The Ghostbusters are called to a strange manor house, with Slimer accompanying them, that impresses Ray but creeps the rest of them out. The house is home to a hunchbacked butler, a creepy maid, and a couple called Bello and Lucretia Micawb, who wear gothic clothes and put bizarre ingredients in their tea. The Micawbs explain that their house is haunted and they need to get rid of the ghost before relatives arrive the next day, but their son Thaddeus claims that there's no problem. The Ghostbusters and Slimer then meet Thaddeus's dog Patchwork (who he made, a la Frankenstein) and the Micawbs' daughter Lydia, who, unlike her family, wears normal clothes.
The Ghostbusters spend the rest of the day trying to track the ghost down, but despite getting PKE readings and hearing and feeling strange things, they can't find it. Thus, the Micawbs ask the Ghostbusters to stay the night, and they almost turn it down until Bello offers them any payment they desire.
The Ghostbusters search the ballroom and library, and Egon gets unfamiliar readings. In the library, the guys are attacked by living books and Ray stops them with a spell he found in a book. Then, the team splits up to cover more ground, and Peter is attacked by a gargoyle, which Winston kills.
The Micawbs serve the Ghostbusters gross food for dinner, and then Creegor (the butler) puts them to bed. In the bedroom, Egon and Ray go over the readings, and Ray suggests that the entity haunting the house isn't a ghost but instead a "paranatural being" (i.e. a being from another dimension).
They follow the readings to another room, and discover a secret compartment that's activated via whistling. When the Ghostbusters prepare to fire at a locked door, Thaddeus admits that he accidentally summoned the interdimensional being while trying to make a "playmate" for Patchwork. After a struggle, the Ghostbusters blow up the paranatural being, much to the Micawbs' gratitude.
This episode provides examples of
- Ate It All: Invoked. The Ghostbusters feed all their food to Slimer since it disgusts them.
- Bait-and-Switch: At one point, it seems like the ghost has shown up, but it's just Thaddeus wrapped in a glowing blanket.
- Books That Bite: The library houses flying, biting books.
- Child Prodigy: Thaddeus looks about seven, but he was able to create Patchwork the dog.
- Creating Life: Thaddeus made Patchwork, a dog, like Dr. Frankenstein.
- Creepy Changing Painting: Two paintings come to life and scare Slimer.
- Creepy Child: Thaddeus built a dog like Dr. Frankenstein, and he accidentally opened an interdimensional portal.
- Cuckoo Clock Gag: The Micawbs' cuckoo clock sounds like an Evil Laugh.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Micawbs (except Lydia) wear spooky clothes, serve disturbing food, and live in a creepy mansion, but they never purposefully do any evil.
- Dem Bones: The Micawbs have a living skeleton in a trunk.
- Dramatic Thunder: The weather is very stormy during the episode, which sets the spooky atmosphere.
- Eaten Alive: Winston almost falls into the creature's mouth, only for Peter to grab him at the last second.
- Evil Laugh: Parodied. The Micawbs' cuckoo clock sounds like devilish laughter.
- Extreme Omnivore: In addition to Slimer, there's the Micawbs, who eat spiders' hair, mould, "bat breath sauce", and chocolate moose, and put worms and yaks' milk in their tea.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: While Egon is taking readings, the chandelier comes loose from the ceiling. Fortunately, Peter hears it and is just in time to tackle him out of the way.
- Fun with Homophones: The Micawbs serve chocolate moose instead of chocolate mousse.
- Haunted House: Zigzagged. The Micawbs claim their house is haunted, but some of the supernatural-seeming events in it are normal for their house. It turns out to be inhabited by an evil creature, but it's a "paranatural being", not a ghost.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: At one point, the Ghostbusters split into pairs to search the house.
- Living Crashpad: Egon somehow ends up sitting on Peter when the other Ghostbuster tackles him to keep him from getting flattened by a falling chandelier.
- Lost My Appetite: When the Micawbs offer their disgusting food to the Ghostbusters, Ray says he'll never eat again.
- Meaningful Name: Patchwork appears to have been sewn from two dogs.
- Mocking Sing-Song: Thaddeus taunts the Ghostbusters in sing-song when pranking them with a blanket.
- Mythology Gag: Ray's description of Slimer as an "ugly little spud" in the movie is referenced when Peter calls him "the little spud".
- Not So Stoic: Egon flinches when the floating duster dusts him.
- Oh, Crap!: The Ghostbusters look scared when the paranatural being fights them back.
- Only One Finds It Fun: While most of the Ghostbusters are disturbed by the Micawb house, Ray finds it cool.
- Only One Who Likes Spam: The only one who enjoys the Micawbs' dinner is Slimer.
- Plot Allergy: Discussed when Peter lies that he's allergic to dairy so that he won't have to drink yak's milk.
- Screaming Woman: Parodied — the Micawbs' doorbell sounds like a screaming woman.
- Shout-Out:
- Lucretia Micawb has similar clothes and hair to Morticia Addams from The Addams Family.
- Lydia Micawb is the only normal one in a family of weirdoes, similar to Marilyn Munster from The Munsters.
- Patchwork the dog was created by Thaddeus Micawb, like Frankenstein.
- Stock "Yuck!": The Ghostbusters react in disgust at the idea of putting yak's milk in tea.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Thaddeus opened the portal to the other dimension where the creature comes from, but it was an accident.
