Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost

Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost is the second in a series of direct-to-video animated films based upon Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was released on October 8, 1999, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures (although with a Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. copyright) starting in 1998. The Mystery, Inc. gang, which includes Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma, travel to a New England town called Oakhaven after being invited by horror writer Ben Ravencroft. Like a number of direct-to-video Scooby-Doo animated films released in the late-1990s and early-2000s, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost features real ghosts instead of simple bad guys in masks, giving the film a darker tone. The videos sold well and received generally positive reviews in the press. The film has been adapted into a book.

It is the second of the first four Scooby Doo direct-to-video film to be animated overseas by Japanese animation studio: Mook Animation.

Plot
Ben Ravencroft, a famous horror writer who Velma is a big fan of, assists the Mystery, Inc. gang in solving a case at a museum. Ben invites them to his hometown, Oakhaven in New England. When they arrive, they find the town converted into a tourist attraction by Mayor Corey, complete with 17th-century replicas and attractions based on the alleged ghost of Sarah Ravencroft, an ancestor of Ben's who was persecuted as a witch by the town in 1657. Ben disputes this, claiming Sarah to be a Wiccan who used natural herbs to heal people and had a diary that could prove her innocence.

Scooby and Shaggy are chased by a witch and run into Ben and the gang. They find broken tree branches at the scene and are drawn to an all-female goth rock band, "Hex Girls", lead by Sally "Thorn" McKnight. The gang then decides to split up; Fred and Daphne stay to watch the Hex Girls, Velma and Ben go explore an old barn and Shaggy and Scooby follow the Mayor. Fred and Daphne see Thorn doing some sort of ritual and are convinced the Hex Girls are witches. Velma and Ben find a cherry-picking truck in the barn. Scooby and Shaggy follow Corey, until they encounter the witch and flee to the gang.

The gang, Ben and the Hex Girls meet in the woods. The witch appears and gives chase, but is captured by Velma. The witch is revealed to be Mr. McKnight, who is Thorn's father. Velma locates the truck and explains that the truck's arm made the witch appear to fly, with the townspeople jointly involved. Ben scolds everyone involved for exploiting Sarah's good name. Back at Ben's house, the gang apologize to the Hex Girls and Thorn explains the ritual was for soothing her vocal cords and that she is actually part Wiccan. Corey and Mr. McKnight arrive to apologize to Ben for using his ancestor in their publicity stunt, explaining the witch was to boost the town's failing tourist economy and that they found inspiration from digging up the head marker for Sarah's grave. It is then recalled that Scooby found what appeared to be belt buckle earlier, which was actually from Sarah's diary.

Everyone goes to the buckle's location, where Scooby discovers the buried book, which is actually a spell book. Ben reveals that Sarah was indeed a witch who was imprisoned within her book by Wiccans. He engineered the encounters with the gang, as he knew they could lead him to the book. Ben taps into his ancestral powers and summons Sarah. He soon discovers, however, that her ambitions are to destroy the world, rather than build it.

Disillusioned, Ben attempts to imprison Sarah, but learns that only a Wiccan could defeat her. The gang launches an attempt to get the book with Sarah turning pumpkins, trees, and turkeys into monsters to stop them. Daphane and Velma free the Hex Girls and Velma convinces Thorn to banish Sarah, who pulls Ben in, as well. The book is destroyed and the gang and townsfolk celebrate at a Hex Girl concert.

Featured Villains

 * Ben Ravencroft
 * Sarah Ravencroft

Cast

 * Scott Innes - Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers
 * Frank Welker - Fred Jones
 * Mary Kay Bergman - Daphne Blake
 * B.J. Ward - Velma Dinkley
 * Tim Curry - Ben Ravencroft,
 * Jennifer Hale - Sally "Thorn" McKnight
 * Neil Ross - Mayor Corey
 * Jane Wiedlin - Dusk
 * Kimberly Brooks - Luna
 * Tress MacNeille - Sarah Ravencroft
 * Bob Joles - Jack
 * Peter Renaday - Mr. McKnight

Soundtrack
On September 14, 1999, the soundtrack was released featuring The Hex Girls performing Hex Girl and Billy Ray Cyrus performing Scooby-Doo, Where Are You.

Reaction
Rotten Tomatoes score the film a soso 77%, lower than the original. It grossed $18.5 million in its opening weekend at the box office, lower than the $25 million gross from the last movie. In total, the film grossed $48 million in the US. Worldwide, the film made $115 million, still making it a modest success over its $15 million budget.

Follow-up film
Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, which was released in 2000.