Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost
Tags: paranormal, psychedelic, horror, mystery

Plot synopsis:
After Ben Ravencroft, a famous horror writer of whom Velma Dinkley is a huge fan, assists her and the Mystery Gang in solving a case at a museum, he invites them to his hometown, Oakhaven, Massachusetts. 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 and executed by the Puritan townspeople in 1657. Ben disputes this, claiming Sarah to be a Wiccan who used natural herbs to heal people and reveals for years he has been searching for Sarah's medical journal to prove her innocence.
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers 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 Gothic rock band, The Hex Girls, led 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 picker truck in the barn. Scooby and Shaggy follow Corey, until they encounter the witch and flee to the gang.
The gang, the Hex Girls and Ben 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, Fred and Daphne apologize to the Hex Girls and Thorn explains the "ritual" was for soothing her vocal cords and that she is actually descended from Wiccans. 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; they kept it secret just not to upset Ben. It is then recalled that Scooby found what appeared to be a shoe 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 wielded her terrible and evil magic against many people before the Wiccans used their powers with nature to imprison her within her own spell book. He created the mystery at the museum and engineered the encounters with the gang, as he knew they could lead him to the book. After taking the book from Ben, the gang attempts to flee in the Mystery Machine, but Ben (with his newly acquired powers) renders the Mystery Machine useless by damaging its tires. Ben takes back the book and finally summons Sarah. However, he soon discovers that she has no loyalty to him and her ambitions are to destroy the world, rather than rule it alongside him.
Disillusioned, Ben attempts to imprison Sarah, but she tells him that only a Wiccan could defeat her, and imprisons Ben in a magical sphere. The gang launches an attempt to get the book while Sarah begins to turn pumpkins, trees, and a turkey into monsters in order to stop them. Daphne and Velma free the Hex Girls and Velma convinces Thorn to use her inherited Wiccan power to read the spell to banish Sarah into her imprisonment. However, Sarah manages to pull Ben in to make him suffer her fate with her, and they are both imprisoned inside the book. A burning branch falls onto the book, destroying it, ensuring that the Ravencrofts can never return. All of the monsters that Sarah had created have also returned to normal. The gang and townsfolk celebrate their deliverance with a concert from the Hex Girls with Scooby Doo and the gang (and the still-gigantic turkey) joining in on the performance.

Review: I started watching the original show when I first got the Cartoon Network, and as soon as I found out that they were making movies separate to the usual formula of fake villains, I just had to check 'em out.Don't get me wrong; Zombie Island was cool too, but this one in particular is by far my favorite.This has got to be one of the best of these movies simply because of the fact that the gang faces off against a conjured ghost...
The Hex Girls were pretty killer for an animated band.All in all, I really enjoyed this movie.
My personal favourite of the Scooby Doo movies.
The animation is great, so beautifully done the backgrounds were,the story is neatly-set up, and this is the movie with the best voice talent.
The ending is quite good, and the Hex Girls are great.
Bethany Cox. Much better than you'd expect  comedy, good animation and all the old favourites.
Whilst investigating a haunted museum the gang meet horror writer Ben Ravencroft and get invited back to his hometown.
The gang begin to try and unravel the town's mystery despite the many red herrings.This update of Scooby Doo is much better than you'd expect it to be.
The plot is just what you expect from Scooby Doo (witch haunting town  but is it real or is someone up to no good etc).
However it does have a little added spice by having some modern twists  like the fact that Fred always wants to go off with Daphne when they split, or Fred being tired getting called a `kid', or Thelma's geeky status nicely kept.The plot is good for the most, with plenty of red herrings to make it less than obvious as to who's behind everything.
However it is good to see the characters in a well animated adventure  even if some of the ghosts are more scary and less comedy that they are usually.The voice work is good  except Fred doesn't sound quite like he should.
But in the most case the voices are fine.Overall it is a modern telling so we really do have ghosts etc, but apart from this it's actually very enjoyable  the humour, the pop culture references etc all made it much better than I thought it would be, even if some of (The Hex Girls) doesn't work very well.
I'm 21 and I admit, I watch Scooby Doo videos, ok?
The voices are awesome, including Tim Curry as Ben Ravencroft, who is a horror writer that the gang meet.
For a cheap Scooby Doo movie released only on video, it has a really entertaining plot, and a surprise ending.
In this follow up to "Zombie Island", Velma finally gets a shot at romance when she and the gang meet Ben Ravencroft, a horror author with a shady family history - was his great, great, great grandma a witch of a wiccan?
Must be the new animation.But this is really about Velma and her long ignored need for love and affection (hinted at when she got all giggly around the rugged detective gardener at the end of "Zombie Island").
In fact, it was so entertaining with modernizations and spelling out of old jokes (Daphne and Fred always going off together during the splitting up parts, not to mention the jealousy) that it wasn't until the 2nd viewing that I realized that one my all time favorite actors was one of the voices (the god Tim Curry).Even after seeing some of the other straight to video movies this one is still my favorite.
The haunted castles, mansions, and murder mysteries with great setup, better vocal work, and delightful plots and jokes.
One of my favourite Scooby Doo films..
I have been a really big fan off scooby doo for as long as I can remember I literally grew up watching episodes of the gang exploring ghost and ghouls and I loved every minute of every episode.
Scooby Doo & The Witch's Ghost is some really good fun and an enjoyable film for all ages the story is interesting and like most of the films has a surprising ending it's always someone you don't suspect!
Scooby Doo & The Witch's Ghost is funny and has all the loving gang in it the music is also good the soundtrack being unique.
I would recommend this film to anyone and especially to a scooby doo fan!
Another excellent animated darker Scooby-doo mystery movie!!!The Witches Ghost was the 2nd animated straight to video scooby-doo movie after the cult classic & greatest scooby-doo movie ever Zombie Island (1998).The Witches Ghost has that much darker & more mature tone like zombie island had & it's much better for it as it gives a proper Horror atmosphere & feels like an animated movie for adults as well as kids!!!
The animation is fantastic & the best alongside zombie island for the greatest the gang has ever looked on screen with stunning & colourful visuals & a beautiful new England background/back drop-stunning paintings & a lovely cozy Autumn setting that compliments the dark tone & supernatural happenings.The gang are all BRILLIANT here & a lovely bonus is the legendary TIM CURRY as a sinister Horror writer like a stephen king type & he brings so much character & life to his menacing character Ben Ravencroft it's so much fun.
The autumn colours are beautiful & the witch is excellently designed & creepy & sinister with of course the usual humour but there's definitely a nice Horror atmosphere thick throughout this fantastic animated movie another cult classic!!!
The 2nd best Scooby-doo movie ever made after Zombie Island!!!
Even the New England town told the viewers that, hey, Scooby Doo is updated, it is in the 90s, and it is not taking itself too seriously.The one regret is that there are no real masked villains, but even then, when you learn the truth, when the mystery is solved, the lack of a mask works for shock appeal.It is a great entry into the world of Scooby Doo and one that set the stage for the franchise to follow..
Not a Classic But Fun. Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Scooby, Shaggey and the gang get invited to Oakhaven by a famous horror writer.
SCOOBY-DOO AND THE WITCH'S GHOST isn't a complete success but I think fans of the dog will find enough in it to make it worth viewing.
The comedy in the film isn't the best I've seen but there were a few good moments including a sequence where Scooby and Shaggy get to eat all they want in a restaurant..
I will start by confessing that I have not seen all of the animated Direct-to-Video Scooby Doo movies.
It allowed for the Scooby Doo franchise to explore real horror elements and show events with supernatural elements.Note: Don't get me wrong.
The Original Series is still one of the greatest shows ever.Now Witch's Ghost.It pulls off the supernatural-under-the-illusion-of-petty-masked-crime beautifully just like in Zombie Island.
It gives the audience the same feeling like they are investigating another simple crime but realize that there really is a supernatural force at work without it being too far fetched.Tim Curry, one of my favorite creepy actors, gives an excellent performance as Ben Ravencroft a horror writer whose family name has some dark history that he wants to clear up.
Led by Thorn, voiced by the veteran video game voice actress Jennifer Hale, The Hex Girls provide some additional metal music for their introduction and for the credits.These new characters as well the original gang provided an excellent cast for another grand supernatural adventure.
This movie provides plenty of laughs, light scares, and a simple yet solid plot that anyone can appreciate.As Tim Curry, Jennifer Hale, Metal and Scooby Doo-fan My opinion may seem biased.
This and other Scooby Doo movies (not the live action ones) have stayed true to what can be called proper Family Film values.
A must watch for fans of the original series, fans of the "What's New Scooby Doo" series, and anyone else who has kids for that matter..
Out of the first four Scooby-Doo movies, this has got to be my favorite of them all!
And it's not just because of Tim Curry, Billy Ray Cyrus and the Hex Girls, but because the plot and character designs are so well done in this that I'd even bought myself a copy of this great film.
Compared to Zombie Island, though, the story isn't as dark but it is still awesome animation-wise!
I think that this movie has the best soundtrack out of them all and I'm just so addicted to the Hex Girls.
A Definite Movie To Watch For All Scooby-Doo Fans!.
It is one my personal favorite Scooby-Doo movies yet!
Mystery Inc. goes with horror writer Ben Ravencroft (voiced by Tim Curry) to his hometown for the Autumn Fest.
Once they hear that Ben's ancestor, who was a Wiccan but was killed because they thought she was a witch, is haunting the town, the gang goes into action.
The movie is very great, and just when you think the mystery's been solved, there is a BIG surprise.
The Hex Girls songs are just awesome, and Billy Ray Cyrus was great singing the Scooby-Doo theme!
This is a must watch for any Scooby-Doo fan!.
Best Scooby-Doo Film Ever!.
It was awesome to come up with the ideas of real ghosts in the Scooby-Doo movies.
After watching Scooby-Doo and the witches ghost I've looked at the Scooby-Doo series differently just wondering if one of the monsters is actually real!
MUCH BETTER THAN Scooby Doo On Zombie Island..
I rated this movie a 10, the animation is much more realistic than the animation with Scooby Doo On Zombie Island which also was broadcasted on Cartoon Network last year on October 31.
Zombie Island was a great movie untill this year Hanna-Barbera released another Scooby Doo Movie.
I hope next year (2000) there will be another Scooby Doo movie.
I read somewhere that Hanna-Barbera is rumored to make a live action movie of Scooby Doo, possibly a live action version of Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost with all the cast members that they had in the animated version.
I dunno about that but I like Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost, I think Hanna-Barbera is a great company..
The second direct to video Scooby home movie is a pleasant surprise with elements of the old series resurfacing in an updated storyline.
Mystery writer Ben Ravencroft, one of Velma's idols, meets the crew and invites them up to his old country home to see the fall colors.
The legends say the witch is the spirit of Sara Ravencroft, Ben's ancestor who he believes was actually a Wiccan -- a healer, misunderstood by those who persecuted her.The classic Scooby-Doo episodes of the first two seasons had a mix of mystery, musical numbers and silly humor.
This video recaptures that formula nicely, with a couple of musical numbers performed by the "Hex Girls", who also figure into the plot.
Voice talents are a strong point here, with Tim Curry as Ben Ravencroft, Tress McNeill (of Animaniacs fame) as the Witch, and Scott Innes returning as the voices of both Scooby and Shaggy.Overall, a great family movie and a must for any serious Scooby fan...
Probably the best Scooby-Doo movie.
Zombie Island and Witch's Ghost are two movies that the live action films should follow.
One of the greatest scooby doo movies.
I'm not sure if "Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island" was supposed to create a new Scooby-Doo continuity with the many films being direct sequels.
While these movies aren't as good as the animated DC films, they're still quite good.
I may not be the biggest Scooby-Doo fan, but these movies are enjoyable.
In this more contemporary Scooby Doo movie, the Mystery Inc. gang visits the the small town of Oakhaven.
There, they discover the history of a witch named Sarah Ravencroft and witnesses the appearance of the Hex girls, which brings about mysterious sightings throughout the town.The animation in this movie was very colorful and the plot was somewhat suspenseful, making the story elements, especially that of the witches, actually chilling and more thrilling than the story lines of the original Scooby-Doo series.
It was great seeing Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby all banding together again to solve the mystery; you can tell that the humor, jokes and dialog have a more hip and modern touch to it - to keep in line with the late 1990s and early 2000s fad.
While a pretty fun and entertaining movie, it doesn't have that unique flavor of the classic Scooby-Doo series.
The voice over actors are really amazing such as Scott Innes as Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, Frank Welker as Fred, Mary Kay Bergman as Daphne, B.J. Ward as Velma, and they even have Tim Curry as Ben Ravencroft.
So make sure that you rent or buy Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost.Overall Rating: ********* out of ********** ****1/2 out of ***** Some may consider this a spoiler so that is why I saved it for last.
I have to say how I liked the fact that the main ghost is real and not somebody in a mask similar to Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island which is another great Scooby-Doo movie..
It starts off pretty simple, but the movie really gets good once the spellbook comes into play.
One of the best Scooby-Doo movies.
One of the best Scooby-Doo movies.
I was crying and laughing when Shaggy and Scooby got terrified of the Hex Girls.
The new movies are an extra special delight in that they introduce the aspect of real ghosts and monsters rather than the usual bad guys wearing masks.
Although "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost" starts out with just that, both in the opening museum capture sequence and the first sequence in the New England town, it's soon revealed that there is indeed a real witch in the works.When Scooby and the Gang meet writer Ben Ravencroft (deliciously voiced by Tim Curry), he invites them back to his home town, where they discover tourist season in full swing, fueled by rumors of a witch's ghost in the form of Ben's ancestor Sara Ravencroft (isn't the name Ravencroft absolutely perfect for a witch?).
He enlists the help of Scooby and the gang to help uncover the truth behind the witch hauntings and assist him in finding Sara's old journal which he says holds in its pages the recipes for all her cures.It isn't long before the sleuthing youths uncover the real culprits behind the witch and reveal a scheme orchestrated by the Mayor and several other townsfolk.
But for me at least, that's one of the charms of watching a Scooby Doo movie.At this point I thought the film was over and was delighted when Ben reminded the gang that Sara's journal still hasn't been found.
Velma remarks on this and Ben (in typical Tim Curry fashion) suddenly turns on the evil "charm" and reveals that his ancestor Sara was in fact a witch, imprisoned inside the book by her enemies four hundred years ago.
It's up to Scooby and the gang to save the day; and with the help of Thorn, lead singer of the local band The Hex Girls and 16% Wiccan by blood, they manage to cast the spell that sends Sara back into her book prison.
She drags Ben with her and the book is then set on fire and destroyed by a burning tree branch.The final action sequences are exciting, funny and extremely entertaining for a straight to video cartoon film, and I highly recommend this and all the other Scooby Doo movies to any fan and anyone who enjoys good fun, laughs, and witches, ghosts, and zombies.
Spoilers herein.If this movie happens right after "Scooby Doo on Zombie Island", we have toassume that Mystery Inc. has gotten back together, becoming the famed sleuths once again.
Ben invites the gang to his hometown in Massachusets and tells them about his ancestor, Sarah Ravencroft, who was rumored to be a witch; he says she was awiccan and was wrongly persecuted.
Scooby & Shaggy go about their usual business of eating everything in sight,and come across an all-girl band named the Hex Girls (of course, not beforethinking they're witches).
things start to go crazy as Mystery Inc. rushes to defeat both Sarah's ghost and Ben before the whole world isdestroyed!Though most Wiccans will be put off having their dogma thrown around like agag (and a lot of Christians won't be happy with how popular the Wiccanstereotype is viewed), most of the movie isn't half bad.
This is another classic Scooby-Doo film.
While it isn't quite as good as "Zombie Island," it has similar elements that make it click.
Tim Curry is known for various villain roles, and he is very good as Ben Ravencroft.The story is well-written and full of intriguing mythology.
This film also has possibly the best climax of any Scooby-Doo film with Ben Ravencroft causing all kinds of destruction with his ancestor's magic book.
They are awesome characters, and they play great music.While it can't top "Zombie Island," this is still one of the best Scooby-Doo adventures out there.
Very much recommended for all Scooby-Doo fans.RATING: B+.
This was a decent movie, personally I liked "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island", but this was good too.Tim Curry does an excellent job in the role of Ben Ravencroft, which is one of the most interesting characters from all the Scooby-Doo animations.The animation style from this movie is practically the same than the one from "Scooby Doo on Zombie Island", showing also the same kind of "darker" and slightly more mature treatment for the Scooby-Doo formula which that movie had.
Personally, I think that was a good thing, since this is one of the best Scooby-Doo movies, being entertaining enough to be worth-watching, even if it is not a masterpiece.