Synopsis

Arthur, Vivi, and their dog Mystery are stranded outside a gloomy mansion when their van mysteriously breaks down. Inside, the trio encounters animated paintings, possessed armor, strange creatures, and a ghostly figure that drives them into a trap. Separated from the others, Arthur discovers that the haunting is personal: the ghost is Lewis, a former friend who has returned as a skeletal spirit. The confrontation reveals a violent betrayal and sets up the supernatural mystery that continues through the later videos.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Ghost" was released on YouTube on October 26, 2014, with a runtime of roughly four and a half minutes.

• The animation was created by Ben Mangum, known online as MysteryBen27, with Isaiah Kim and Blake Hudson. Kressent Rhodes, James Workman, and Jourdan Lasko contributed backgrounds and props, while Patrick Rantala handled effects.

• The video began as a commissioned, one-off animation rather than the first installment of a planned series. Its unexpectedly strong response led Mangum and his team to continue the story with "Freaking Out," "Hellbent," and "The Future."

• Mangum has said that the original production started as one large Adobe Flash file. Later entries required a more elaborate workflow using several Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

• The characters deliberately evoke classic mystery-cartoon archetypes: Arthur, Vivi, and Mystery form a paranormal-investigation team with a visual and comic setup reminiscent of "Scooby-Doo."

• The video helped give "Ghost" a major second life. The song had already appeared in Mystery Skulls' catalog, but the animation's popularity brought new attention to Luis Dubuc's project and helped establish a dedicated online fandom around the characters and their continuing story.