Harum Scarum Sanitarium vs. Vampire Bats & Scaredy Cats

[moonscar]

Probably the 2 darkest, most horror themed episodes of the entire series going face to face.

[Doo]

Tough choice! I would say "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats" because the tone feels even slightly creepier than "Harum Scarum Sanitarium" to me, plus I love the inclusion of Scooby-Dum haha. Both are super horror-focused though.

[matt]

They are both so freaking good…

Harum Scarum Sanitarium might be one of the scariest episodes in the franchise for me. It is just so, so creepy. On top of a pretty neat mystery and setting as well, it is just a classic

Vampire Bats and Scaredy cats, though, is one of the very greatest episodes of the franchise, and wins this matchup for me. It isn’t as creepy as Harum Scarum for me, but it might be darker. Especially the incredibly cruel plan here by the perpetrator. This one is a masterpiece

[moonscar]

I agree with both of you. These 2 are nearly inseparable for me as they're both about as dark as classic Scooby ever got + have genuinely interesting mysterious.

I've went with "Harum" simply because I find the setting or the Sanitarium to be extremely creepy, lending itself to some great spooky moments(brain wave experiments etc.). I also think that the Ghost of Dr. Coffin is a slightly scarier villian, with a more unique design.

That being said "Vampire Bats" is overall darker, I would say. Chiefly because the whole plot is beyond twisted and Uncle Leon is arguably the most diabolical person the gang ever came up against, in the classic era. Both are definitely 10/10 for sure!

[cartoonlover]

Harum Scarum had some nice setpieces in it. Rainy nightime complements the asylum. Hard to tell but I felt like I just recently I saw a different version of Vampire Bats then the one I sort of remember watching a long time ago? What I will say is that Vampire Bats has the most quiet atmosphere of all the Scooby episodes imo.