The gang gets to participate in a genuine archaeological dig, courtesy of Melbourne O'Reilly, but spooky things quickly begin happening. According to legend, the dig is trespassing on the land of Pharaoh Scamses the Fifteenth, who threatened brutal revenge against anyone who disturbed his resting place.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- All Up to You: With Fred, Daphne, and Velma brainwashed, it's up to Shaggy and Scooby to uncover the mystery.
- Bedlah Babe: A waitress is shown walking dressed like that as Mademoiselle Chantal is presenting Daphne and Velma as bellydancers.
- Chekhov's Gun: A geyser of water blows Shaggy and Scooby into the air during the dig, and later they find a bunch of pipes in the pyramid. The Villain of the Week turns out to be diverting all the local water to a nearby town, driving their profits up and allowing him and his wife to grow rich.
- Contrived Coincidence: The hieroglyph that undoes the brainwashing just happens to be pronounced "relp", meaning that Scooby's terrified cries for help shake the gang and Melbourne back to normal.
- Draw Aggro: After the zombies corner Scooby, Daphne, and Velma, Melbourne makes a boomerang out of a bread loaf, which he uses to smack the back of their heads. Once they turn around, he yells at them to follow him.
- Frame-Up: The villain brainwashes Melbourne into acting as the mummy so that, even if anyone unmasks the mummy, he won't be blamed. However, Melbourne snags him with a bandage while he's fleeing the scene.
- Hidden Depths: Daphne and Velma are shown to be quite good at belly dancing.
- I Can't Believe I'm Saying This: Given that Velma spends an important part of the mystery brainwashed, she's confused about things once it's all over. She acknowledges that it's bizarre for her to say, but asks what happened.
- "Join Us" Drone: The mummy causes his victims to chant "join us" when going after others. This ends up happening to Fred, Daphne, and Velma when the gang explores one of the pyramids.
- King Incognito: When they reach the nearest town, the gang encounters a beggar on the streets. After they ask if they can get some water, the beggar throws off his outfit to reveal that he's the local prince.
- Master of Unlocking: Shaggy has a Swiss-army knife on him, which he uses to unlock a door.
- Noodle Incident: When Shaggy and Scooby suffer their first mirage, Melbourne O'Reilly reminisces about his first time, which somehow involved him trying to eat poisonous lizards.
- Our Zombies Are Different: The tourists from the beginning, as well as Fred, Daphne, and Velma, get zombified by the mummy. However, it's the "brainwashed slave" kind, not the flesh-eating kind.
- Secret Relationship: After seeing some formerly zombified tourists in her cafe, the gang tries to investigate Mademoiselle Chantalle. Ultimately, when the mystery is solved, they conclude that she and the prince were working together. The prince admits she's actually his wife.
- The Walls Are Closing In: The walls start to close in on the tourists in the opening. They push against them to keep them back, only for the walls to turn to quicksand and suck them in.
