A dance game show comes to an abrupt and spooky halt when a huge, shapeless figure invades the studio. When the lights come back on, the gang is left with a missing station manager, a stolen money bag, and a mystery involving something called the Wax Phantom, the creation of a former star called Grisby.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Mr. Grisby is, for some reason, dark blue.
- The Cameo: Spider Woman/Black Widow from Space Ghost can be see briefly as one of the waxworks.
- Conveyor Belt o' Doom: The Wax Phantom places the tied-up Shaggy and Scooby on a conveyor belt that would dump them into a tank of melted wax, and Shaggy quipped, "That bit went out with the silent movies!" You know it's a Dead Horse Trope when it's being parodied in the early 1970s.
- Disguised in Drag: Shaggy and Scooby dress up as an old-fashioned couple while hiding from the Phantom. Shaggy takes the female role, using a dress and parasol.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Wax Phantom has captured Shaggy and Scooby and plans to turn them into wax dummies:Shaggy: But, like, we're already dummies! Right, Scoob?Scooby: Du-u-uh, right!Both: Du-u-uh!
- Friendly Fire: Fred's plan to capture the Wax Phantom by spraying him with wax worked, but because he turned on the sprayer too soon before Shaggy and Scooby were clear, they ended up getting waxed too. The dismayed Fred lampshades this, calling both their names and saying they weren't supposed to get hit with the wax.
- Look Behind You: Shaggy pulls this when Fred details his plans to catch the Wax Phantom using Shaggy and Scooby as bait, which they predictably dislike:Fred: Have you got a better idea?
Shaggy: Sure. Like, look out there (he points ahead) and tell me what you see.
Daphne: The wax works. (Shaggy and Scooby dart away as the others turn towards the direction Shaggy pointed) They've disappeared!
Velma: Of all the nerve!
Fred: I have to laugh at myself. Those two chickens tricked us! - Luck-Based Search Technique: Velma stamps her foot in anger about being unable to escape from the pit with the clues she, Daphne, and Fred found. Just by luck, she happens to hit the release mechanism for a secret door.
- Painted Tunnel, Real Train: During the chase sequence, Shaggy and Scooby paint a fake door on the wall before fleeing the room in another direction. When the Wax Phantom catches up to where they had been he opens the fake door...and promptly crashes into (and through) the very real brick wall behind it.
- Red Herring: Mr. Grisby, the main suspect, is a wax-figure-maker who got cut from the station's lineup and swore he'd bring the Wax Phantom to life to get even. Mr. Grisby even knows about the incident at the station. However, he's being framed.
- Security Cling: Daphne jumps into Fred's arms when the two unexpectedly get into the wax monster display and the Frankenstein's monster leans towards her.
- Some Nutty Publicity Stunt: Velma initially passes off the Wax Phantom incident as a publicity stunt, especially because Johnny Sands, the host, pulls them frequently. However, when he denies it, she realizes that it's a genuine mystery.
- Stating the Simple Solution: After the incident, Velma suggests calling the police. Johnny Sands, the game show host, protests, saying that the studio already struggles financially and such bad publicity could close it down.
- Wax Museum Morgue: Played with. While the wax museum is creepy and there are stories about black magic bringing one of the figures to life, there are no bodies in the wax figures. Then the Wax Phantom captures Shaggy and Scooby and plans to dump them in hot wax, turning them into wax dummies. However, he did this just to get rid of two intruders rather than for any "artistic" purpose.
