Madison and Billy lose a toy when it goes flying through the window of a spooky-looking house. They’re about to go in and get it before several townspeople warn them not to because of its monstrous history.
Tropes:
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Duke, Freya, and Shirley plead with the audience to not turn off their show after they mentioned watching cartoons in the list of things that they didn't like about kids these days.
- Convenient Photograph: To prove to Officer Detain that the Trash Monster does exist, Shirley pulls out a picture of her being attacked by the beast. It turns out however, that Duke has a picture of his own. He tells her that was just a picture from her at Monster Con and shows his picture of her hanging out with the unmasked Trash Monster.
- Donut Mess with a Cop: The Vampire Cop in Duke Detain’s story uses telekinesis to gather his crime fighting supplies which include handcuffs, his badge, and of course a cup of coffee and a donut.
- Dramatic Thunder: When Shirley tells the kids about the Trash Monster, a loud clap of thunder startles them.
- Faux Horrific: Billy seems to think the scariest thing about monsters is that they’re supposedly horrible landscapers.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: The victims of the Trash Monster are no worse for wear after being eaten because they just come right out the other end.
- Ghost Butler: When Billy and Madison finally enter the Mackenzie house, the door creaks open and then slams shut behind them.
- Medusa: In a Cutaway Gag, a picture of Medusa is shown on the front of a book. The book is being read by Billy and Madison’s teacher, Mrs. Crank, and a Match Cut shows her looking strikingly similar to the mythical monster. The kids then beg for her to read another chapter, implying that they’d rather see the hideous picture of Medusa than her face.
- Missing Reflection: When a man is pulled over by the Vampire Cop, he sees a police motorcycle in his rear view mirror with no driver.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: The kids see a terrifying shadow in the house and Billy calls it a “Trash Vampire She-Wolf Monster.”Madison: All of the grownups were right! And also wrong!
- Not in Front of the Kid: Officer Duke tells Shirley not to tell her Trash Monster story while the kids are watching, before proceeding to tell a scary story of his own.
- Object-Tracking Shot: The camera follows Billy and Madison’s flying disc as it soars through the city and right into the open window of a creepy old house.
- Old, Dark House: The kids are too scared to go into the creepy Mackenzie house to retrieve their flying disc, especially after hearing Shirley, Duke, and Freya’s stories about it.
- Ominous Clouds: As soon as Billy and Madison approach the house, dark clouds immediately gather overhead. In fact, the storm seems to only be above this particular house as the rest of the city is still bathed in sunlight.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Shirley, Duke, and Freya all make these at the camera when they beg the viewers not to turn off the show.
- Running Gag: Madison and Billy giving a full introduction of everyone who shows up at the Mackenzie house. Freya cuts Madison off before she can finish hers.
- Scary Shadow Fakeout: Billy and Madison see a scary shadow and think all the adults’ stories must be true. They go running out of the house before they can see that the shadow was actually made from a bunch of old furniture.
- Spoof Aesop: The lesson Madison takes away from this episode is to fear irrational things, never take chances, and always give up.
- Swallowed Whole: The Trash Monster swallows his victims whole. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), they come out the other end right after.
- Torches and Pitchforks: Each story features an angry mob with torches and pitchforks chasing the monster into the old house.
- Transformation Sequence: When the female firefighter turned into a werewolf.
- Urban Legend: Shirley the Sanitation Worker, Officer Duke Detain, and Freya the Fire Chief, each tell the kids a different story about why the Mackenzie house is so scary.
- Vampire Vords: The Vampire Cop speaks like this.
- Vignette Episode: This episode consists of three different spooky stories.
- Vocal Dissonance: The Trash Monster speaks in a super high-pitched voice.
- When I Was Your Age...: The adults claim that kids don’t get scared like they used to after Madison goes boldly walking into the house after hearing their monster stories, dragging Billy with her.
- Wolves Always Howl at the Moon: After the firefighter turns into a werewolf, she howls at the full moon.
