're in. Only Scooby "playing" the piano saves them.
- Worthless Currency: Scooby-Doo, upon completing a challenge to stay a whole night in a "haunted" house, inherits a large sum of money from the late challenger. However, it is revealed that the money is all Confederate dollars, rendering it worthless in post-Civil War United States.
- Worthless Treasure Twist: Scooby alone of all the potential heirs manages to stay the night in the "haunted" castle. Unfortunately, the million dollars that are legally his are all Confederate.
