Oh Scooby Doo… you’ve been around forever and yet I’ve never done a post about you! This is going to be for fun so don’t take it too seriously but we do have to recognize that it has its own legacy in the genre. Whether we think it’s overrated or corny at times, Scooby Doo is one of those names that when it comes up, there’s a place for them whether that’s on a big screen, smaller screen, crossover events like with CW’s Supernatural, you can’t escape the gang!
And as a fan of some of the earlier works of Scooby Doo like Scooby Doo Where Are You, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, The New Scooby Doo Movies (my favorites are with The Addams Family and Batman & Robin) and Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, this has been done before online, a list like this but I wanted to do one!
So this is only focusing on season 1 of Scooby Doo Where Are You which is only 17 episodes. And out of 17 episodes, I eliminated two right off the bat cos um, we do not lowkey racism whether they were aware of it or not (a gypsy and Indian witch doctor, like nah.) And that is a shame because the former has Count Dracula and the famous line of “you stop that” from Velma, Frankenstein’s monster and The Wolf Man but those episodes wouldn’t have made top ten anyway.
Let’s get to it! Oh, spoilers ahead I guess on a 54 year old show.
10. The Mummy of Ankha from 1×12 “Scooby Doo and a Mummy, too!”
09. Phantom Shadows (Giggling Green Ghosts) from 1×16 “A Night of Fright is No Delight”
08. Ghost of Elias Kingston from 1×06 “What the Hex is Going On?”
07. Black Knight from 1×01 “What a Night for a Knight”
06. Miner 49er from 1×04 “Mine Your Own Business”
05. Ghost Clown from 1×10 “Bedlam in the Big Top”
04. Swamp Witch and Zombie from 1×13 “Which Witch is Which?”
03. Puppetmaster from 1×09 “The Backstage Rage”
02. Space Kook from 1×15 “Spooky Space Kook”
01. Funland Robot “Charlie” from 1×08 “Foul Play in Funland”
So why did I pick these? Well, they provide 3 different aspects: unnatural villains, out of our element environments or locations and overall creepy aesthetics. For one thing I noticed, there are A LOT of ghosts in this season and probably the entire series but since I haven’t looked closely at season 2-3, there’s like six ghosts or “phantoms”. But my list only has 3 and I chose those 3 because one was a literal “ghost clown” and clown anything is quite creepy… the phantom shadows aka the laughing green ghosts with chains? Why are there chains? To be spooky? 
Out of our element locations or environments are just that, places we should not be at after hours. I’ve personally experienced museums and art galleries after dark or closing hours because I majored in fine arts and museum studies so I’ve visited, interned, volunteered, spent time at exhibitions and events throughout the evenings or just working at the zoo after hours is very different than being at these places in the day. And I think that’s why a lot of these chosen episodes work. You’re not supposed to be at a museum after hours or a traveling circus or an amusement park or entering some ghost town where there’s NO ONE.
Or how does it feel to be driving when you encounter a zombie? Or a ghost on the side of the road? These little changes to everyday life are why I picked some of these as well. And then finally, we gotta talk about aesthetics or the look of our villains and why some have stuck around longer than others. 
I just think about all the villains of Scooby Doo and honestly, this series with all 3 seasons is the most familiar and recognizable. Some more than others for sure but my list, I chose Black Knight, Space Kook, Charlie the Robot, Ghost Clown and others I haven’t mentioned (Snow Ghost, The Creeper, Wax Phantom, Tar Monster) are just immediately creepy. They are off putting because for some, we can recognize some “human” aspects of them but I look at Charlie and I think, that looks like a person but it’s too inhuman.
And even if the villain is always some “bad guy in a mask”, sometimes, I like when it’s just very weird enough that you second guess yourself.
What are some of your favorite episodes of the cartoon series? Leave a comment below!
Shots of Horror 