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  • (screams)

  • (upbeat rock music)

  • - Most of us got into horror

  • long before it was appropriate

  • for us to be into horror.

  • And while "Are You Afraid of the Dark,"

  • "Hocus Pocus," and whatever your older siblings

  • or babysitters let you watch probably laid

  • a lot of ground work,

  • it was likely some spooky animation

  • that helped pave the way for your love of the genre.

  • Walt Disney's "The Skeleton Dance" from 1929

  • is probably the best early example of animated horror.

  • Also, I guarantee you've seen it.

  • It's chock-full of incredible Halloween imagery,

  • like black cats, an owl and, of course, dancing skeletons.

  • It would be the first in a long line

  • of spooky Disney shorts that included

  • "The Haunted House" and "Hell's Bells,"

  • which both came out the same year,

  • and the Mickey Mouse classic, "The Mad Doctor,"

  • which four years later would show just how far

  • the animation studio had progressed in such a short time.

  • "Lonesome Ghosts" would double down on that

  • with Mickey, now joined by Donald and Goofy,

  • as ghost exterminators hired by four bored ghosts.

  • This one became a staple of the Halloween season,

  • in particular thanks to its inclusion

  • on the 1982 VHS release of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

  • I don't know about you guys,

  • but growing up as a Monster Kid

  • in the '80s and '90s meant tracking down

  • that tape in the video store every year

  • as must-watch Halloween viewing.

  • The Disney version of "Sleepy Hollow"

  • remains the definitive of the tale,

  • while modern adaptations have made Ichabod Crane

  • a detective or soldier,

  • this held true to Washington Irving's story

  • and introduced him as the superstitious schoolmaster who,

  • following a Halloween party,

  • is chased by The Headless Horseman.

  • This was it for me.

  • I was hooked on horror from this point on.

  • But it wasn't just Disney getting in

  • on the shaping of young horror fanatics.

  • Pretty much any major animation house was doing,

  • at the very least, some Halloween-inspired stuff,

  • dark fairytales or stories about a friendly ghost

  • just trying to fit in.

  • The late '60s and '70s would see a huge spike, though.

  • First off, with what might be the greatest

  • animated horror series of all time, "Scooby-Doo."

  • Now, I'm not locking in on the original series,

  • "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" that premiered in 1969.

  • I'm talking about the franchise as a whole.

  • Some version of Scooby and the Gang

  • have been on television almost consistently since 1969.

  • There have been low points, there have been high points.

  • There were people in masks.

  • There were actual ghosts and monsters.

  • Regardless, Scooby-Doo has been a staple

  • in the world of animation and inspired

  • a bunch of other creepy cartoons, like "Groovie Goolies,"

  • which was sort of like an animated,

  • horror-themed "Laugh-In."

  • Scoob was still going strong as the '80s

  • saw competing "Ghostbusters" cartoons.

  • You see, Filmation made a live action kid's show

  • in the '70s called "The Ghostbusters,"

  • and then they licensed the name

  • to Columbia for the 1984 movie.

  • But then, both sides decided to make cartoons in '86,

  • and a whole bunch of confusion ensued

  • to the point that Columbia indeed opted

  • to call their series "The Real Ghostbusters,"

  • even though the other one was around first.

  • Another horror comedy from the '80s

  • got a cartoon adaptation too.

  • Now, a lot of people don't remember the "Teen Wolf" cartoon,

  • but it was my jam.

  • Literally, there's a cassette tape

  • of a three-year-old me singing the theme song

  • to this kickin' around somewhere.

  • Now, I actually think my whole fascination

  • with werewolves comes from this series,

  • and I recently found it on Amazon Prime.

  • And I don't care what you say, it holds up.

  • Other adaptations of movies like "Beetlejuice"

  • and "The Addams Family" were also big

  • during the '80s and into the '90s,

  • but you didn't have to be adapted from a movie to work.

  • Just ask Count Duckula.

  • The '90s blew up animated horror.

  • There was "Toonsylvania,"

  • the Chipmunks met Frankenstein and the Wolfman,

  • and there was "Freaky Stories,"

  • an anthology series of tales

  • that really happened to a friend of a friend of mine.

  • Of course, there was also the cartoon adaptation

  • of "Tales from the Cryptkeeper."

  • This one was huge for upcoming Monster Kids,

  • giving them a more palatable, PG-version

  • of the HBO series that revisited the stories

  • from the EC comics of the '50s.

  • But what might have actually been

  • the most important cartoon horror

  • over the last while is

  • the "The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror" series.

  • It's been around for as long as the show itself.

  • Also drawing inspiration from the EC Comics tales,

  • the annual trio of shorts provides

  • a pretty good history lesson for upcoming horror fans.

  • The parodies and references of each story

  • are the sort of thing that as you grow

  • into your genre fandom,

  • you begin to recognize more and more.

  • And as you can see, animation has always been

  • a huge part of the genre,

  • and bringing new fans to it,

  • whether it's classic cartoons from Disney,

  • different iterations of "Scooby-Doo,"

  • of even the CG, stop motion hybrids like "ParaNorman,"

  • there's always something to catch everyone

  • and pique their interest.

  • In fact, there's a new "Scooby-Doo" series

  • called "Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?" coming later this year.

  • I don't know if it'll be as good as "Mystery Incorporated,"

  • but we can all hope, right?

  • So what's your favorite cartoon horror?

  • Let us know in the comments,

  • and remember, Fright Hype and Crypt TV

  • are all over the internet.

  • Until next time, keep the horror

  • on the screen and off the streets.

  • I'll see you then.

  • (low, eerie music)

(exciting orchestral music)

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