History WebAnimation / MysterySkullsAnimated

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* AerithAndBob: The names of the cast volley from being relatively normal to {{Meaningful|Name}} or {{Punny Name}}s, so there's things like Lewis having sisters named after spices or Vivi working with a man named Duet and a girl named Chloe.

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On May 16th 2020, a [[https://youtu.be/fX6x3G08Ozk video]] was released to coincide with the release of Mystery Skulls[='=] album Now or Never. At the end of the video, the next installment, set to "[[https://youtu.be/pBndx99Ho50 The Future]]", was announced and projected for October 2020, ultimately being released on Halloween.

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%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

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** There's quite a bit of Arthurian Mythos surrounding Arthur and his relatives; his family owns Kingsmen Mechanics, his uncle is named Lance(lot), and he has a hamster named Galahad.

* ThemeNaming: There's quite a bit of Arthurian Mythos surrounding Arthur; his last name is "Kingsmen", his uncle is named Lance(lot), and he has a hamster named Galahad.

!!This work provides examples of:

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''[[caption-width-right:350:This time, I might just disappear...]]''

%%* AdorableEvilMinions: The default state of Lewis' Dead Beats is rather adorable, being simple, purple puppet-like ghosts with glowing yellow hearts on their chests.

** "The Future" ends [[spoiler:Shiromori dead and Mystery possessed, in ''yokai form'', by the same entity that possessed Arthur way back in "Ghost" as it looms over the now reunited Mystery Skulls]].

%%* DagwoodSandwich: Vivi and Mystery are on the verge of eating these when they get interrupted by Arthur and Lewis.

%%** [[spoiler:A much more dramatic example occurs when it fully possesses Mystery in ''The Future''.]]

** [[spoiler:The true picture in Lewis' locket shows Arthur giving duel peace signs to the camera.]]

%%* WhamLine: The end of ''Hellbent'': [[spoiler:''"Lewis?"'']]

* GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: Uncle Lance's shotgun is double-barreled, pump-action, and only shoots one round at a time with continued firing action. While it's mostly for dramatic effect, it does come off as silly.

* AerithAndBob: The names of the cast volley from being relatively normal to {{Meaningful|Name}} or {{Punny Name}}s, so there's things like Lewis having sisters named after spices or Vivi working with a man named Duet and a girl named Chole.

* ImmediateSequel: [[ExaggeratedTrope Every single video is this.]] To be more specific, "Ghost" leads right into "Freaking Out", which leads into "Hellbent", which leads into "The Future". Considering how the story takes place over the course of a single night, the ExtremelyShortTimespan is very noticeable.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Lewis was killed while exploring a cave by being pushed from a cliff and being impaled through his chest by a stalagmite when he landed.

%%* KillItWithIce: [[spoiler:Vivi finally starts getting an edge over Shiromori after [[AnIcePerson unlocking her ice powers]], as she's able to freeze her in her tracks and even stop her regeneration abilites for a bit]].

* ImmediateSequel: [[ExaggeratedTrope Every single video is this.]]

** There are three haunted paintings featuring characters from sources [=MysteryBen=] has made videos of, namely Miles Edgeworth from the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, the MaskedLuchador from ''Videogame/RhythmHeaven'', and a human version of Rarity from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''.

''[[caption-width-right:350:This time, I might just disappear…]]''

# ''[[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YlEb3L1PIco Ghost]]''
# ''[[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tUYM5WNdNGc Freaking Out]]''
# ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN_Kbltsqx4 Hellbent]]''
# ''[[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wy1bXhEczGM The Future]]''

* AdorableEvilMinions: The ghost's Dead Beats are rather adorable simple purple ghosts with glowing orange hearts on their chests, at least they're cute when they're not displaying [[NightmareFace nightmare faces]] and long skeletal arms with talon like fingers.
* AerithAndBob: Most of the characters have normal given names. The exceptions are Mystery, Duet, Shiromori, Paprika and Cayenne. Though Mystery and Shiromori are justified, since neither of them are human.
* AffectionateParody: It's basically ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' with a cast of {{Expies}}. However, it quickly takes a tragic turn.

** [=MysteryBen=]'s [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/ Tumblr]] has [[http://heilos.tumblr.com/post/179136234649/msa-character-page-links information]] on the main characters of ''Ghost'', like their names, interests, and [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/101475725113 affinity for musical instruments.]] The list of profiles includes [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/105403522123 the mysterious entity who possessed Arthur in the flashback]], [[MindScrew shown only as Arthur's possessed arm with all the details left as "???", and the palm reveals an eye during the beats,]] and [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/108415841938 Shiromori]], who seems to have some kind of connection with Mystery.
** In addition to profiles, he's also posted information on minor characters like Arthur's [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/109367000868 uncle Lance]], [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/104646397768 his hamster Galahad]] and [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/110783256058 Mr. and Mrs. Pepper]], Lewis's adoptive parents.
* AllThereInTheScript: According to [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/143143018633 a post]] on [=MysteryBen=]'s blog, the trucker from ''Freaking Out'' is named Rooster, and the chicken under his hat is Lil' Sunny.
* AmputationStopsSpread: In the flashback Arthur's left arm is shown turning green from the hand to the shoulder before he kills Lewis with it and the side of his face and eye are turning green before Mystery rips the arm off.

** Mystery tore off Arthur's possessed arm, but only after ??? used it and the other bits of Arthur it had gained control of to murder Lewis.
** Lewis burnt Shiromori's arm to a crisp and as it started crumbling to dust he ripped off the hand that was holding his locket. She regrew it and her head, which Lewis had punched off, very quickly to his surprise.

* AnimatedMusicVideo: A whole series of them. ''Ghost'' in particular was the first to be commissioned,[[note]]though not the first to be released; that would be ''Live!Ghost''[[/note]] which led to a connected 5 part story.
* AnimationBump: ''Ghost'' and ''Freaking Out'' had decent-quality animation but rather static backgrounds and angles. ''Hellbent'' started pushing this, with more dynamic shots, more detailed backgrounds, and more fluid movements in-between the usual head-bobbing.
* {{Animesque}}: Very noticeably so when compared to [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo the inspiration]]. Among other things, there are facial expressions that make it look like an episode of ''Anime/{{Bleach}}'', as well as rather extravagant character designs.
* ArtEvolution:
** [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/127217593593 Lewis]], [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/130254739183 Arthur]] and [[http://mysterybensmysteryblog.tumblr.com/post/133323798018 Vivi's]] character puppets got an improved redesign for ''Freaking Out'' and later music videos.
** ''The Future'' goes above and beyond the {{Animation Bump}}s seen in ''Freaking Out'' and ''Hellbent'', as over half the video is fluidly animated.
* BarbieDollAnatomy: The brief glimpse of Lewis without clothes in ''Freaking Out''. Killer abs, though.
* BeatStillMyHeart: Lewis's glowing "heart" beats to the rhythm of the music and rests on the outside of his ribcage. It is eventually shown to actually be a locket though it is still integral to his continued existence as his ghostly form can retreat into it and its condition reflects his moods and state.
* BedsheetGhost: The Dead Beats look like purple pointy-headed bedsheet ghosts with glowing beating orange hearts, though their GameFace departs from the aesthetic somewhat due to their talon-like hands.
* BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts: The ghost Lewis gets hit by a trucker, though in this case he straight up steals the vehicle as his reaction is to start appearing at the wheel and the trucker quickly jumps out to watch his rig [[TheMagicTouch get a ghostly make-over]] before taking off without him.
* BigBadassRig: the semi-truck that Lewis steals and magically transforms so that he can pursue the Mystery Van.
* BigBadEnsemble: Lewis and Shiromori. Lewis is out for {{Revenge}} on Arthur for killing him (albeit while possessed), and Shiromori is after Mystery for undisclosed reasons. Their goals and motivations are ultimately separate and have little to do with each other. [[GreaterScopeVillain There's also another entity roaming about that's responsible for Lewis' death and resurrection.]]
* BloodFromTheMouth: In ''The Future'', when Shiromori [[spoiler:attacks Vivi, she causes Vivi to throw up blood]].
* BloodlessCarnage: Even though Lewis dies just barely off the edge of the screen, with the spire that tore through his torso and his torn clothes making it into the frame, and Arthur's arm is seen in Mystery's mouth directly after being torn off there is no blood shown. There has even been an on-screen decapitation, but the character that happened to is not human and likely has no blood to show.
** Subverted in ''Hellbent,'' when [[spoiler: Shiromori attacks the Mystery Skulls Van, breaks the front windshield and slashes Mystery with her scissors.]]
** Averted in ''The Future,'' [[spoiler: wherein Vivi gets slashed by Shiromori's scissors while fighting her, Mystery bites his front leg hard enough to make it gush blood, and Vivi vomits up blood after a hit to the stomach by Shiromori.]]
* BrickJoke: The sixteen-wheeler that drives by the Mystery Skulls van in ''Freaking Out'' is the same one that Lewis turns into his {{Pimped Out Car}} at the end of the video.
* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: When Vivi, Arthur and Mystery first enter the dark haunted mansion their eyes are visible in the otherwise black darkness watching as a single magenta flame floats by and starts lighting the candles.
* CaveMouth: The cave in which Lewis was murdered had an eerie mouth like opening with four holes above it that looked like nostrils and glowing eyes due to the green entity in the cave, when it is next seen the glow is no longer present which makes the eye and nostril like holes more disguised.
* ClaimedByTheSupernatural: Anything that gets possessed by whatever it was that took over Arthur starts turning green and gains a demonic look. His severed arm is green, [[spoiler:as does Mystery when the he gets overridden into Murder Mystery.]]
* {{Cliffhanger}}: ''Hellbent'' ends with one as [[spoiler:Lewis drops Arthur off the same ledge that killed the former (and he may be regretting it already), Vivi is down and about to get stabbed by Shiromori, and Mystery is going full-on kitsune to save her. And ''then'' it's implied that Uncle Lance ''shot someone'' in the mix...]]
** ''The Future'' ends with another one: [[spoiler:Shiromori is killed (or at least incapacitated) and Mystery is possessed, in ''yokai'' form, by the same entity that possessed Arthur way back in ''Ghost''.]]
* CoolCar: The Mystery Skulls Van.
* ColorCodedCharacters: Vivi is blue, Arthur is yellow, Mystery is red, and Lewis is pink. [[spoiler: There's also green for the demon that possessed Arthur and white for Shiromori.]]
* CrystalBall: They keep a crystal ball in their van on the shelf above the holy water and garlic cloves.
* CuriosityKilledTheCast: A group of three amateur paranormal investigators and their "dog" enter an eerie CaveMouth to poke around despite the clear warning on the sign outside and the human skulls littering the cave. One of them ends up dead, another, who did not want to go in the cave in the first place, loses his arm and has some memory loss, and the third also loses part of her memory.
* CurseCutShort: At the end of ''The Future''.
-->[[spoiler: '''Vivi''': What the fu-\\
'''Arthur''': (screaming)]]
* DagwoodSandwich: Vivi and Mystery are on the verge of eating these when they get interrupted by Arthur and Lewis.
* DemonicPossession: Arthur's arm was possessed by a malevolent green cave entity a la ''Film/EvilDead2''.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Inverted. While Lewis wasn't a villain when it happened, he was still pushed off a cliff to his spiky demise, which ''caused'' the rage and desire for vengeance that makes him fit the mold postmortem.
* DownerEnding: ''Ghost'' doesn't really end well. Everyone who wasn't already dead gets out alive, but Lewis is left heartbroken, and nobody is able to reconcile his tragic death and put his soul to rest.
* DramaticGunCock: The song "Hellbent" features the sound of a gun cocking at one point. In the Animated version, this is timed so that the Mystery Van and the Ghost Rig crash into Uncle Lance's garage, as he runs out brandishing a shotgun.
* DramaticIrony: The audience knows that Arthur was possessed when he killed Lewis, and that the ghost the crew encountered was Lewis himself, but both parties are unaware of the respective truths; if they were, they would likely be inclined to reconcile, but instead Vivi and Arthur are afraid of Lewis and Lewis is out for vengeance. [[spoiler:Arthur only gets to see who the ghost is seconds before Lewis throws him off a cliff.]]

* EtTuBrute: {{Deconstructed}}. Lewis was killed by his possessed and horrified friend, Arthur, and now seeks Arthur's death in revenge.
* EverythingDances: Pretty much everything dances to the beat, especially in Lewis's house.
* EverythingIsBigInTexas: Takes place in Texas and the story is centered around the very tall ghost of a local young man, who has stolen and personalized a BigBadassRig to chase down his old girlfriend and his murderer by the end of ''Freaking Out''.
* EvilHand: Evil ''arm'' in Arthur's case; something possessed it in the green cave and killed Lewis, and it's still crawling around.
* {{Expy}}: The series features a cast that is a homage to ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' with their own twists.
* FireBreathingDiner: In the photo on Arthur's laptop in ''Freaking Out'' he can be seen in obvious pain with a trail of smoke emitting from his mouth from his spicy, ... milkshake? A closer look reveals Lewis's prankster sister Cayenne laughing under the table with a bottle of hot sauce in her hand implying she put hot sauce in the milkshake.
* FirstEpisodeTwist: Lewis is the long-dead ghost of a former member of the the Mystery Skulls and Vivi's boyfriend.

** During the line "Fuck, it's you I hate the most", Lewis is [[GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger pointing towards Arthur]]. Guess who murdered him while possessed?
** See TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf below.
** When the group enters the cave, everyone looks as you'd expect from their character. Except Mystery who seems to sense that something is ''very'' wrong.
** In ''The Future'', the biggest indicator that [[spoiler:Mystery is about to get possessed by [[GreaterScopeVillain the mysterious entity from]] ''[[GreaterScopeVillain Ghost]]'' is the fact that Arthur's mechanical arm (which he got after getting possessed by the same thing) starts sparking when it comes near.]]
* FourFingeredHands: The human and humanoid cast have only got four fingers on each hand.
* FreezeFrameBonus: During a flashback, at the bottom left of the screen, before Arthur is possessed and murders Lewis, you can see Vivi behind some green smoke, indicating she saw Lewis die.
** In ''Freaking Out'', Arthur's laptop background is a picture of him, Vivi, Mystery, Lewis, and Lewis' family at the restaurant back before everything went wrong. [[spoiler: Vivi's eyes glow as Lewis is being edited out, indicating she, rather than Arthur, is the one doing so, unconsciously.]]

* GhostlyGlide: Lewis glides along rather than walking or running, though he presumably could if he wanted to since he at one point stamps a foot down when getting ready to pummel Shiromori. [[spoiler:He deliberately stops doing this when he walks Arthur to the end of the cliff in ''Hellbent''.]]
* GhostlyGoals: Lewis is a mix of both types as he both wants to reconnect with his girlfriend Vivi, a fairly benign goal, and kill his former best friend Arthur for killing him (he was possessed at the time by a malicious entity and not in control but either Lewis doesn't know this or doesn't care).
* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: Lewis points at Arthur to tell him he hates him before chasing him down to try and kill his former friend.

* GoryDiscretionShot: Seems to be the case with Lewis' DisneyVillainDeath, but if you watch carefully, you'll see that it's actually a (silhouetted) close-up of him hitting the stalagmite. Given the series' BloodlessCarnage, it's just showing us the moment of death, and nothing terribly graphic.
** Played straight with Arthur's arm, but averted when Lewis punches Shiromori's head off and we're treated to a shot of what looks like roots snapping. Again, given the nature of the videos, there's no actual gore to be seen.

* HappyEndingOverride: Inverted. ''Ghost'' concludes with [[DownerEnding Lewis's chances tying up loose ends being met with failure]]. ''Freaking Out'' provides Lewis a second chance to find Vivi and get ([[RevengeMyopia albeit unjustified]]) revenge on Arthur.
* HauntedFetter: Lewis's heart locket. He can retreat into it and materialize from it and it cracks when his heart is broken.
* HauntedHouse: In ''Ghost'', the group's van breaks down in front of a very fancy mansion... haunted by a very dangerous ghost. By the end of the video it turns out to been an even more extreme example of this trope than it seemed: the entire mansion is a manifestation of the ghost's powers, and it ceases to exist when the ghost stops willing it to.
* HeartInTheWrongPlace: Lewis' heart is where his left lung would be. Justified because it's not really his heart -- it's a locket.
* HeroStoleMyBike: Lewis steals a truck from an innocent passerby near the end of ''Freaking Out'' so that he can catch up to the Mystery Skulls' van; he's really not so much as a hero, though, as much as he is an AntiVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonist]].
* AnIcePerson: In ''The Future,'' [[spoiler: Vivi gains this ability after seemingly making contact with her ancestor, by channeling it through her baseball bat.]]
* IFellForHours: Arthur, Vivi and Mystery fall for about 15 seconds past floating furniture and books after a trap door opens underneath them, how Vivi and Mystery land is not shown though they somehow ''slow down'' during their decent, and Arthur lands in the basement and looks quizzically up as though wondering about the physics ignoring fall he just had and where his friends might have landed.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Lewis was killed while exploring a cave by being pushed from a cliff and being impaled through his chest by a stalagmite when he landed. The suddenness and violence of his death is often interpreted by the fandom as part of the reason he came back as a vengeful wraith.
* InternalReveal: [[spoiler:Arthur finds out that Lewis is the ghost at the end of '"Hellbent'']].
* KillItWithIce: [[spoiler: The tables finally start turning on Shiromori after Vivi [[AnIcePerson unlocks her ice powers.]]]]
* LateToTheTragedy: In ''Freaking Out'', Shiromori shows up at the cave where it all went down only to find that everyone involved is long gone, one way [[DeadToBeginWith or another]].
* LowClearance: Averted; in ''Hellbent'', Arthur thinks he manages to escape Lewis driving in his semi-truck by going through a tunnel labelled that big rigs cannot pass through, but Lewis manages to bypass it through supernatural means.
* LyricalDissonance: Despite the seemingly wacky ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' parody overtones, ''Ghost'' quickly becomes more and more suited to the lyrics, especially since it represents one of the main characters, who even practically speaks one of the lines.
* MeleeATrois: Lewis and Shiromori have no reason to fight each other. Even their goals are separate (Arthur and Mystery). They just keep getting in each other's way and have no interest in explaining anything.
* MickeyMousing: Everything in the videos move along to the music. It doubles as a gag on [=MysteryBen=]'s earlier ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'' work, where characters also Mickey Mouse along with the music.
** Subverted in the intro to ''Hellbent'', most likely due to "Every Note" being an in-universe radio track rather than the background music.
** The intro to ''The Future'' and its stinger also lack any Mickey Mousing. The former is used instead for dramatic purposes, while the latter had no music playing at all.
* MimeAndMusicOnlyCartoon: The video is nothing but a cartoon where the characters actually move along (or at the very least, bob their heads along) to the music, ''no matter what is going on at the moment''. This leads to moments like the ghost chasing the trio after getting splattered with sandwiches and ''[[TheComicallySerious still moving along to the music]]''.
* MindScrew: It has a ''lot'' of symbolism, to put it frankly, and it'll likely be difficult to decipher until [=MysteryBen=] clarifies what's actually going on.
* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: The gang passes by a trio of mirrors when they fall into a trap door. Vivi's reflection has no eyes, Arthur's is missing his robotic arm, and Mystery's mirror ''shatters'' when he looks into it. This is {{foreshadowing}} for their backstory, in which [[spoiler: Vivi has a HeroicBSOD (and possibly LaserGuidedAmnesia), Arthur loses his arm to DemonicPossession and Mystery is [[{{Kitsune}} not]] [[TheFairFolk a]] [[AnimalisticAbomination dog]].]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:The second he drops Arthur in ''The Future'', Lewis remembers himself falling the same way and his heart locket immediately breaks. When he sees the fully restored image of the gang after Arthur touches it, he breaks down in tears.]]
* MythologyGag: All four of the moving paintings in ''Ghost'' are references to previous work by both Ben and Mystery Skulls: they feature the priest from ''Live!Ghost'', [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Miles Edgeworth with Phoenix Wright's spiky hair]] in reference to ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhjk5x54bsE The Turntable Turnabout]]'', and [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Rarity]] & [[VIdeoGame/RhythmHeaven The Wrestler]] in reference to Ben's ''Rhythm Is Magic'' animations.
* NothingIsScarier: The possessed arm is so scary partly because we have no idea what possessed it.
* OffWithHisHead: Shiromori suffers this at Lewis's hands. She gets better.
* OffModel: Vivi, Arthur, and Lewis in the stinger for ''The Future'', [[spoiler: matching their completely dumbfounded reactions to Murder Mystery. Arthur goes even more off-model (to the point of [[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Eds]]-esque proportions) when he starts screaming.]]

** When ghost Lewis is pointing a finger at him and puts on his hairstyle, Arthur starts running. Gets another, comparatively less dramatic one when he looks back to find he's being chased.
** In ''Freaking Out'', when Shiromori realizes she's accidentally reawakened Lewis and that he's ''pissed''.
** Also in ''Freaking Out'', when Mystery finds one of Shiromori's petals.
** Lewis realizing that he's about to be hit by a truck near the end of ''Freaking Out''. Fans have pointed out that he adopts the exact same stance as Arthur in ''Ghost''.
* OutrunTheFireball: The last scene of the Mystery Skulls escaping the mansion in ''Ghost'' has them jumping out just in time to escape a huge pink blast of ghost-fire.
* PrecisionFStrike: In ''Ghost'':
--> ''Time for givin' up the ghost\\
Fuck, it's you I hate the most''
* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Lewis to Shiromori in ''Freaking Out''. He's strong enough that he knocks her head clean off!
* PurpleIsTheNewBlack: Well, more like ''pink'' is the new black, but the eponymous ghost is associated with the color, which also matches other supernatural phenomena within the house.
* RasterVision: Used in ''Ghost'' for a flashback in a picture frame.
* RetCanon: According to [=MysteryBen=], the MythologyGag to ''Live!Ghost'' in ''Ghost'' was not the original plan. At the time he began working on the animated video, ''Live!Ghost'' hadn't been created, and the official one was to be [=MysteryBen=]'s. Since it took a while to finish the music video, Mystery Skulls created their own video to pad out the wait between the video's announcement and its eventual release. [=MysteryBen=] decided to return the favor by including the preacher from the video.
* {{Retcon}}: In addition to some general art improvements, the photo in Lewis's locket in ''Freaking Out'' was altered to [[HiddenEyes hide his living self's eyes]], rather than showing his eyes as in ''Ghost''. [[spoiler:This turned out to be more plot-important that initially thought, as when Lewis sees the full picture in ''The Future'', the locket flickers between his shaded face and his original unshaded design.]]
* RevenantZombie: Shiromori, though far more a {{Yokai}} than a classic raised-from-the-dead zombie, otherwise fits this to a T. She seems to be driven by one, single, burning purpose - to ''find Mystery and end him.'' She doesn't particularly care who, or what, gets in her way. And [[OhCrap then she meets Lewis...]]
* RevengeMyopia: Lewis has come back as a ghost hellbent on getting revenge on Arthur for his murder. Unfortunately he is either unaware or doesn't care that Arthur was possessed at the time and was visibly horrified at Lewis's murder at his own hand. Further complicating matters Arthur seems to have forgotten Lewis's death and is now desperately seeking his missing friend on a visible lack of sleep that may be causing hallucinations meaning he's not likely to recognize Lewis's flaming skeletal ghost and wouldn't be able to even try and explain what really happened if he did.
* RuleOfSymbolism: EVERYTHING in ''Ghost'', from the colors (pink represents the supernatural, green represents evil) and a few weird happenings in the early parts (See TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf).
* ScoobyDoobyDoors: Naturally, in ''Ghost''.

* SecurityCling: Arthur provides a couple of flavors, clinging to Lewis's arm in fear in the flashback and he catches Mystery and jumps into Vivi's arms when the portraits lean out of their frames to shout at them in the haunted house.

** The head-bobbing and general rhythmic feel of the whole video was a huge one to ''Videogame/RhythmHeaven''.
** The severing of Arthur's possessed arm is a reference to Ash Williams from the ''Franchise/EvilDead'' franchise.

** Uncle Lance, aside from being a shoutout to the Arthurian Mythos by ThemeNaming, has his character design as a WholeCostumeReference to Coop from ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'', coincidentally one of Arthur's favorite series. In terms of personality though, the two are as different as can be.

** The fourth haunted painting is of the dancing priest from the Live Action video for Ghost which was done after the Animated one started production.
** The scene where Vivi, Arthur and Mystery are falling by floating furniture and books after the TrapDoor is a reference to ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' when Alice fell down the rabbit hole.
** The truck driver who runs over Lewis at the end of Freaking Out bears more than a passing resemblance to Dave Lister of ''Series/RedDwarf'', cases in point being wearing a cap, a leather jacket, and fingerless gloves, and having dreadlocks tied together at the back of his head.
* SignificantBackgroundEvent: The opening of ''Freaking Out'' has Arthur's detached demon arm slithering around.
* TheSlowWalk: Lewis pulls off a floating variant during the intro to ''The Future''. He easily shrugs off Uncle Lance's shots while floating towards him, and when one finally breaches where the stalagmite impaled him, he just gets pissed.
* SourceMusic: The beginning of ''Hellbent'' has Arthur play "Every Note" on the van's CD player while driving. When Lewis gets a hold of it, it starts switching to "Hellbent" before [[DiegeticSwitch becoming the background music]].

* SpookyPainting: A series of paintings in one of the halls of the HauntedHouse are among the things which gain glowing eyes when the interior lights up to greet the guests and when Arthur, Vivi and Mystery make it into their part of the hall they menace the trio before the painting of a duchess tugs on a pull string and sends them tumbling through a TrapDoor.

** The unnamed ghosts with Lewis who pulsate with the music are Dead Beats.

** It may be silent, but the first time we see anyone moving their mouths is when [[spoiler: Arthur mutters "Lewis?" before he gets dropped in ''Hellbent''. This gets followed up the moment ''The Future'' starts with the first instance of spoken dialogue so far: Arthur repeating his name out loud.]]
** At the end of ''The Future'', [[spoiler:our second spoken dialogue is Vivi saying, "What the fu-?" Then, Arthur interrupts her by screaming in terror.]]
* SupernaturalRepellent: Vivi and Arthur keep a stash of various things to protect them from the supernatural in their van in including [[VampiresHateGarlic garlic cloves]], dream catchers, [[PaperTalisman ofuda]] and bottles of [[HolyBurnsEvil holy water]].
* SurpriseCreepy: It starts off as a cute and colorful homage to ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', before the MindScrew and tragic backstory set in...
* SympatheticMagic: Shiromori uses flowers that match a person's coloring to track them, and it appears they have other properties as well, as Arthur reacted when Lewis stepped on his.
* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Lewis's revenge plan for Arthur, as shown in ''Freaking Out'' and ''The Future''. [[spoiler:He follows his victim into a cave covered in stalagmites, just like Arthur did. He catches said victim by surprise and throws him off a cliff to a spiky death, just like Arthur did... and watches his friend fall wondering why he betrayed him, just like Arthur did. He then proceeds to immediately and terribly regret his actions, ''just like Arthur did''. He then starts dissolving the illusion, though it ends up being moot since Arthur's uncle shoots him and dispells it completely.]]
* ThemeNaming: There's quite a bit of Arthurian Mythos surrounding Arthur; the repair shop where he works is called "Kingsmen Mechanics", his uncle is named Lance(lot), and he has a hamster named Galahad.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Shiromori's expression just as she realizes she's about to be run over by Lewis's truck.

** Arthur starts turning green starting with the hand that was first touched by the glowing green mist when he's possessed by the thing in the cave. His [[BlackEyesOfCrazy sclera turns black]], his iris turns glowing green and his teeth start to turn sharper before Mystery [[AmputationStopsSpread tears off his arm]].
** [[spoiler:A much more dramatic example occurs when it fully possesses Mystery in ''The Future''.]]
* TrapDoor: After Arthur grabs Mystery and jumps into Vivi's arms in reaction to the paintings around them coming to life. One of the paintings then smirks and tugs on a pull-string, dropping the trio through the hidden trap door they were standing on.

* VileVillainSaccharineShow: The music video is a bright and colorful ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''-esque cartoon, but then we have the mysterious entity that forced Arthur to push Lewis to his death and eventually led to the loss of Arthur's own arm.
* VSign: Belle can be seen giving the camera a cheerful v sign on the photo set as Arthur's laptop background.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: After returning as a vengeful ghost Lewis feels this way about the rest of the Mystery Skulls, especially Arthur who murdered him. It's unknown whether Lewis knows that Arthur was possessed at the time.
* WhamLine: The end of ''Hellbent'': [[spoiler:''"Lewis?"'']]

** TheReveal that Lewis was killed by a possessed Arthur turns the first half of the animation from a [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo funny]] ShoutOut to a complete [[TearJerker tragedy]].
** In ''Freaking Out,'' there's a shot of Arthur's computer showing different locations (including his uncle's auto shop). There are multiple pictures of Lewis; some of them are crossed out, while one picture (along with one of Ghost Lewis) has question marks next to it. [[spoiler: This seems to indicate that not only did Arthur not recognize Lewis as a ghost, ''he doesn't even know Lewis is dead''.]]
** [[spoiler:Shiromori seeing a warrior maiden who looks ''a lot'' like Vivi in place of her, implying her beef with Mystery stems back ''much'' farther than originally thought, and includes his owners.]]
** [[spoiler: ''The Future'' ends on a shot of Mystery's heart, before a familiar [[DemonicPossession hand]] grabs onto it]].
* WhatHaveIBecome: Lewis' reaction upon first waking up from his coffin.
* WraparoundBackground: Briefly seen when Vivi, Arthur and Mystery are running down the hallway with the suits of armor, and again when Arthur is fleeing from Lewis down another hall in the HauntedHouse.

* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Lewis's revenge plan for Arthur, as shown in ''Freaking Out'' and ''The Future''. [[spoiler:He follows his victim into a cave covered in stalagmites, just like Arthur did. He catches said victim by surprise and throws him off a cliff to a spiky death, just like Arthur did... and watches his friend fall wondering why he betrayed him, just like Arthur did. He then proceeds to immediately and terribly regret his actions, ''just like Arthur did''.]]

* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Lewis's revenge plan for Arthur, as shown in ''Freaking Out'' and ''The Future''. [[spoiler:He follows his victim into a cave covered in stalagmites, just like Arthur did. He catches said victim by surprise and throws him off a cliff to a spiky death, just like Arthur did... and watches his friend fall wondering why he betrayed him, just like Arthur did. And immediately regrets his actions, ''just like Arthur did''.]]

* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Lewis's revenge plan for Arthur, as shown in ''Freaking Out'' and ''The Future''. [[spoiler:He follows his victim into a cave covered in stalagmites, just like Arthur did. He throws him off a cliff to a spiky death, just like Arthur did... and watches his friend fall wondering why he betrayed him, just like Arthur did. And immediately regrets his actions, ''just like Arthur did''.]]

* MeleeATrois: Lewis and Shiromori have no reason to fight each other. Even their goals are separate (Arthur and Mystery). They just keep getting in each other's way and have no interest in explaining anything.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:The second he drops Arthur in ''The Future'', Lewis remembers himself falling the same way and his heart locket immediately breaks. When he sees the fully restored image after Arthur accidentally restores it, he breaks down in tears.]]

** The scene where Vivi, Arthur and Mystery are falling by floating furniture and books after the TrapDoor is a reference to ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' when Alice fell down the rabbit hole.

* TheSlowWalk: Lewis pulls off a floating variant during the intro to ''TheFuture''. He easily shrugs off Uncle Lance's shots while floating towards him, and when one finally breaches where the stalacmite impaled him, he just gets pissed.

* ClaimedByTheSupernatural: Anything that gets possessed by whatever it was that took over Arthur starts turning green and gains a demonic look. His decapitated arm also shares this look, [[spoiler:as does Mystery when the he gets overridden into Murder Mystery.]]

* DramaticGunCock: The song ''Hellbent'' features the sound of a gun cocking at one point. In the Animated version, this is timed so that the Mystery Van and the Ghost Rig crash into Uncle Lance's garage, as he runs out brandishing a shotgun.

** The intro to ''The Future'' and its stinger also lack any Mickey Mousing. The former is used instead from dramatic purposes, while the latter had no music playing at all.

* OffWithHisHead: Shiromori suffers this at Louis's hands. She gets better.

* SignificantBackgroundEvent: The opening of ''Freaking Out'' has [[spoiler:Arthur's detached demon arm slithering around.]]

On May 16th 2020, a [[https://youtu.be/fX6x3G08Ozk video]] was released to coincide with the release of Mystery Skulls[='=] album Now or Never. At the end of the video, the next installment, set to "The Future", was announced and projected for October 2020, ultimately being released on Halloween.