Arthur and the Haunted Tree House

"Arthur and the Haunted Tree House"
Original Airdate:	October 23, 2017
Credits
Written by:	Peter K. Hirsch
Storyboard by:	Al Jeffery Cilbur Rocha Dev Ramsaran Daniel Miodini Michel Carbonneau
Episodes
Previous "Special: D.W. and the Beastly Birthday"	Next "Special: The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur"
Read transcript

"Arthur and the Haunted Tree House" is a one-hour TV special that premiered on October 23, 2017 on PBS.

Synopsis

"This Halloween is sure to be the spookiest ever for Arthur and his friends. While trick-or-treating, Francine meets an elderly woman with a very mysterious past, while Binky finds himself at Mr. Ratburn’s amazing haunted house (that’s scarier than math class!). And as for Arthur, Buster and Ladonna? Their tree house sleepover seems to be haunted...but by what?"

Plot

It is Halloween. While various kids go trick-or-treating, Arthur and his friends are going to have a sleepover in the treehouse. Ladonna tells a spooky story to Arthur and Buster. Arthur is particularly jumpy because he believes that the treehouse is haunted.

Arthur and the Haunted Tree House

Arthur's story

Arthur tells his friends how he talked his mother into allowing the sleepover. D.W. wanted to come too and Arthur pranked her with party snakes to prove that she was too scared. She told him that they would see who is braver.

Then Arthur went to get Halloween decorations from the attic and found a creepy looking doll. When he wanted to ask his dad whether he could use it for Halloween, it was suddenly gone. When Arthur went to the treehouse, a spooky voice called him and there was writing inside the house saying “This is MY treehouse.”

In the present, Ladonna suggests a prank by D.W., but D.W. does not know how to write. When Arthur returned to the treehouse on Halloween afternoon, the doll was suddenly sitting inside the house. He buried it by a rock outside.

Francine's story

Back in the present, Francine arrives. She was supposed to meet Muffy, but got held up at her apartment block. She tells the others about how she came to the Sapersteins' apartment. Inside there was a photo of a golem. Old Ethel Saperstein explained, that as a young girl she used to live in Mindelplatz near Prague. There was a talented violinist whose fingers were broken in a trolley accident. He turned bitter and created a golem which ran amok and was about to crush Mrs. Saperstein, who is ambiguous as to whether she managed to escape.

When Francine leaves the apartment, she notices that one of Mrs. Saperstein's photographs has fallen in her candy bucket. She wants to return it, but the door is opened by a man who says that he is Mrs. Saperstein's brother and that his sister disappeared as a child.

Muffy

Francine tries to call Muffy, but the connection breaks because Muffy's battery is empty. Muffy and Bailey are on their way to a rich family when their tandem bicycle breaks down. Muffy suggests walking through the cemetery. Since Bailey is scared, she tells him how she and Francine dared each other to race across the cemetery the previous year. After doing it several times, they no longer feel afraid, which spoils a bit of the fun, according to Muffy. Heavy rain starts and they seek shelter under the tomb of Jacob Katzenellenbogen.

Binky's story

Binky joins the kids in the treehouse. He tells them how the Tough Customers wanted him to toilet-paper Mr. Ratburn’s house. He did not have the courage to do it, but an animatronic raven told him there was a treasure inside the house. Binky went into a room with the puppet of an old man in it and a thumping sound. It scared him so much that he ran away.

The others point out that that room referred to ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe. Binky realizes that he left his backpack full of toilet paper at Mr. Ratburn's house. Afraid that he will get detention for life, he hurries back. The others assure themselves that they are not afraid but when they hear a mysterious voice saying “This treehouse is mine”, they run away screaming. Except for Ladonna, who laughs at the others.

Read house

Thora hands out towels to the drenched kids who tell of the spooky voice. D.W. and Bud, who is visiting, make fun of the big kids. While Francine goes to clean her dress, the others notice that Ladonna is missing. She comes a minute later and claims that she went back to get her backpack and the doll followed her. She goes upstairs with D.W. and Bud to put on a dry sweatshirt.

In the parents’ bedroom, Ladonna, D.W. and Bud talk of how they fooled the others using a walkie-talkie so Bud could provide the spooky voice. Ladonna has dug up the doll and wants to do one last prank. They do not notice that Francine overhears them.

Francine informs Arthur and Buster of the prank and they decide to get the others back.

Muffy

Muffy and Bailey hear scary noises from the tomb, but it turns out to be a cat. It scratches Bailey's clothes, but immediately likes Muffy. Since the cat's address is on its collar, Muffy agrees to return it.

Binky

Mr. Ratburn is disappointed that his decorations have scared away trick-or-treaters. While trying to remove cobwebs, he accidentally scares away the Tibbles. He notices Binky's backpack and takes it inside.

Read House

The kids watch the ‘Curse of the Moomies’ movie. D.W. wants Arthur to get her blankie from upstairs where Ladonna has planted the doll. Since Arthur knows what is going on, he gets the blankie with no trouble, in exchange for some of D.W.’s candy. D.W. and Ladonna investigate what went wrong.

Muffy

Muffy and Bailey want to take the cat to its owners, the Kruegers, but the cemetery gate has been locked during the rain. They climb over the fence which ruins Bailey’s costume even more.

The Kruegers are having a party and invite Muffy and Bailey inside.

Binky

With some difficulty, Mr. Ratburn, through his puppets, persuades Binky that if he comes inside again, Mr. Ratburn will be merciful.

Read House

D.W., Bud and Ladonna look for the doll in Arthur’s room, but it has gone. Instead, they find doll-sized footprints on the floor.

Muffy

Muffy meets the Mr. and Mrs. Read at the Kruegers’ party and they offer her a lift. Muffy also meets the Sapersteins, who she does not know. Mr. Saperstein is dressed as a golem and Mrs. Saperstein begins to tell Muffy the story she told Francine earlier.

Binky

Binky comes to the ‘Tell-Tale Heart’-room again and finds a book by Poe under the floorboards. In the next room he is supposed to guess the story in which Fortunato is imprisoned behind a brick wall, but he just guesses from the book's table of contents. When he finally recognizes Mr. Ratburn's voice, he apologizes for the toilet paper and accidentally breaks down Mr. Ratburn's fake brick wall. Mr. Ratburn is mollified since Binky was his only trick-or-treater and he praises Mr. Ratburns house. Mr. Ratburn returns Binky's backpack and gives him a tour.

Read House

The movie ends and Thora takes D.W. to her room. D.W. insists on checking under the bed first.

When Ladonna and Bud are about to go home, they hear a spooky voice from Ladonna's backpack. Bud is scared, but Ladonna realizes that their friends have pranked them back. She smiles.

D.W. hears a spooky voice coming from the foot of the bed and finds the doll. Her parents are just returning home bringing Muffy with them, and D.W. and Arthur tell on each other.

Muffy shows Buster and Francine pictures from the Kruegers’ party. Francine recognizes the Sapersteins and realizes that she was pranked. Arthur tells them that he has to end the sleepover because D.W. is scared.

Arthur and D.W. make truce and go to bed. A while later, D.W. comes into Arthur's bed, because she is still scared. Arthur praises her prank and she explains how she asked for help from Bud and Ladonna to get revenge for the party snakes. Ladonna gave her the doll and she hid it near the Halloween decorations. That was supposed to be all, but then Arthur decided to take the doll to the treehouse and the pranksters decided to keep pranking. They put a walkie-talkie on top of the treehouse and Bud did the spooky voices.

Arthur and D.W. assure each other that they would never let anything really scary happen to the other. They are about to go to sleep when a strange giggling scares them. It turns out to be Thora who lets Kate giggle into the walkie-talkie.

Characters

Major

• Arthur Read
• Buster Baxter
• Ladonna Compson
• Muffy Crosswire
• Francine Frensky
• D.W. Read
• Bud Compson
• Binky Barnes
• Grandma Thora
• Jane Read
• David Read
• Bailey
• Ethel Saperstein
• Nigel Ratburn

Minor

• Mrs. Pariso
• Golem
• Zelda
• Mr. Bellamy
• Mr. Lancaster
• Mrs. Lancaster
• Baby Kate
• Mr. Krueger
• Mrs. Krueger
• Mr. and Mrs. Krueger's daughter
• Mr. Saperstein
• Mary

Cameo

• Brain
• Emily
• Oliver Frensky
• Laverne Frensky
• 3rd Grade Male Rat
• Molly
• James
• Mr. Haney
• Inky Krueger
• Stanley
• 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
• Beulah McInnerny
• Mr. McInnerny
• Maria Pappas
• Mrs. Tibble
• Timmy Tibble
• Tommy Tibble
• Marie-Hélène
• Mrs. Higgenbottom
• Ken

Mentioned

• Catherine Frensky
• Pal

Trivia

• This is the final episode of Arthur to air on CBBC.
• Bailey's full name is revealed to be Bailey Carson Belvedere III in this episode.
• The list of apartments Francine can trick-or-treat at in her building are as follows: 3, 15, 17, 28, 118, 121, 136, 142, 144, 221 (Mr. Bellamy), 224 (Mrs. Parizeau), 227, 229 (Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster), 237 (Mr. and Mrs. Saperstein)
• Like the title card for “D.W. and the Beastly Birthday”, the title card combines different scenes from the special: the treehouse and the cat's eyes and owl from the cemetery.
• Francine and Muffy's taking a shortcut through the cemetery is a reference to the original Halloween-themed Arthur book, Arthur's Halloween.
• The online game Arthur's Trick and Treats shows many costumes from this special.
• 4th Wall Break: The end credits for the Curse of the Moomies film are all people who worked on this special.
• Moral: Dont try to ruin other people's party just because you weren't invited.
• Karma: D.W. scared Arthur, so she got scared back.
• Timeline:
  • D.W. mentions her blankie she lost from D.W.'s Blankie.
  • She also mentions her fear of octopuses.

Cultural references

• Room 237 is a reference to the movie The Shining.
• The Krueger family is a reference to the horror franchise A Nightmare on Elm Street, as their address is 1428 Elm Street.
• Mr. Ratburn's haunted house references Edgar Allan Poe's stories.
• The doll, Zelda, resembles Annabelle from The Conjuring franchise.
• The most famous golem was created by a rabbi in the city of Prague. Judging by their name and the menorah in their apartment, the Sapersteins are Jewish. It is also mentioned that Mrs. Saperstein used to live near Prague.
• Muffy, whose real name is Mary Alice, and Mrs. Saperstein are both dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Bailey is dressed as the Mad Hatter and Muffy mentions the Cheshire Cat.
  • The price on Bailey's hat is 8 shillings and 11 pence. In John Tenniel's famous illustration, the Disney version and the Tim Burton version, it was 10 shillings sixpence.
• A gravestone says “I told you I was sick”, another “I have nothing further to say”, and another “Quoth the raven Nevermore”.
• Muffy and Bailey meet a cat at the grave of Jacob Katzenellenbogen. His name is German for “cat’s elbow”.
• That cat burglar from a fantasy in “The Case of the Girl with the Long Face” has added a whip to her outfit and now looks like Catwoman.
• Mr. Ratburn's haunted house references various Edgar Allan Poe's stories:
  • The animatronic raven refers to the poem The Raven
  • The red puppet may refer to The Mask of the Red Death
  • The old man puppet refers to The Tell-Tale Heart
  • The casks of wine and the brick wall refer to The Cask of Amontillado
  • The Gold-Bug, Eleonora, The Pit and the Pendulum and The Fall of the House of Usher are also mentioned.

Errors

• During U.S. airings on PBS, the opening title card is narrated by Ladonna, and she narrates, "Arthur and the Haunted Tree House, Part 1", but there is no Part 2 title card later on. The Part 2 title card is narrated by Buster and only appears on international airings.
• When Ladonna is getting ready to leave Arthur's house, the pink sweatshirt from Mrs. Read that she is wearing briefly turns green.
• The kids talk about "the other walkie-talkie", suggesting that there are only two. Yet, in the end there is one in Ladonna's backpack, one in D.W.’s bed, and one used by Buster respectively Arthur to do the voices.

Episode connections

• Halloween also takes place in the episode "Hic or Treat". As such, Arthur, Buster, Francine, and Mr. and Mrs. Read all have the same costumes.
  • However, Arthur's costume is white instead of green.
• The Brain is seen wearing the bear mascot costume from the Ice Cream Shop in "Brain Freeze".
• Mr. Haney wears a Louisianan face mask, which is seen again in "Muffy Misses Out".
• When Arthur goes up to the attic near the beginning of the episode, a copy of "The Mysterious Hand" can be found in the foreground. This was the primary book featured in "Arthur's Lost Library Book".
• When Muffy recollects walking through the cemetery with Francine, a gravestone can be seen with the writing "YOMAMA". This is a reference to DW's humorously incorrect pronunciation of Yo-Yo Ma in the episode "My Music Rules".

Production notes

• It is one of two hour-long specials produced as part of the Oasis Animation production deal (alongside Seasons 20 and 21); the first being D.W. and the Beastly Birthday.

Costumes

Most costumes have appeared in previous or season 21 episodes, sometimes in fantasies or dreams. In order of appearance:

• Mary: cheerleader
• Otis: ghost
• aardvark girl: cowgirl
• blonde girl: valkyrie, seen in Camp Elysium video in “The Last Day”
• Beulah McInnerny: Hula dress, seen in “Little Miss Meanie”
• Maria Pappas: mime, seen in flashback in “Maria Speaks”
• Timmy and Tommy Tibble: mimes, seen in “The Pageant Pickle”
• Thora Read: wolf in grandmother's dress from Little Red Riding Hood
• Ladonna Compson: spider
• Arthur Read: Frankentist, seen in “Hic or Treat”
• Buster Baxter: Candyboy, seen in “Hic or Treat”
• Francine Frensky: prom queen, seen in “Hic or Treat”
• James MacDonald: prince, seen in "The Princess Problem"
• Mrs. Lancaster: angel or fairy
• Mr. Lancaster: prisoner
• Emily Leduc: tree, seen in “All About D.W.”
• Muffy Crosswire: Alice from Alice in Wonderland
• Bailey Belvedere: Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland
• Francine (flashback): clown, seen in dream in “Flippity Francine”
• Muffy (flashback): princess, seen in “Fountain Abbey”
• Binky Barnes: Puffy McPuffmeister, a wrestler
• Kate Read: Little Red Riding Hood
• D.W. Read: nurse, seen in “D.W.s Baby” and “One Ornery Critter”
• Bud Compson: prince, seen in “The Princess Problem”
• Mrs. Krueger: medieval lady
• Mr. Krueger: pirate, seen on TV in “Binky’s ‘A’ Game”
• Cat lady: Catwoman, seen in fantasy in “The Case of the Girl with the Long Face”
• Mrs. Read: witch, seen in “Hic or Treat”
• Mr. Read: sandwich, seen in “Hic or Treat”
• Mrs. Saperstein: Alice from Alice in Wonderland
• Mr. Saperstein: golem
• Mr. Haney: carnival mask, seen in "Muffy Misses Out"
• Unknown: Puk-Puk, seen in “Brain Freeze”
• Unknown: polar bear, used by Brain in “Brain Freeze”
• Unknown: spacesuit, used by D.W., Emily and Bud in fantasy in “Some Assembly Required”

Gallery

Promotional images

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  The Spectrum TV Promotional Poster for the Special

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  PBS Promotional Poster

Screenshots

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  Street in Mindelplatz, design P.Belec

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  The Golem Lab, design P. Belec

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