And a more popular show from a bit later than Even Stevens, Zack and Cody want to see the ghost that haunts suite 613. Carey enters her suite to find it a mess, and calls Cody in to clean it up. He grudgingly reaches for a cushion, only for Zack to reach out and grab his arm, shocking him. He manages to pin Zack on the ground, then plays Mr. Innocent when Carey arrives, telling her that Zack scared him. To his annoyance, she reminds Zack that Cody is "sensitive," and asks why he scared him. He claims it's his job, and she tells them to get cleaning. Donwstairs later, Zack pulls a prank on Esteban, having slipped a fart machine in his pocket. He presses the remote control as Esteban helps guests, causing Mr. Moseby to run in and usher the bellhop away. Esteban finds the machine and chides Zack for his prank. Zack apologizes, only to press the remote again as Esteban walks away. Zack tells Maddie and London about Cody getting scared earlier, and London asks if it was because he saw the ghost in suite 613. Maddie assures them that ghosts don't exist, but London claims to have seen the ghost herself, and she was so scared she dropped and left her purse. Maddie gets her to reveal there was $1,000 in it, and the group rushes upstairs, where they bump into Muriel. She directs them to the room, advising them to stay away if they value their lives, only to change her mind and give them the key when Cody pushes Zack into her cart. Muriel tells them that the ghost is of a beautiful, rich woman named Irene, who came to the hotel on her honeymoon in 1942. London interjects that Irene wasn't as pretty or rich as her, and further explains that Irene's husband was then called off to war. Muriel silences London with a feather duster and says that Irene's husband then met an Italian girl and opened a pizza parlor in Naples. They finish up together, saying Irene when Irene found out, she threw a silver hairbrush he'd gifted her. This shattered a mirror, and a glass shard killed her. Muriel leaves, and when Zack turns to enter the room, he gets a shock as Arwin is standing there in a welding mask. He claims it gives him a "mysterious air." Arwin admits that he "sadly" hasn't ever seen the ghost, but he has seen Muriel in a hair net. He leaves them horrified, as he's going to clean the toilet in 620. Maddie can't manage to get the door open, but it suddenly swings in by itself. Cody and London are scared, and after Maddie claims the wind opened it after she loosened the lock, the door opens the rest of the way. Inside the decrepit room is a painting of Irene and the shattered mirror, still with shards on the ground. Maddie notices Gargoyles outside and accidentally scares Cody by explaining they are put there to ward off evil. A strange noise turns out to be Cody's chattering teeth, and Maddie reassures him that ghosts don't exist, only for the door to suddenly slam shut. Everyone is scared but Maddie, who finds London's purse. She gives it back when London threatens to get her fired. London becomes upset after finding that her money is gone, and threatens the ghost just before everyone hears a noise from the hall. The group watches the door, and London and Cody cower in fear as Mr. Moseby walks in, saying he could hear them screaming from the lobby. Though he tells them there's no ghost, he suggests they leave before she gets mad. Wanting to know more, Zack says that if he doesn't tell them what he knows, they'll have to ask down in the lobby around guests checking in. Moseby relents and tells them of an experience he had back when he started at the Tipton as a bellhop; back then he had a full afro. Not believing in ghosts, he ignored the rumors, but inside the suite, suddenly felt a chill and smelled pizza. The ghost angrily yelled that she hates pizza because of her husband and hurled an object at Moseby, which broke the mirror again. He tried to escape, but the door slammed shut. His afro saved him from a concussion, but an ankle injury prevented him from ever dancing again. Zack scares the whole group by jumping out under a sheet, and an angry Cody threatens him, chasing him out of the room. Back in their room, Cody claims he wasn't scared before; his shaking in the elevator was because it hadn't been inspected for three years. Zack then dares him to spend the night with him in 613, betting $5 he can't make the night, but Cody points out that Carey would never let them. She walks in at that moment and he takes a short response as a "no," causing Zack to call him a chicken. Zack asks again for a straight answer, and Carey relents when he suggests that Maddie and London could take part as well. Cody gets upset, but she suggests he do whatever he wants and assures him that ghosts don't exist. Cody finally agrees, claiming that he'll be winning the $5. They meet Maddie outside the suite later with sleeping bags, and London arrives late, with Esteban hefting a suitcase for her. She claims it's just her overnight bag, and Esteban apologizes for delaying their spooky night. Everyone goes inside, where Cody claims it's not that bad until lightning knocks out the power, and Arwin gives a scary coming in with a sub sandwich, which they interpreted as a ghost with a club. London screams when they recognize him, saying that "no offense," she just finds him a bit creepy. He shrugs it off, saying a lot of women say that, including his mom. He gets the power back on at a fuse box, and though Maddie says the storm blew out the power, he states it was the ghost. He says he's been trying to see the ghost for years, not because the storm provides the perfect conditions for his machine, like Cody assumes, but because his mom being at bingo means he doesn't have to be home until 10. The flashy machine kicks on when he plugs it in, and he claims that there are 20 scary abnormalities, with him being 19 of them. It begins sparking and smoking as it directs him to the painting, which moves. He backs away, explaining that the ghost is there and mad, then rushes off screaming for his mother. London tries to leave as well, but can't lift her bag, and Esteban suggests they help the spirit cross over, as he "of course," can contact the spirit world. They set up a table as he shuts the door and turns off the light, and when he goes to light the candle, a flame appears out of nothing. The rest of the episode focuses on them performing their seance and the consequences of doing so. I feel like this is one of the more popular Halloween specials from the earlier 2000s, especially from Disney.
As a kid, I remember this being regarded as one of hte better episodes of this beloved series, and with pretty good reason. It doesn't take place on Halloween, but the creepy atmosphere and story of the room helps make it just right for the season. Much like the more typical thing I mentioned in the Scary Godmother post, this is a sort of different take on the "spook house" story that often takes place for kids. Whereas normally it's making it through a single night in a creepy house, it's a single room. Of course on the other hand, generally with spook houses, there are just rumors that have circulated for years, where if you disregard the ghost stories people have told of the suite, there is an office background of a gruesome death. Even still, it's a simple idea that works effectively for the show, as it's easier for young characters to buy into superstitions like this. It's funny to me now to see the group enter 613 for the first time, because now that I'm older, my first thought was "They kept the same broken mirror in there from 1942? AND they left the glass shards on the floor?" Regardless, Zack's constant pranking is a good setup for the later plot of the story, as his whole goal this episode is on messing with people, especially Cody. I still enjoy the humor in the episode, and now more enjoy and get jokes like Muriel hiding radios and a tv in her working cart. Arwin has some fun moments with how eccentric he is, showing up first randomly in a welder's mask and then how easily he accepts London calling him creepy and noting how women don't like him. Another part I better enjoy, and how relatable! His machine is also enjoyable, though clearly some sort of lit up vacuum, which is normal considering this was the early stages of a Disney Channel show. If you were a fan of this show, it could be worth your time to revisit this episode if you feel like watching some nostalgic Halloween-themed shows.
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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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