Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery

"Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" is the tenth episode of the third season and the 41st overall episode of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on October 27, 1999. The episode features issues of necrophilia and a parody of the animated series Scooby-Doo (with the band Korn playing the part of the Scooby gang).

Plot

Local radio station KOZY 102.1 is sponsoring a "Halloween Haunt" featuring an appearance by real-life nu metal band Korn. Priest Maxi is unhappy about both and conducts a one-man protest campaign, calling Halloween an abomination of God and Korn satanists that play violent music. Stan, Kyle and Kenny are excited about Halloween, but Cartman is already thinking about Christmas because he expects to be showered with presents. They visit various mediocre attractions and get frightened by a gang of 5th graders who play a prank on them involving "pirate ghosts". Stan decides to retaliate by digging up Kyle's recently buried grandmother, Cleo Broflovski, and scaring the 5th graders with it. Kyle, while uneasy about the scheme, reluctantly agrees to go along.

Meanwhile, Korn, driving in a van which resembles the Mystery Machine, crash it after spotting pirate ghosts on the road.

After digging up Kyle's Grandmother's corpse, the boys leave it barely concealed at the harbor, where it is promptly eaten by a stray dog. During the night, they meet Korn (and a Scooby-Doo like character, Nibblet) after their encounter with the pirate ghosts. The following morning, the graveyard's watchmen inform Mrs Broflovski about the missing corpse, and describe to her in graphic detail what the culprit, who they assume to be a necrophiliac, might be doing to the corpse.

Cartman intercepts a life-sized blow-up Antonio Banderas sex doll ordered by his mother, which he mistakenly assumes to be a Christmas present for him, and takes it around town to show off. The children return to the docks in their costumes hoping to win the contest for best costume, with Kenny wearing an elaborate ED-209 robot from RoboCop costume. To Kenny's disappointment, everyone (including Korn) is able to clearly recognize him. At the town square, the grave watchers are explaining the concept of necrophilia very explicitly until the Pirate Ghosts show up and terrorize the town. A few citizens are blown up and one ghost decapitates two others. Priest Maxi shows up and blames Korn for causing all this trouble. The town gets angry and set up a lynch mob to get rid of the "devil worshipers."

Korn and the children go investigate the "Mystery of the Pirate Ghosts and the missing body." After a few mishaps typical of Scooby-Doo episodes, it is revealed that Priest Maxi was behind the Pirate Ghosts, which he simply conjured up with rather impossible light tricks and sounds (the explanation to some of the citizen's deaths earlier caused by the Pirate Ghosts is left unsolved and unknown). The mystery of Cleo Broflovski's missing corpse is solved when the dog regurgitates the body. The Halloween Haunt goes as planned, with Korn playing "Falling Away from Me" which shocks the crowd, as their cheery personality in the episode is a strong contrast to the song. The boys get their revenge against the 5th graders while Korn is playing, scaring them with the corpse and Cartman's Antonio Banderas doll gets popped by Nibblet. Kenny's spectacular ED-209 costume does not win him first prize, which goes instead to Wendy Testaburger wearing the same Chewbacca costume as in the previous Season 1 Halloween Special "Pinkeye". During the closing credits, he ends up getting killed by miniature Snowspeeders as in The Empire Strikes Back while inside his costume and rats arrive to eat his body.

Cultural references

The band Korn is portrayed as Scooby Doo-style mystery solvers, while many aspects of the plot parody the show.

Critical reception

DVD Verdict wrote "Korn's appearance in the Halloween show is expertly handled, as is the whole Hanna-Barbera animation send-up", and gave the episode a rating of 90.^[1]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery

• Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery Full episode at South Park Studios
• Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery Episode guide at South Park Studios