The Emmy-nominated ‘The Real Ghostbusters’ airing between September 1986 to October 1991, is definitely one of the most loved animated series of all times. This animated series is based on Ivan Reitman’s American supernatural flick Ghostbuster (1984).
The series follows the tribulations of paranormal investigators Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddermore, Ray Stantz, secretary Janine Melnitz, and their mascot ghost Slimer. Together, they pursue and encapsulate rogue spirits across the globe.
Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis accompanied by DIC Enterprises, Columbia Pictures Television and Coca-Cola Telecommunications are to be credited for filling the audience with nightmares for days to come. Today’s video will be about 12 of the most unsettling, alarmingly, horrifying monsters of the Ghostbusters in details. And let us assure you that these origin and backstories will be rather terrifying.
Boogieman
Boogieman is one such monster capable of keeping you up all night. This horrifying monster exists with the purpose of scaring children. The Boogieman, unlike others, can neither be classified as a ghost nor a demon.
Boogieman is an entirely different corporeal being from a different dimension. He possesses super strength, and has a powerful scream that can knock people out, and modify prevailing reality as and how he pleases. He is capable of drawing power from the fear of frightened kids.
Boasting both animalian features, his skin and fur happen to be pale blue in colour. His head is also exceptionally huge compared to his body; he has large yellow eyes and sharp porcupine-like blue hair that runs down his back.
The goat-like ears and humanoid nose are both noticeable and elongated, and one just cannot miss out on those high, bulbous cheeks. His mouth has that constant eerie grin, ruby-red lips, and pointed yellow teeth and he tends to sport an unshaven stubble on his chin.
The Boogieman has human-like arms, which end in pointed red nails, along with short legs ending in cloven hooves. Believe us when we say that his sartorial choice is highly commendable; you will always find him sporting a tail coat with a nice bowtie.
The Boogieman is particularly malevolent seeking out specific children and tormenting them continuously to develop a phobia of him in them which worsens the fear for him. Young Egon Spengler happens to be one of his most prominent victims, so much so that the otherwise stable Spengler is still terrified of the Boogieman! He could be called the catalyst for the scientists to have set out on their journey of the paranormal.
The Boogieman lives in a bizarre realm, where he is inevitably the strongest. At the same time, he is also proficient in creating micro-realms in the human world to fulfill his own purposes. Having appeared in multiple episodes and external media, the Boogieman is too real and too extreme to handle at times.
The fact that he is not a ghost means he just cannot be trapped. During their initial encounter, when the Ghostbusters pursued him back to his realm, they realized that he was too powerful to be contained.
To defeat him, Egon planned for a prototype Ghost bomb to seal the Boogieman in his own dimension. Although initially successful, an encounter with a ghost on a skyscraper almost cost Egon his life triggering his fear and giving the Boogieman enough reason to come back into the human world. But we are glad that Egon did manage to figure out a way to get rid of him again, this time for good.
Bird of Kildarby
A pet of Lord Kildarby, this ginormous, monstrous bird makes its first appearance in episode 34 of the second season. It is premised on Lord Kildarby making a pact with the Ghostbusters to leave the newly-bought Irish Castle as well as Manhattan, along with his army, and never to come back if they can defeat the Bird of Kildarby.
The Ghostbusters made it to Ecto-1 and trap the bird by joining the two Traps to the Containment Unit and finally sending it in. Taking pity on Lord Kildarby and his men who had nowhere to go, the Ghostbusters allowed them to stay back on the condition that they will mellow their haunting habits, especially during daytime.
The Bird of Kildarby weighs 500-pounds yet this beast can fly possessing enough strength to even tear off the roof of the Ecto-1 without difficulty. Also, we can’t forget it crash through the walls of the Firehouse and escaping without a scratch on its body. Do watch out for this avian monster that undeniably happens to be one of the most horrifying monsters of the Ghostbuster franchise.
The Collect Call of Cthulhu
From being hailed as one of the spookiest episodes to also being a literal crash course on the H. P. Lovecraft mythos, The Collect Call of Cthulhu is a highlight of the entire series. The story revolves around the most powerful book of spells in the word, Necronomicon, stolen from the New York Public Library, and the Ghostbusters consequently finding themselves up against the Spawn and Cult of Cthulhu. They are responsible for the theft in order to bring the malicious Old One back to the premises of the Earth.
Their weapons are almost rendered futile against the Spawn to the extent that even the proton packs coupled with Professor Alice Derleth’s powerful spells do not work on it. An adventurous ride begins, leading the team to face Cthulhu in an underground chamber. It is pretty hard to miss out on Dr. Peter Venkman’s famous dialogue, ‘Anything that looks like Godzilla wearing an octopus hat should not be hard to find.’
Well, it is only after Peter lures Cthulhu towards the roller coaster at Coney Island and manages to shoot at it in the head is, he able to attract a lightning bolt, one which blasts Cthulhu with 100 gigavolts of electricity. This results in sending the monster back into hibernation. The cult is thereafter arrested by the cops.
Grundel
The ninth episode of the third season, The Grundel, is one of the most infamous episodes of the Ghostbusters cartoon as it has on display the show’s most villainous ghost: the eponymous Grundel. This diabolical phantom goads mischievous children to commit destruction through his hypnotic influence.
The brilliant script written by J. Michael Straczynski sets a dark tone that is apt and goes well with the grim aura of the Grundel. This extremely soft-spoken maniac is the only monster to have made an appearance in The Real Ghostbusters as well as the follow up series, Extreme Ghostbusters.
The fact that the Grundel is capable of transforming corrupt children into Grundels themselves, makes him all the more disturbing of all the specters combined. The more these children are manipulated by the Grundel, the more aggressive they become, eventually taking on its ghoulish appearance.
As much as we are glad that the Ghostbusters were able to trap him, it is the horrific impact of the monster that usually lingers with us for years to come. His appearance for that matter, a hideous caricature of an old man adorning a hat who simply loves to spend his time gazing and whisper through the bedroom windows of youngsters to come out and play can be incredibly disturbing. Do watch out for this original monster, who conclusively happens to be one of the most bed-wettingly terrifying critters of the Ghostbusters series.
Sandman
The Sandman makes his appearance in Manhattan. His mission was to put a stop to all kinds of war by putting all of mankind to slumber for the subsequent 500 years. The purpose behind doing this was to create a world that is peaceful and only dreams exist.
However, the slumber induced wild dreams only ended up causing chaos on the streets of New York causing the Ghostbusters to go looking for the Sandman.
Although Egon knows the technique to defeat the Sandman but he falls asleep before he can reveal it. Besides Winston everyone is eventually put to sleep. However Winston and Secretary Janine Melnitz finally put an end to the Sandman when she dreamt of being a Ghostbuster and putting a stop to the being.
The Sandman boasts supremacies, which are mostly based on sleep. He possesses a blowgun that he usually uses to blow dust onto people. This dust causes people to snooze for a period of 500 years and when a victim is put to sleep, his or her dreams tend to take place in reality. Also, whenever someone tries to attack him, the fictional character also has the ability to simply escape by teleporting away.
The only flaw to his powers is that if a victim realizes that it is just a dream, they can actually take charge of the visions. This is something that the Sandman is completely unaware of and also precisely the reason for him getting defeated.
Throughout his appearances, the Sandman has made a memorable impression in the world of the Ghostbusters. What makes him truly frightening is not his actions but the way he looks and talks. We are specifically stressing on that thick albino face, puffy lips, weak looking arms, and that dreadful wheezing voice. Do believe us when we tell you that this particular image of the Sandman is bound to stick in your head for a long time.
Peoplebusters
This is the alternate version of the Ghostbusters in a parallel universe which features a similar version of all including Slimer. They reside in the town of Boo York and feature some different characteristics; Egon is a skeleton with a tentacle replacing the rat-tail part of his hair, Peter is a zombie who sporadically has trouble standing up, Ray is sort of a collage construct similar to Frankenstein’s monster, Janine is a boney zombie, and Slimer resembles a somewhat unnaturally occurring cephalopod-like entity.
The Peoplebusters dealt with the real Ray, Peter and Egon chasing them around Boo York, looking to bust them in a manner similar to how the Ghostbusters do to ghosts in their own universe. Their slime-throwing backpack deserves a definite mention, as it happens to be a huge tank of green slime with eyeballs floating in it.
The slime encloses the humans in an envelope of inescapable green goo, in other words, trapping them. The captured humans are eventually thrown into a containment grid, where the Peoplebusters can also enter at will to impose order on anyone who tries to escape.
The Peoplebusters are far more conceited and nastier than their counterparts making them an exciting watch for the audience.
Sanhain
Every demon and monster coming together to usher in an apocalypse is scary. Samhain, who is the ghost of Halloween, in addition to the ability to influence time and cause eternal darkness, is capable of commanding multiple ghosts. He has the extraordinary capacity to fire back lighting, something that the Ghostbusters encountered during their very first meeting.
Samhain dates back to the seventh century Ireland, where the festival of Halloween began as the Feast of Samhain. Regarded as an unrelenting beast of the night, Samhain got trapped in stone, and remained confined in the ancient clock for almost an era.
Many centuries later, when the same clock was brought from Ireland to the New York museum, Samhain got released from his confinement on Hallow’s Eve, aided by two of his goblin minions. Once free, he assembled all the ghosts that he could and sent his underlings all over New City. With the idea that ghosts have always been mistreated, Samhain’s ultimate goal is to create a World solely ruled by spirits.
This incredibly daunting entity went to the extent of using all his powers to cease the night with plans of making Halloween an eternal night. One is bound to be relieved to know that the Ghostbusters were successful in capturing him as well as his minions into the Containment Unit, minutes before the world fell under his eternal evil reign.
Samhain, unlike the other villains in the series, is compassionate towards the ghosts he commands and even refers to them as his ‘little ones’ to the extent he would guard them or combat anyone who tried to harm them.
But at the same time, he is also more than ready to use some force if his minions don’t cooperate with him. Remember how he threatened to disintegrate Slimer when the latter refused to attack the humans? Samhain’s exchanges with Slimer showcase the murkier and oppressive side to his nature.
The multiple physical aesthetics of Samhain also cannot be missed out on. While his first appearance has him donning a brown cloak with a large collar, it is the pumpkin head and the orange body that are bound to catch one’s attention.
The next appearance has him wearing a purple cloak with skeleton hands. His presence in Extreme Ghostbusters was modified to a large extent where his pumpkin head appeared smaller and was green in color, his face sported a carrot nose, he wore a red cloak with a smaller collar, and his skin parts were mostly painted, resembling (and possibly being) human flesh.
Headless Rider
The Headless Rider aka The Headless Horseman is the infamous ghost from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Legend suggests that the ghost is that of a Hesson Soldier who lost his head in the Revolutionary War after it was blown off by a stray cannonball. He is sighted riding at night looking for his head.
The townsfolk chance upon Ichabod Crane’s horse and shards on Pumpkin in the morning following the night the Headless Horseman failed to kill him. Crane escaped, crawling ashore and eventually had his own family. Later he has a son who is also followed around by the headless ghoul after a gap of 20 years. The Horseman has since been after the family with every emerging generation.
Cut to the 20th century, the Horseman has altered his appearance and bears resemblance with a motorcyclist. Kate, who happens to be the latest offspring, lives in New York City near a bridge in order to protect herself.
To those who are wondering what the connection is, water is a natural ionizing element that causes a sudden drop in the Horseman’s power. Like always, it is up to the Ghostbusters along with Kate to a put a final stop to the relentless pursuits of the Headless Rider.
The Headless Rider possesses intangibility that makes him capable of going through any solid object. He also has this exclusive skill of throwing his explosive head and regenerating a new one instantly. The only flaw he has as mentioned earlier happens to be his inability to cross running water.
Having said that, the Headless Rider is one of the most interesting and horrifying monsters of the Ghostbusters animated series.
Barrow Wights
These supernatural creatures are very similar to Trolls. Some bullies seeking revenge from Slimer for frightening them to protect his friend Mike the Mouse found them in the uninhabited Subway Station 13.
The Barrow Wights are portrayed as extreme masters of deception. You are bound to be amazed witnessing how their leader tricks the bullies by initially agreeing to aid them and then eventually turns on them! It goes without saying that the pack is super sly and can effortlessly deceive people in a flash. They live underground in nests as they cannot come up to the surface unless invited.
The Leader’s orange mane and cyan blue skin is quite striking. Along with possessing the gift of psychokinesis, the leader is capable of speaking English to some extent. Mark our words when we say that you will be more than overjoyed to witness how the Ghostbusters fought these creatures off and ultimately managed to capture all of them using a total of two Ghost traps.
Belleranthon (The Thing in Mrs. Faversham’s Attic)
In the 31st episode of the second season, ‘The Thing in Mrs. Faversham’s Attic’, it’s revealed that it’s been over seventy years since Mrs. Faversham has avoided the attic, due to her father trapping an extremely powerful demon there.
It is hardly of any surprise to know that the thing has grown more powerful, expanding the attic into his own world while his malevolent mind craves for vengeance. It is the endless screaming and laughing that compels Mrs. Faversham to contact the Ghostbusters.
The Thing, also addressed as Belleranthon, happens to be an extremely large and powerful ghost, resembling a colossal purple cloud with numerous yellow eyes filled with red irises. What’s commendable is how Belleranthon can take charge of objects and make them function as things in its favor. That’s not all. It’s also capable of projecting balls of energy and can literally generate tornadoes and lightning within its realm in the loft.
Like every monster in the franchise, Belleranthon is flawed too. It was stupid enough to be tricked into revealing its true form by Slimer who was purposely used as bait. Mark our words when we say that it’s pretty hard to forget the vision of Slimer, attired in a coat and hat, luring the monster into the Ghost Trap. But having said that, Belleranthon is still one of the most evil cosmic entities from the Ghostbuster franchise.
The Devil – The Devil to Pay
Imagine all the Ghostbusters strapped to a huge roulette wheel and the Devil rolling out a massive steel ball towards them to crush them. Well Episode 58 grants you the Devil gracing the audience in the episode titled The Devil to Play.
The plot revolves around Winston and Ray being convinced by Peter to take part in a game show called ‘Race the Devil’, where they can win a free vacation to Tahiti. What they did not know was that the show was just a portal for something was way more ominous and even life-threatening.
What’s highly commendable is The Devil as the game show host; you just cannot miss out on his attitude, gesture, satirical choices and his fondness for unrealistically magnificent death traps and set pieces.
In fact, the Devil was portrayed in such a manner that the production staff was literally flooded with letters from concerned parents. Do watch out for The Devil living up to his name and giving complete justice to the role in ways one cannot even expect.
Metamorph (Drool, The Dog-Faced Goblin)
Just a week prior to encountering Drool, the goblin in the Poconos sideshow, the Ghostbusters had chanced upon a spirit, which Ray termed as a Free-Floating Miasmic Phantom. This entity was initially a phantom but then altered into a scavenging vacuum cleaner. Although the Ghostbusters did try their best to trap it, they were unsuccessful.
Later, when the squad gets attacked by a loose electrical wire from a telephone pole, they are pretty sure that it’s Drool who is accountable for it. But eventually, they are confronted by the real enemy: the same Miasmic Phantom that the Ghostbusters were unable to trap earlier.
The Metamorph is a shape-shifting entity which is quite large and outrageous. It is without a doubt the transmutation ability that makes Metamorph one of the most horrifying monsters of the Ghostbusters cartoon.