HAPPY (almost) HALLOWEEN!
Don't you just love Disney Channel's Halloween episodes? This one was one of my personal favourites...
The time Raven and Chelsea turned into cows and won Alana's costume contest. A classic.
Fast forward to 2017, when the ladies no longer have hooves and two of their children are telling a spooky story to their classmates.
Eliza Crane is her name, being struck by lightning was her... fate. Apparently her spirit will be making its presence in the Baxter/Daniels apartment complex again this year, as it's done annually for the last 80 years. Everyone's freaked out, except this dude:
He doesn't buy it. Why? Well, because his dad's a ghost hunter!
... Or a dentist, who hunts cavities. Props to either of those professions - hunting all of the above demons sounds terrifying.
Booker says he got the info from a reliable source - and dares Travis to come over and witness the ghoul firsthand. He takes him up on the challenge, and says he'll turn the visit into a ghost hunting expedition. Just one problem...
This was Booker's reliable source. Turns out Tess made the story up, as messing with him is her way of showing love. What a special kind of love Tess gives.
Booker's panicking and asks Tess for help. Poor Nia has Chickenpox, so, in true best friend fashion, Tess will be hanging out with her this evening. Looks like Booker and Levi are on their own. Before the boys get too down in the dumps, Booker sees this in a vision:
Travis is terrified of a ghost! They decide that one of them will dress up as the ghost to scare him. Then, we're graced with Ray and Chels's Halloween ensembles.
A sloth.
And Captain 'Oh SNAP!' Sparrow!
The boys tell their moms they won't be able to Trick Or Treat with them as they have to prank someone into thinking there's a ghost in the building. Most parents would roll their eyes, and tell their kids to forget it. Then, there's Raven.
The mamas are IN! Sadly for them, though, Booker says him and Levi are old enough to prank on their own. Oh well, looks like Chels will be left to "slothing" while her BFF looks on in annoyance. A typical day for these two.
Meanwhile, Nia's in her room, itching away.
Tess walks in, assuring Nia that she's had the Chickenpox multiple times, so she's immune.
Multiple? She had something, alright. But it probably wasn't the pox.
Nia's upset that she's sick on Halloween, and encourages Tess to go out. She stands in solidarity with her itchy pal. That's true friendship, fam. Perhaps I think this is so endearing because i'm a Hypochondriac who won't go near anyone who's sick with a 10-foot pole on a regular day, let alone on HALLO FREAKIN WEEN.
Upstairs, Booker's preparing for the Eliza Crane prank. And look, Eliza's just on time!
PRECIOUS! Creepily precious. Booker has everything down to a science, ushering Eliza/Levi into a shed where she/he will wait for Booker's cue before jumping out and scaring the heebie jeebies out of Travis. Before Levi can get too cozy, he falls through a trap door underneath him! Oh no!
Downstairs, a Trick Or Treater has arrived! Woohoo!
Darn, it was just Travis, who declares that candy is bad for your teeth. Way to damper everyone's spirits, buddy.
Booker ushers Travis up to the rooftop and tells him to be quiet because he can't stand the sound of his voice. HA. HA. Then, Booker yells for Eliza to show herself...
To no avail. Travis's belief in the main attraction of this ghost hunting mission is deteriorating by the second. In a moment of anger, Booker admits that Tess made up the story of Eliza Crane. The two halt their arguing when they hear Levi's voice in the shed. They can't see him, though. Anyone else feeling Strange(r Things)?
On the ground, they spot THIS:
Which, for the record, is not alien snot. According to Travis, it's Ectoplasmic Portal Goo. A delicacy. He then proceeds to say he believes Levi is trapped in the spirit world. MAYBE LEVI WILL FIND BARB! OH SNAP! Booker also tells him to keep a lookout for his dead goldfish. When fish die... they turn upside down... so if Levi's in The Upside Down... OK. Let's not get carried away here.
Back downstairs, Tess has totally Halloweenified Nia's room as a surprise!
Nia loves it, but sadly doesn't have a costume to go along with the spooky theme. Tess grabs a paintbrush, tells her BFF to take a seat, and we're left wondering what masterpiece this artist has in store.
Booker and Travis rush into the apartment to tell Raven that Levi's missing. Raven, not realizing the prank is over, plays along...
She's headed to find her spirit scarf so that the three of them can contact The Spirit Realm. BOM BOM BOM.
Moments later, the group is having a seance in the apartment, and i'm reminded of that insanely scary episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody where Esteban's eyes rolled into the back of his head multiple times and was on call waiting with the spirit world. That still freaks me out.
Travis begins the seance, but is quickly interrupted by Ray, who demonstrates how it's really done. Now i'm terrified that Esteban will appear. I'm having flashbacks. Oh dear.
I mean, the similarities are uncanny.
How was this in a children's show?! Ahhh!!!
At least Raven's seance call is a lot funnier, and we know she's fabricating it as she's trying to help Booker prank Travis.
Travis is a little spooked. Raven keeps the charade up until she hears Levi's voice calling.
The three get up and begin searching for Levi. Oh no. He sees a light. They tell him to avoid it at all costs. It's never a good thing when a character sees a LIGHT! Raven demands Booker take her to the shed where Levi disappeared. The two discover the trapped door, and Raven says she'll go down to get Levi. She heads down... only to bump into Booker, who was scared up on the rooftop by himself. Looks like he's not the only one Raven spots!
Yippee! Levi has been found. He says he thinks there's a monster there, and Raven says she'll protect them - they just have to stay close.
Maybe not that close, but Ray will make it work.
But can she protect them from THAT?! What the heck is that? A demon? Zombie? An albino bunny? (Google them, they're frightening.)
Tess is done Nia's makeup, and let's be real, we're all equally as scared of how it turned out as we are of those bright red eyes.
Wow! That's one awesome skull face! Tess proceeds to phase two of the plan: Trick Or Treating!
Door #1? A cranky grandma who slams the door in Nia's face. That's almost as sad as when one year I received an apple from a house.
Door #2?
A proud pops who gives Nia coins and a toothbrush.
And.... Door #3:
Her light was OFF!
Chels, a mother, returns home from... Trick Or Treating... when she sees Travis in their apartment. He panics, explaining where everyone is. Chels thinks the prank is still happening. Travis won't settle down, hurling several disses in Chels's general direction, and she says they'll find them together.
In the walls of the apartment, the trio spot the red-eyed creature. Raven's the most scared of them all.
They don't make it far when they fall through another trapped door! They proceed to fall through a few more, and end up in the laundry room. SPOOKY! Especially to the boys, who have never visited the room prior to this moment.
Upstairs, Tess is waiting for Nia to answer the door so she can Trick Or Treat. She eventually walks in when Nia doesn't answer, only to find this:
Before we can freak out too hard, Nia reappears! She was pranking Tess. As Tess would say, 'that girl's got skill!'
Outside of the laundry room, Chelsea is looking for Raven, Booker and Levi. Travis is tagging along, although he's convinced the trio is in an alternate universe.
Or they're in the laundry room. Which, to the boys, is an alternate universe. Travis is PETRIFIED.
While the trio explain what happened to Chelsea, the red-eyed culprit falls on top of Raven, attacking her head as she scurries around the laundry room!
No offence, but EW! That thing's NASTY! Before Raven can totally destroy the thing, Chelsea stops her and says it's a possum. The possum then makes... cute... sounds, and all is forgiven. Chelsea thinks the possum thinks she's his mom, and begins speaking in an Australian accent. That is, until, the possum gets into attack position.
She backs down, and the four of them rush out.
In the apartment, the moms and boys rejoice in being back together again. Booker thinks his plan to scare Travis was a total success, with or without Eliza.
Guess it was with!
I really enjoyed this Halloween themed episode. It wasn't terrifying enough that i'll have nightmares (as a twenty year-old), but not childish enough that kids will feel like Disney doesn't believe they can handle a little spook.
Down below, let me know what you think of Levi as Eliza, if at first you too believed the boys had discovered alien snot, and what your favourite Halloween Disney Channel show episode over the years has been!
Also, wishing everyone celebrating today a very Happy Thanksgiving! May your impending turkey coma be not as bad as it was last year, but not as bad as years to come. :)
Catch Raven's Home Friday Nights on Disney Channel.
