The popular children’s show “Scooby-Doo,
Where Are You?” is warmly embraced by generations of viewers. It
is seemingly a charming story about four teenagers (Fred Fred, Daphne,
Velma, and Shaggy) and their lovable
talking dog, Scooby-Doo, who travel around the country solving supernaturally-based
crimes. These crimes inevitably turn
out to be hoaxes with an occult veneer. 

However, beneath this seemingly hostile
attitude towards the supernatural lies a deeper core which is actually
sympathetic towards the occult. An examination
of the show’s theme song will reveal, in fact, that it is a rather
blatant attempt at invoking an ancient spirit,
who possesses the group’s canine companion and acts at the invoker’s
behest. Quite probably, this apparent conflict of interests is an attempt
by the five main characters to strip
away the public’s misconceptions about the supernatural and to promote
a positive image for the 

practitioners of the occult arts. 

 

“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?”

Scooby-Dooby-Doo (1), Where Are You? We got some
work to do now.

Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You? We need some help
from you now. (2)

Come on Scooby-Doo, I see you… pretending you got
a sliver

But you’re not fooling me, cause I can see, the way
you shake and shiver. (3)

You know we got a mystery to solve, so Scooby Doo
be ready for your act. (4)

[Scooby Doo] Uh-uh Uh-uh (5)

Don’t hold back!

And Scooby Doo if you come through

you’re going to have yourself a scooby snack! (6)

That’s a fact!

Scooby-Dooby-Doo, here are you. You’re ready and
you’re willing. (7)

If we can count on you Scooby Doo, I know you’ll
catch that villian. (8)

(1) An obvious reference to marijuana or hashish.
The “doobie” is another name for the marijuana cigarette. Scooby-Doo
is also a corruption of the pre-Columbian deity Xipe Totec, known as “Our
Lord the Flayed One”. At the end of
a 52-year period, this deity’s representative was castrated and flayed
alive, and his skin was worn as a garment
by the priest. For another reference to human sacrifice, cf. (8), below.
(Note: A suggested connection to the
noted performer Frank Sinatra has been found to be without merit, though
the Doobie Brothers bear further investigation.) 

(2) Ritual invocation of the Scooby-Doo
spirit, reminding it of its obligations to the cultists; typical part of
the occult invocation.

(3) Acknowledgement of the presence of
the spirit, which seems curiously reluctant to manifest. Possibly a
psychological ploy by the spirit to increase
the tribute offered to it? If so, the ploy seems to be ineffective, and
a minor deviation from standard occult formulae.
Another possible interpretation, however, might be that the “shaking
and shivering” might be a reference to the ecstatic trance the cultists
entered into. 

(4) Obvious connections to the ancient
pagan mystery religions (e.g. Cybele, the Eleusinian Mysteries,
Orphism), where ritual dramas were re-enacted. 

(5) The spirit acknowledges its presence;
another typical occult feature.

(6) The offer of reward to the spirit.
The “scooby snack” is in all probability a small herbal cake laced with
hashish (cf. note (1) above), which is sacred
to the spirit. Evidence from the televised episodes indicates that
these “scooby snacks” also act as a powerful
euphoric/hallucinogen on humans as well, since Shaggy (the group’s
scapegoat/shaman) ingests them from time to time and evidences massive
changes in personality. 

Peyote may be another ingredient in the
scooby-snack, confirming its ties to pre-Columbian mystery cults. 

(7) The cultists confirm that the spirit,
now propitiated, is ready to manifest itself for the benefit of the cult.  

(8) A confirmation of the connection between
Xipe Totec and Scooby-Doo (cf. Footnote (1)). The cult of Scooby-Doo
obviously practices human sacrifice, since Scooby-Doo is expected to “catch
that villain” (from MF, villein, serf
or peasant). Another curious deviation from the standard is that the spirit
is expected to procure his own sacrifice,
who may have been targeted by the cult for this purpose. This ritual could
preserve the memory of an ancient conflict
between the priests of the Xipe Totec cult with a rival mystery cult. 

 

“Daphne” is Greek for “laurel”, the leaves
of which were chewed by the Oracle at Delphi to invoke a prophetic trance.
Daphne is obviously the High Priestess for
the group, and embodies the female (but not the maternal) principle. 
Thus, she might be identified with Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt. 
Artemis was also the only god among the Greeks to whom humans were sacrificed
(e.g. Iphigeneia, daughter of Agamemnon).  Therefore, Daphne is probably
still virginal, in order to offer up human sacrifices to her savage goddess. 
This explains her apparent lack of sexual interest in Fred Fred, or indeed
in any male. 

“Velma” is an obvious corruption of Bellona,
the Roman goddess of conflict, as well as the name of the Finnish
sea-goddess Vellamo, who herded cattle and
raised crops on the bottom of the sea. Velma’s high intelligence,
aggressive tendencies, and ambiguous sexuality
evoke the image of Pallas Athene as a defender of the 

community.  Perhaps there is a physical
relationship of sorts between Velma and Daphne, since neither of them have
shown signs of seeking such a relationship with the available males of
the group, Fred Fred and Shaggy. 

The name “Shaggy” is descriptive of the
cult’s scapegoat and shaman, both of which traditionally appear in a 

wild and disheveled state. Shaggy is the
High Priest of the cult, and is most often the one to interpret the words
of the oracular hound, Scooby-Doo.  He often partakes of the “scooby
snack”, and is powerfully affected by the drug’s euphoric and mind-altering
properties, preparatory to entering into the mystical trance in which he
communes with the world of spirits. Shaggy
is the sacred interpreter of the words of Scooby-Doo, being gifted with
the power to understand his speech by whatever supernatural pact summoned
up the creature.

The twin interpretations of “Scooby-Doo”
as a corruption of Xipe Totec and as a reference to marijuana have 

already been commented upon. Possibly,
in the light of Xipe Totec’s predilection for flaying, Scooby-Doo was 

in fact not a dog but a human medium who
adopted (for unknown reasons) the identity of a dog, wearing the 

flayed skin of a dog, acting as the vessel
of Xipe Totec’s spirit.  His barely-intelligible speech typical of
reports of witches’ familiars in the Middle Ages, who often croaked or
had speech impediments not unlike Scooby-Doo’s.