I stumbled across the following the other night:
As much as I wish I could take credit for this simplistic brilliance, I cannot. That being said, it got me thinking; I can’t remember a single Scooby-Doo episode where the villain wasn’t just a crazy old person in an elaborate Halloween costume. Given, the show’s been on the air for 40+ years, with nearly 300 episodes, so I’m sure there’s been a legitimate villain here or there; perhaps an occasional bona fide spectral, otherworldly presence. Yet still, this doesn’t explain why so many kooky old people decided that donning an overly elaborate costume while running around scaring people was a good idea.
While there’s nothing inherently criminal about wearing a costume to scare people, the same cannot be said about dressing like a tree and robbing a bank. Or for that matter dressing like Darth Vader and doing the same. Both of which are clearly criminal acts well worthy of being investigated by Scooby and the gang.
Ok, ok. I won’t dwell on the lack of criminality involved in dressing up and scaring people. That’s not the only question the show has left me with. Perhaps more pressing is where do these villains even get their costumes from? Was there some super secret specialty costume store tailored specifically to the crazy/insane former groundskeeper at the local desolate former theme park? Lacking the limitless boundaries of the world wide web, I’d be hard-pressed to discover a retailer that would allow me to purchase a costume resembling a giant alien/ape/ghost/zombie/etc.  The only sensible conclusion is that these costumes were home-made. And calling it sensible is a bit of an oxymoron. Hours upon hours of laborious work put into elaborate costumes only to be bested by a gang of mystery-solving kids and their talking dog.
There’s clearly something lasting about the Scooby-Doo phenomena though. As I mentioned earlier, the show’s been on for over 40 years. After all, when you work side by side with the entire Harlem Globetrotter team, you know you’ve bested the best.
Sure, donning the cords of Shaggy, or the ascot of Fred has always been popular in the annals of Halloween costumes, but the real beauty of Scooby-Doo is that any costume is a potential villain. Be it a vengeful banana flasher or a terrifying witch doctor, any costume is ample fodder for the wrath of Scooby and the gang.
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