The episode starts off with SpongeBob putting sparkly decorations on his house for Halloween. Patrick comes by in his knight costume, but he isn't amused by SpongeBob's house because it is "too cute for Halloween." SpongeBob shows him his flower costume, but Patrick still isn't impressed because it isn't scary enough. Patrick shows SpongeBob what scary is when Squidward's house scared the trick-or-treaters with onions. SpongeBob admits that he loves to go trick-or-treating, but he's too afraid to go out on Halloween. Patrick tells SpongeBob that there's no need to be afraid as long as he believes in one simple statement: Scary equals funny. SpongeBob agrees and goes with him.
The first place they stop at is Sandy's treedome. Sandy appears in her mad scientist outfit and is dubbed under the name: Dr. Franken-Cheeks. She, SpongeBob, and Patrick play a guessing game with her jars of horror and she shows them her latest invention: the acorn monster. Afterwards, SpongeBob and Patrick stop over at the Krusty Krab where Mr. Krabs and Squidward are doing a haunted tour of the Chum Bucket. SpongeBob enjoys the haunted tour and laughs himself out. Mr. Krabs asks why SpongeBob is laughing, but SpongeBob tells him that he has a new theory: Scary equals funny. SpongeBob's theory doesn't intrigue both Mr. Krabs and Squidward and claim it as a major insult on Halloween. SpongeBob and Patrick stop over at the Chum Bucket, where Plankton and Karen are doing the haunted tour of the Krusty Krab. But SpongeBob finds this funny as well, which deeply annoys Plankton and Karen.
Meanwhile, in the skies above Bikini Bottom, the Flying Dutchman is enjoying himself on Halloween, however, he is halted by SpongeBob's laughter. He descends downward and goes to ask SpongeBob why is he laughing on Halloween. SpongeBob says that he used to be scared until Patrick told him that scary equals funny. The Flying Dutchman was offended by that statement at first, but when he looks at the Krusty Krab decorations, he concludes that they're laughable. He decides to offer them a thrill ride inside his pirate ship, which SpongeBob and Patrick agree.
Act 2
SpongeBob and Patrick ride inside the ship where it is filled with ghosts, ghouls, skeletons and monsters. Patrick is terrified, but SpongeBob still thinks it's funny. The Flying Dutchman felt frustrated with SpongeBob's laughter, however, he's got another idea. Upon hearing that SpongeBob has other friends, the Flying Dutchman unleashes a ghostly mist and steals the souls of Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Gary and Plankton. SpongeBob and Patrick are still riding in the ship and they encounter the souls of their friends locked in cages as they call for help. SpongeBob still finds this funny, until he notices Patrick's soul caged up as well. Patrick confesses that he had been wrong all along and admits that sometimes scary equals scary. After hearing that, SpongeBob realizes the trouble his selfish theory had done and ran out of the ship in fear. But despite being scared, he decides to go back and rescue his friends.
Back on the ship, the Flying Dutchman tortures the souls of SpongeBob's friends. Plankton manages to set himself free and offers the Flying Dutchman a deal: Plankton takes over the world and they'll split it 70-30. But the Flying Dutchman turns down the offer and turns Plankton into his ghoulish servant. Just as the Dutchman prepares to roast the souls of SpongeBob's friends, SpongeBob appears in Sandy's acorn monster puppet. He goes to attack the Dutchman, but he ends up flying into a wall, destroying the puppet in the process. The Dutchman laughs at SpongeBob because he's too stupid to scare someone like him. Plankton mentions the scary things SpongeBob has inside his brain, which makes the Dutchman so angry to the point of stepping on him. However, he's encouraged to fly inside his brain and have a look.
Inside SpongeBob's brain, the Flying Dutchman encounters various creatures flying around and they carry him everywhere. None of those dream creatures scared the Dutchman one bit and concludes that SpongeBob doesn't have any scary thoughts in his brain. But SpongeBob, who regained consciousness, says that what always scared him is when his mother takes out his naked baby pictures. At that moment, a giant naked baby version of SpongeBob appears and hugs the Flying Dutchman. The other dream creatures hug him as well and the Dutchman becomes scared. He flies out of SpongeBob's head and ran away in horror. As his ship disappeared, the souls of SpongeBob's friends return to their bodies. SpongeBob learns to never say scary equals funny ever again and everyone runs into the Krusty Krab for the party. Meanwhile, Plankton gets picked up by a trick-or-treater and eats him, mistaking him for candy.
Production
The episode was confirmed by Kaz on April 6, 2017.[1] It was reported by The Hollywood Reporter on June 20, 2017 that the episode was in post-production.[2]
Temporary Facebook profile image of SpongeBob SquarePants page
Temporary Facebook profile background of SpongeBob SquarePants page
Behind the scenes
The Dutchman at the helm
Ghostly dining
Behind the Scenes Boo-Kini Bottom
Behind the scenes in boo-kini bottom
The Flying Dutchman
At screen novelties studios
Behind the scenes that screen novelties
Behind the scenes at Screen novelties
Behind the scenes of boo-Kini bottom at screen novelties studio
Behind the scenes at screen novelties studios
Behind the scenes at Screen Novelties Studios - 1
Behind the scenes at Screen Novelties Studios - 2
Behind the scenes at Screen Novelties Studios - 3
Music
( ‣ ) Production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music
‣Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card and opening.]
‣Unknown Track 77 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick appears disguised as a knight/"Hello!"] ‣Cartoon Sting 4 - Patrick says SpongeBob's decorations are too cute. ‣Unknown Track 54 - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob disguised as a flower.] ‣Cartoon Sting 4 - "Oh, that's not scary either, SpongeBob." ‣Evil Mind 3 - Dick De Benedictis ["There is no candy here... Only onions!"] ‣Death Clock (b) - Dick De Benedictis [Squidward scares away trick-or-treaters with onions.] ‣Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["SpongeBob?"] ‣ ? [SpongeBob hiding in Patrick's costume.] ‣Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Scary equals funny!"] ‣Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob scared by ghost balloon.] ‣ ? [SpongeBob hiding in Patrick's mouth.] ‣Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.] ‣Cartoon Sting 7 - "Sure you can handle this, SpongeBob?" ‣Alien Spacecraft (a) - Gregor Narholz [SpongeBob and Patrick see machines inside Sandy's treedome.] ‣ ? [Sandy's silhouette appears behind SpongeBob and Patrick.] ‣Frankenstein's Niece (a) - Gregor Narholz [Sandy introduces herself as Dr. Franken-Cheeks.] ‣Cartoon Sting 7 - "Oh, hi, Sandy. I didn't recognize you." ‣Cellar Search - Philippe Pares [Jars of horror are shown.] ‣Frankenstein's Niece (a) - Gregor Narholz [SpongeBob sticks his hand into the jars of horror.] ‣Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [Patrick's head is shown inside of a jar.] ‣Hot Steel and Slide Licks (VIII) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob touching Patrick's brain.] ‣Hot Steel and Slide Licks (VI) - Jeremy Wakefield ["Ew!"] ‣Frankenstein's Niece (a) - Gregor Narholz [Sandy introduces the acorn monster to SpongeBob and Patrick, which scares them.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (e) - Jeremy Wakefield ["I love it!"] ‣Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Hooray!"] ‣Sailor's Sting 15 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Squidward and Mr. Krabs setting up "The Horrors of the Chum Bucket."] ‣Walk in a Nightmare - Syd Dale [SpongeBob and Patrick get inside "The Horrors of the Chum Bucket."] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (r) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob and Patrick laughing.] ‣Fooling Around - Barry Anthony ["What are you two laughing about?"] ‣Unknown Track 78 - "Come to the Chum Bucket and witness the horrors of the Krusty Krab!" ‣ ? [Karen disguised as a cat.] ‣The Haunted Carnival - Eban Schletter ["Behold! The horrors of the Krusty Krab!"] ‣Malleus Mallificarum (a) - Dave Hewson [Flying Dutchman's ship appears.] ‣In the Crypt - Dave Hewson ["Ah! Music to me ears. Halloween night, and everyone is getting their bloomers scared off!"] ‣Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Wait a millennium..."] ‣Some Things To Know About Monsters - Eban Schletter ["That kid isn't screaming with fear."/Flying Dutchman scares the kid.] ‣Down in Davy Jones' Locker - Nicolas Carr [Flying Dutchman laughs.] ‣Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Flying Dutchman hears SpongeBob laughing.] ‣Malleus Mallificarum (a) - Dave Hewson ["Who dares to laugh at All Hallows' Eve?!"] ‣Out of the Crypt - Sean Elder [Flying Dutchman steers his ship downwards.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (v) - Jeremy Wakefield ["Gee. Who would have thought I'd be laughing myself silly tonight?"] ‣The Beast Within - Paddy Kingsland ["You!"] ‣Dramatisation - Derrick Mason [Um... I guess so?"] ‣The Beast Within - Paddy Kingsland [Flying Dutchman screams at SpongeBob.] ‣Ghostly Scoundrel - Eban Schletter ["How could anyone confuse scary with funny?"] ‣It's Creepy (a) - Ron Goodwin ["These decorations are laughable!"] ‣Tower of Evil - Magnum Opus [Dutchman invites SpongeBob and Patrick aboard his ship.] ‣At the Graveyard OL - Gregor Narholz [Flying Dutchman flying around SpongeBob and Patrick.] •Ahhhh - Doug Lawrence, Eban Schletter [Ghosts sing this.] ‣Cloak and Dagger - Sean Elder ["How can he still be laughing?! I've never been so humiliated."] ‣Some Things To Know About Monsters - Eban Schletter [Flying Dutchman steals SpongeBob's friends' souls.] ‣Its Behind You - Sean Elder [SpongeBob still laughing.] ‣The Horror Never Ends 60 - Gregor Narholz [Squidward, Gary, Sandy, Plankton, Mr. Krabs and Patrick's souls caged.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (u) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob deletes the word "Funny" from the chalkboard.] ‣Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob screams.] ‣The Creature (a) - Gregor Narholz [SpongeBob's skeleton runs out of his body.] ‣Quirky Tension B - John Epping ["Me too, but we gotta go back."] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (b) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob's skeleton gets back in his body.] ‣Vault of Secrets - Magnum Opus [Flying Dutchman playing with caged souls.] ‣Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [Plankton gets an idea.] ‣Cloak and Dagger - Sean Elder [Plankton's soul escapes from cage.] ‣Unknown Track 68 - Flying Dutchman zaps Plankton. ‣ ? ["Yes, master."] ‣It's Creepy (a) - Ron Goodwin [Plankton kisses Dutchman's diamond ring.] ‣Impending Death 60 - Gregor Narholz [Flying Dutchman about to roast souls over the fire.] ‣Frightmare - Magnum Opus [Acorn monster appears and tries to scare the Flying Dutchman.] ‣Ghastly Ghouls - Sean Elder ["You couldn't frighten me in a million eternities, kid."] ‣Evil Wizard OL - Udi Harpaz ["I was in there once. It's so terrifying, even for ghosts!"] ‣ ? [Sequence of Flying Dutchman inside of SpongeBob's brain.] ‣Its Behind You - Sean Elder [SpongeBob's eyes roll into his head and sees the Flying Dutchman.] ‣Classic Horror Sting - Eban Schletter [Flying Dutchman turns black and reveals eyeballs and a ghost.] ‣Its Behind You - Sean Elder [SpongeBob says what scares him.] ‣ ? [Flying Dutchman sees a giant baby SpongeBob that hugs him, along with the brain's characters.] ‣The Creature (a) - Gregor Narholz [Flying Dutchman leaves SpongeBob's brain screaming.] ‣Twelfth Street Rag - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick, Sandy, Squidward and Mr. Krabs recover their souls.] ‣Haunted Hula Skirts - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ending.]
As of June 22, 2019, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 8.3/10 based on 276 ratings by users.[4] TV.com users give this episode a rating of 9.3/10 based on 3 votes.[5]
Trivia
General
According to Vincent Waller, an entire wrap-around with Patchy was finalized and written, but it was not filmed because there was already enough material to fill 22 minutes.[6]
The same character models from "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" are used in this episode.
Each character wears a Halloween costume:
SpongeBob: Flower
Patrick: Knight
Squidward: No Costume
Mr. Krabs: Dollar Bill
Plankton: Devil
Karen: Cat
Sandy: Mad Scientist (Dr. Franken-Cheeks)
The stop-motion models of Mrs. Puff and Pearl from "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" were originally going to appear, but their scenes had to be cut from the final episode for time.[7]
The Flying Dutchman has a crew of pirate ghosts in this episode.
This episode was going to air in Iberia on September 29, 2017, 2 weeks before the American premiere. However, it had been replaced by a rerun of "Feral Friends" and "Don't Wake Patrick" either because the episode wasn't dubbed yet or because it had yet to air in the US.[citation needed]
The episode premiered in Canada on October 20, 2017, a week after the U.S. premiere.
The stop-motion theme song footage from "Truth or Square" is used for the intro of the special, while keeping the Captain part and the original music of the regular theme song.
During the premiere of the episode, a banner would appear, informing viewers about Spectrum's decision to drop 23 Viacom channels - including Nickelodeon - and ways to help not to lose these channels. This only happened on Nickelodeon's sub-feed for Spectrum. Other cable providers did not show the message.[citation needed]
There is an online game based on this episode called Tracks of Terror.
This is the highest viewed season 11 episode, having 2.21 million viewers.
This episode premiered 11 years after "Bummer Vacation" premiered and nine years after "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" premiered. Coincidentally, this episode and "Bummer Vacation" both aired on Friday the 13th.
This episode marks the Flying Dutchman's first physical appearance since "Ghoul Fools" from season 8.
This is also the first appearance of stop-motion animation since the second movie.
This is the first episode to feature all of the main characters since "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"
Coincidentally, both episodes are holiday specials, animated via stop motion, and the character models used in this episode are recycled from "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"
This is the fourth instance of a character entering SpongeBob's brain. The other instances were in "Plankton!," "The Inside Job," and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
This is also the first time a character other than Plankton enters SpongeBob's brain. In this case, it is the Flying Dutchman.
In the UK, production details are listed for it just after the intro concludes.
This episode, unlike most others, was released on a Friday instead of a Saturday.
The Flying Dutchman says that SpongeBob has never scared him before. However, in "Scaredy Pants," he scares him when he takes off SpongeBob's costume and finds out that it's just his brain underneath the costume.
This is the third episode in which Plankton gets mistaken for candy. The first is "F.U.N." and the second is "20,000 Patties Under the Sea."
When Patrick is first seen dressed as a knight, the trumpet fanfare from "Dunces and Dragons" is reused.
Errors
On TV guides, this episode is listed as a season 10 episode. This happens to most other season 11 episodes.
"The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom" listed as a season 10 episode.
YTV listings mistakenly call this episode "The Legends of Boo-Kini Bottom."
Since the normal theme song with the animation of the "Truth or Square" opening is used, the trumpet on SpongeBob's nose is making the sound of a flute.
Just like in "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," when SpongeBob and Patrick enter Sandy's treedome, they are not wearing water helmets.
When the Flying Dutchman traps the characters' ghosts in the cages, most of the characters could've turned sideways and escaped, or they could've torn themselves apart like Plankton did.
When the Flying Dutchman's ship vanishes, leaving SpongeBob and his friends' souls to fall down, both Patrick's body and Plankton's soul are absent until they return to their respective counterparts in the next scenes.
