Arnold tells his friends a spooky urban legend at a sleepover, and a trip to the park makes them think there's some truth to the story.
During a sleepover at Arnold's house, Gerald finishes his story about a man who was so hairy, people thought he might be a gorilla.
The others are getting bored since no story has scared them, and Stinky doesn't make things better with his tale of the horrendous "monkey cat." Arnold decides to share his own story, and though the others are skeptical, he claims his legend of the "headless cabbie" will scare the pants off them. With the lights low, he explains that one dark Autumn night long ago, a woman hailed a horse-drawn carriage, explaining to the cabbie she is looking for her Scottie dog. He agrees to give her a ride through the park, and she offers a scarf to counter the night's cold, which he gratefully accepts. They find nothing initially, but hear barking nearby, and the woman becomes frantic, urging the cabbie to go faster so she can get her dog back. Hurtling across the cobblestones, she spots her dog entering a tunnel, and on the other side they swerve to avoid a man with a golden hook for an arm. Despite having turned from the path, the woman has become deranged in her quest to retrieve her dog, and orders the cabbie to follow her dog's barking even faster. The cabbie fearfully complies, and as they travel through the trees, his scarf snags on a branch and decapitates him, while the woman cackles. ​Arnold claims you can supposedly hear the dog, carriage wheels, and ghost woman's laughter on such a foggy night as this, and eventually you'll see the cabbie himself. Along with startling Stinky and Sid and impressing Gerald, Arnold finds his story had quite an effect on Harold, who is now whimpering in a corner. They assure him it's just a story, and while he dislikes Stinky's suggestion of going out for ice cream, Harold eventually agrees to go. Outside, however, he learns the fastest route, which the others intend to take, goes through the park, and Arnold's story seems to be coming true as they venture forward.
I went a long time without watching this particular episode of Hey Arnold, but out of all of them, it's one I always remembered clearly.
This is one show that hits it out of the park (pun intended) with entertaining young and older fans alike, and this episode could definitely spook some kids. For me, this episode definitely sparks my interest because of it being a twist on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with the cabbie obviously being the Headless Horseman. Such a character is unnerving, because while other stories have monsters that could get you just as easily as him, his lack of a head is unsettling. Often times, characters like this are also specifically out to get someone else's head, so the thought of having him come after you for decapitation is terrifying. Here, the headless entity is actually a sad being, because unlike the malevolent Horseman, the cabbie is simply a doomed being. Arnold never says the cabbie, or even the woman who decapitated him, do anything if you see their ghostly visages, but even seeing them and confirming such a story for yourself would be a horrific encounter. Later in the episode, Harold fearfully believes they'll be decapitated as well, which could very well be the intention of the returning female ghost. The setting is also a scary place for the characters to find themselves, as although it's just a public park, such a location can be different and creepy at night. The dark is the main factor, preventing the group from seeing well, which is made worse thanks to the fog, and there are creepy trees and echoing cobblestones. From this point on, be aware I'll be talking about later aspects of the episode, so a spoiler warning is coming into effect.
During the group's trip through the park, they of course encounter things that don't exactly match Arnold's story, but do well enough to startle them repeatedly.
First up is the only one that's never given a real explanation, but this could be tied to the end of the episode, which I'll get to later. After finding the dog, the group hears clattering on the cobblestones, which they believe to be the carriage, only to discover Eugene. He explains that he's practicing his clog dancing, and Gerald's response perfectly sums up my laughing confusion as he points out the absurdity of clogging out in a public park in the early evening. It doesn't really make sense for Eugene to be out there, but it's still a perfect way to scare the kids, as this show tends to have plenty of absurdity. This moment also serves to set up a later moment, in which a real buggy rides up, and the group at first thinks is Eugene clogging again. Following this and Eugene joining the group, they walk through a tunnel, much to Harold's fear, and on the other side they see a man with a golden arm. The group immediately runs in fear, but the audience sees the truth: the man's arm is actually covered in gold watches, and he was trying to sell some to the kids. Despite being another weird trick, this one's even more fitting, as a person trying to hock something like watches out on the street is actually pretty common. A final sign of the story is the group discovers a scarf hanging from a tree and blowing in the wind, with Arnold having to rationalize everything and keep everyone calm. After these fakeouts, everyone gets the biggest scare with the real buggy I mentioned before, only to discover it's Ernie working for extra cash, driving Mr. Hyunh. With all their fears settled, the boys are able to continue their journey, then go home, only for the woman from Arnold's story to then approach Ernie's buggy. This is something I find interesting not just because it suggests the story is true, but because it means they may have actually found the "demon Scottie dog." Unlike the other fakeouts, we never get an explanation for the dog, like them finding an owner, and in the end we see the woman requesting a trip to find hers.
As mentioned before, I enjoy the creepy atmosphere of the episode, with the boys travelling through a fog-filled, creepy park at night.
The episode has a lot of excellent art making the setting creepy, with plenty of shadows and the darkness making things look unnatural. even just shots of the scarf the boys find has a sense of dread, partially because it seems so random, and partially because of the context of the story we have. As Arnold says, it's most likely just a random scarf, but this is a group of kids scared out of their minds, and the clues seem to be adding up. One moment of animation I actually found pretty funny was something I've never noticed before, early in the episode. After Arnold tells his story and scares Harold to death, Harold argues against going out for ice cream, and points with his hand while saying they can't go anywhere. If you really watch these moments, you'll actually see Harold's finger, and sometimes his whole hand, disappearing behind the animation of his mouth moving. It's nothing terrible or distracting in the episode, but I found it to be a pretty funny animation error if you can spot and pause it just right.
With another entry into the Headless Horseman parodies, this is one from my childhood I look at fondly and still enjoy.
Arnold truly tells a creepy story that will scare your pants off, and he and the others start to discover it could be more than an urban legend. Most of their encounters in the park are goofy fakeouts, but these moments lead to actual fear and realizations as time goes on. Fans of Hey Arnold should definitely revisit this, and if you have kids now, it could be something you watch together to both scare them in this spooky season and have fun.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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