Author's Notes: Scooby Doo and all related characters and trademarks are copyright 2011 Hanna-Barbera Productions/Warner Brothers/Cartoon Network; also I am not making any money off of this story. This story is heavily based on the Hanna Barbera Productions produced syndicated movie "Scooby-Doo Meets The Boo Brothers". This story will have similar dialogue, similar plot lines, and most of the same characters from the movie; however the Boo Brothers and Scrappy-Doo will not be included in this story while the characters Fred, Daphne and Velma will be included as they were not in the original movie. This will also include spoilers, if you have not seen the movie.
Author's Notes #2: My inspiration for writing this story came from reading Evelyn Knight's story "The Secret of Beauregard Mansion", which was an excellent story (and if she reads this story, hopefully she'll rewrite her story).
Chapter 1
It all started pretty innocently enough for Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, as he was checking his mailbox one afternoon at his small one bedroom home in the town of Coolsville, Ohio and was leafing through the usual assortment of bills, junk mail and assorted other pieces of mail that usually were delivered by the neighborhood postman.
It wasn't that Shaggy didn't mind getting mail, far from it; he was always happy when the postman came, but that was only when he got good news or didn't get bills. Bills usually made him squirm or grimace, because after all, mystery solving didn't pay the electric, light and cable bills; or at least not as much as they used to.
Considering he was a part of a very talented group of adolescent sleuths, Shaggy was happy when a mystery came, even though he didn't like to admit it. Because mysteries usually had him and the gang going to creepy places, like haunted houses, gloomy mansions, or any number of other unsettling destinations; and those places usually had ghosts or monsters, which was something Shaggy didn't like at all.
Even though every ghost, monster or creature, or rather most of them, that the gang faced were downright phony, Shaggy still jumped a bit or found himself trembling, nervous and frightened at the sight of any spook, specter or spirit, no matter how many of them turned out to be frauds, or some person in a mask trying to keep people away.
In his career as a detective and during the time he spent with his friends, he found that he couldn't have picked three better companions, or a better pet and mascot, who shared a lot of his interests. The former were Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley, while the latter was a Great Dane named Scooby Doo; together the five young adults and their canine were the best of friends, no matter what they were doing.
Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for Shaggy Rogers, today's mail was going to bring him some rather interesting news, not to mention it would result in he and his friends becoming involved in yet another mystery. But this time, the members of Mystery Inc. were going to get involved in a case that had fairly high stakes and one that surrounded one of the members of the very group of sleuths itself to boot.
As he stood outside his mailbox, Shaggy wasn't really paying attention to what he was reading. For the most part, the green shirt clad young man was casually sorting through the mail, making sure there weren't any items that needed his immediate attention, or anything that he needed to pay before any specific services were cut off, considering he was only a mere college student and needed some of them.
However, every piece of mail that he held in his hands was that way, or that bad. After opening the month's cable bill, he sighed at what was written on the piece of paper inside, specifically at how much the bill cost.
He also secretly wished the cost of various utilities would go down, otherwise he would seriously need to take a job somewhere in town, which he definitely didn't want to do, considering he really didn't want to work that much for a living. However, his outlook was soon going to change, as while he was reading the mail, he noticed a large manila envelope sticking out from underneath the cable TV bill.
"Hmm... like what's this?" the college aged sleuth thought, holding the postmaster's deliveries in his hands as he walked back towards the porch.
Once Shaggy Rogers made it to the porch, he opened up the front door of his small house (which was unlocked of course, considering he only was outside for a few moments). The college aged detective then walked inside the house and into the well kept living room (which was surprising, even for someone who was as messy as Shaggy), where he was greeted by his pet and companion Scooby Doo, who was very happy to see him.
"Zoinks! Like hold on Scoob, wait a second!" Shaggy declared as the overzealous Great Dane ran over to him and began licking his face, which resulted in him being knocked to the floor, on his keister no less.
"Roops, rorry Rhaggy" the canine detective said, somewhat embarrassed as he led his master to his feet.
"That's OK old buddy, I guess you were just being friendly. Don't worry too much about it" Shaggy replied.
"Rhanks Rhaggy" Scooby responded.
After getting his bearings and making sure he wasn't going to fall on the floor again, Shaggy Rogers ventured over to a dark brown sofa towards the back of the living room, conveniently located only about fifty feet away from the kitchen as luck would have it. The adolescent sleuth, who still managed to keep the daily mail delivery in his grasp, then sat down on said sofa and placed the mail on the surface of the upholstery before looking over at his Great Dane, who ventured over to where his master was sitting with a curious look on his face.
"Rhaggy?" Scooby inquired.
"Like what's up Scoob?" Shaggy asked.
"Rhat's in the rail?" the canine wondered, noticing the small pile of letters and bills next to his companion on the sofa.
"Oh, like just bills and stuff, the usual mail that I get" Shaggy replied.
"Rhat about rhat renvelope?" Scooby inquired, noticing the manila envelope that was sticking out from under a few bills, while he waited patiently on the floor next to him.
"Like yeah, I guess I forgot about that. Maybe I should read it huh old buddy?" Shaggy said, reaching down to softly scratch his Great Dane's ears as he prepared to open the envelope.
"Reah, read it" Scooby agreed.
"Like OK, here goes" Shaggy replied, pulling out the manila envelope fully from the pile, so he could see it better, and so he could see who it was from and what it possibly contained.
The envelope was fairly thin, and seemed to be a few months old, judging by the postmark in the top right corner of it. The fact that the envelope wasn't very big or thick didn't seem to bother Shaggy very much, as he enjoyed getting letters from fans and admirers (the latter he seemed to have more of then the former for some reason, not that he minded it).
However, as he closely examined the envelope, he found himself with a bewildered, almost confused look on his face, especially at said postmark, but more specifically at what was written on the top left hand corner of it, where the return address was.
"Hmm... Like according to the return address, this was sent from the South. Who do I know that lives in that part of the country?" Shaggy wondered, looking down at the envelope, which was now on his lap.
"Raybe Rooby Rum, ror Ra and Ra Rillet?" Scooby suggested.
"Nah, they wouldn't send a letter to me in a manila envelope like this. The three of them are friends, and I don't think friends would send me a letter in a business like package such as this." Shaggy replied, shaking his head at his Great Dane's suggestion, which meant that there was no possible way the people and canine he and his friends had met for the first time during their investigation of the mystery of the Gator Ghoul had sent him the envelope.
"Rhy rot?" the canine sleuth inquired.
"Like I said, because the three of them are good friends, so they wouldn't want to send me something like this. They would send me a letter, or call me on the phone or something like that." Shaggy responded.
"Ri rhink I ret it; rut rif rhe retter's rot from Rooby Rum, or rhe Rillets, rho is it from?" Scooby asked.
"That's what I intend to find out" Shaggy replied, picking up the envelope from his lap and holding it in his hands once again.
Shaggy then turned the envelope over and noticed that the top of it was fastened with a small metal twist tie type object, which meant that it might be a little tough to open, at least at first. After a few moments of thinking, Shaggy came to the conclusion that with a bit of elbow grease, he might be able to open the envelope after all, so he took hold of the small metal twist tie and began working on it, hoping it would open for him.
Soon Shaggy was able to work the metal twist tie undone and within a manner of mere seconds, got the top flap of the envelope open, which produced a big smile on his face, not to mention a sense of accomplishment in his eyes as well. After getting the top flap of the envelope open, Shaggy reached inside the manila envelope and pulled out a small stack of papers, and what looked to be a small plastic pouch.
"Interesting, like I wonder why someone from the South would send me a bunch of papers and a small pouch?" Shaggy wondered aloud.
"Rhy ron't rou rook at the papers Rhaggy" Scooby suggested.
"Good thinking old buddy, I think I will" Shaggy answered.
So, taking the Great Dane's advice, the chicken hearted detective looked over the stack of papers that had been inserted into envelope by whomever sent it to him in the first place. The young man leafed through the stack, and was very interested, albeit a bit confused at what the papers were at first, until he came to the top of the stack that is.
"Like take a listen to this Scoob: Dear Norville Rogers, this is to inform you that your uncle, Colonel Nathaniel Beauregard has passed away. Colonel Beauregard was a fine individual and a great man to work for, but enough about that for now; according to Colonel Beauregard's will, you were one of his favorite relatives, and one of his last few living relatives at that. So, it is my duty to inform you, Norville Rogers, that your uncle has left you his entire estate, Beuregard Mansion, as well as all its contents, various memorabilia that the colonel collected, and all buildings on the grounds of the estate as well." Shaggy said, reading the paper, almost as if his spirits had been somewhat lifted.
"Rhaggy, ri ridn't rknow rou rhad a Runcle Reuregard" Scooby chimed in.
"Like you know Scoob, I didn't either. But it sounds like he was a cool guy; heck, he must be cool if he left me his entire estate and all items inside to boot." Shaggy replied.
"Raybe rho forgot about Runcle Reauregard rover the rears" Scooby suggested.
"Hmm... it's certainly possible Scooby old buddy. Although, come to think of it now I do remember an Uncle Beauregard, I think I might have spoken to him, or met him back when I was little, probably when I was three or four years old." Shaggy replied.
"Rhat's rossible" Scooby remarked.
"Like you know something, I do faintly remember an Uncle Beauregard. I kind of remember that he had a long beard, gray if I recall correctly, and was a real military man. Tough, but still a friendly guy; one thing I can't understand is why he would want to leave everything to me? I mean surely he had other relatives, right?" Shaggy wondered, before asking his canine companion for his opinion.
"Ri ruess, ralthough rit ras really rawesome rof him ro reave reverything ro you anyway" Scooby responded.
"Yeah, like I said before, it was really cool that he left his mansion and his grounds to me. Like I wonder what it looks like?" Shaggy thought, albeit aloud, as Scooby Doo could hear him speak.
"Raybe rhe rother papers rin the renvelope rill rell you" replied the canine Sherlock Holmes.
"It's possible Scooby, although I didn't look through much of the other papers. I think I should look through them though, just to see if there's any more information on the mansion or the grounds, or my uncle for that matter" Shaggy remarked as he resumed looking through the papers.
"Hmm... Like it looks like most of the papers in here are just directions to my uncle's mansion, a photocopy of the will, which I better keep track of, and a few other odds and ends. Although, there is the matter of that small plastic pouch" the chicken hearted young individual said as he picked up said object and held it in his hand.
"Raybe rhere's romething rimportant rin the rouch Rhaggy" Scooby replied.
"Maybe there is old buddy, maybe there is. I think i'll open it and see what it is, to make sure its something important" Shaggy responded.
"Rokay Rhaggy" Scooby answered.
So, after placing the papers back on the sofa, Shaggy slowly but surely opened the small see through plastic pouch and pulled out a small metal key. The young man hypothesized a bit at the key, at how it looked, how it was cut and just generally what it possibly could open; maybe it was a car key, or an apartment key, or perhaps even a house key, but whatever it was Shaggy knew that it was important.
"Hmm... Like why would my Uncle or whoever sent this to me include a small plastic pouch with a key in it of all things?" Shaggy wondered.
"Raybe rit is a rouse rey Rhaggy" Scooby replied.
"You know old buddy, I think you might be right, I think this is a house key. But, why would my Uncle want me to have a house key?" Shaggy thought.
Shaggy leaned back in his seat on the sofa, trying to figure out why his relative had sent him the plastic pouch, and why he would need a house key in the first place. Then, something hit the college student like a bolt of lightning, and he had a major realization on why he now possessed the key.
"Like that's it! I know why my uncle sent me the house key; he sent it to me, or rather he probably had his attorney or whoever was in charge of the estate send it to me so that I could get in the mansion when I travel there" Shaggy explained, albeit aloud.
"Rood rhinking Rhaggy, rhat ras to re it" Scooby replied.
"Like now all that I have to do is read the rest of the letter, and see what else my uncle's planned for me." Shaggy remarked.
"Rokay Rhaggy" Scooby answered.
Shaggy sighed and took a deep breath as he read and reread the rest of the letter. The first portion of the letter was pretty much what Shaggy had already known, that his uncle had passed away and that he had been left the entire estate and all surrounding area, and property.
But the remainder of the letter said that there were other papers in the pile that had instructions about what he was to do once he got to the mansion, as well as the directions to it, and a few miscellaneous other things about the estate that his uncle thought he needed to know.
Once he got done with the letter fully, he had realized that his uncle's attorney had been given the papers, including the copy of the will, as well as the pouch and key. Once his uncle's attorney acquired the items, he sent them off to Shaggy, who it was explained in the letter, was to immediately make preparations to travel to the estate immediately after receiving the envelope.
Shaggy was a bit unsure of this, he was a student at Coolsville University after all, and didn't want to miss any classes, but once he realized that this was a golden opportunity for a vacation (which he desperately needed, like anyone in his situation would) and that he was inheriting an entire southern estate, he made the decision to take a break from college and travel to the Southern US, to met his obligations.
The young man though was very happy to find out that his uncle, and his attorney were very understanding and friendly, specifically that in the letter it mentioned that Shaggy was welcome to bring any friends with him to the mansion, to stay there as well as help him keep up the house, in any fashion or any manner that they saw fit.
"Like this is great, I can bring you with me Scoob" Shaggy said, as the Great Dane sauntered over to him and began licking his face.
"Reah, ri rove rhe Routh" Scooby responded with a big smile on his face.
"Like I know you do old pal, but could you do me one favor" Shaggy replied.
"Rure, rhat is it?" Scooby asked.
"Could you not lick my face so much; I mean I don't mind it, but maybe you can cut it out for a few minutes" Shaggy responded.
"Rokay Rhaggy" Scooby answered.
"I'm so glad my uncle is letting me bring friends with me, and I know exactly what friends I'm going to bring with me to my uncle's house" Shaggy replied.
"Ro rou? Rho ro rou rant to rome Rhaggy?" Scooby inquired.
"Like who else: Fred, Daphne and Velma" Shaggy answered.
"Rut Rhaggy, raren't rou, Fred, Raphne and Relma rin rlasses?" Scooby questioned
"Well, like we are in college classes, although the ones we're in are done for the day. Which is why I'm here now and checking the mail; so, I guess I might be able to finagle Fred and the girls to come with us. What do you think Scoob?" Shaggy asked, turning to his canine companion for advice.
"Ri rhink rhat's a great idea Rhaggy, rou rhould ro it. Rinvite Fred and the rirls to the mansion" Scooby replied.
"Good thinking old buddy, I just hope they're able to come with us" Shaggy responded.
"Rhy ron't rou rall them and ree" Scooby replied.
"Right, like let's hope they don't have anything planned" Shaggy remarked.
With that, Shaggy got up from the sofa and took the papers and plastic pouch with him. He then walked over to a wooden table, placed the envelope and its contents on said table and walked a few more feet over towards the small kitchen area.
On the wall, near a long wooden counter was a telephone, and next to it a note pad and pen. Shaggy looked over at the note pad, where he had written down several important phone numbers, and began looking for the numbers of each of his friends, which he found rather easily considering they were on the top of the pad.
"OK, like Fred's number is first; knowing him, he would probably love to come. Considering the fact that he and the girls can't resist haunted mansions" Shaggy quipped, dialing his friend's number as he spoke.
Shaggy held the receiver to his ear and waited for Fred Jones' phone to ring. Once, twice, and a third time the phone on the other end emitted a dial tone, which he heard through the receiver; when he was about to give up, he heard a familiar male voice through the phone and smiled broadly.
"Hello, this is Freddie Jones, can I help you?" the male voice asked.
"Fred? It's me Shaggy" the green shirt clad college student replied.
"Oh, hey Shaggy, what's up?" the unofficial leader of Mystery Inc. inquired.
"Well, like I was checking the mail and got a manila envelope. I checked the return address and thought who would want to send me something who lived in the South, but then I opened it and got one heck of a surprise" Shaggy explained.
"Whoa, like what Shaggy?" Fred asked, his curiosity having been piqued.
"Well, after I opened the envelope, I took out a whole bunch of papers from inside it. Plus there was a small plastic pouch with a key inside, and that's not all" Shaggy replied
"There's more? Do tell" Fred responded.
"Well, one of the papers was a letter from my Uncle Colonel Nathaniel Beauregard's attorney, informing me that he had passed away. The letter also said that he left his entire mansion and entire estate to me, lock, stock and barrel." Shaggy continued.
"Wow, that's pretty cool Shaggy, inheriting an entire Southern mansion and estate" Fred replied.
"Like it sure is; and the best part is the colonel and his attorney are allowing me to bring some friends. I'm already bringing Scooby along of course, and I figured you, Daphne and Velma would want to come too" Shaggy replied.
"Hmm... Well, Spring Break is coming up soon, and we've been looking for somewhere to go to on vacation. And maybe this mansion your Uncle left you is a nice place to go, or a nice place to spend a vacation; heck, old mansions are usually when we find mysteries, and a lot of them are really beautiful." Fred responded, thinking about.
"So Fred, what do you think? Are you going to come with me and Scooby to my uncle's mansion?" Shaggy inquired.
"You know Shaggy, I think I will; have you called Daph and Velma yet and told them the good news?" Fred asked.
"No, not yet, but I will; in fact, you were the first person who I decided to call. Partly because your number was at the top of the note pad where I have you and the girls' numbers written" Shaggy replied.
"Ah, I see; well, I won't keep you from your appointed task, I'll get started packing, and then after you call Daphne and Velma, the three of us will meet at your house, so you can fill us in on where the mansion is and things like that, OK?" Fred responded with a question of his own.
"Sounds good, talk to you later Fred" Shaggy replied.
"Right, and thanks for calling me and letting me know what was going on" Fred responded.
"No problem, bye for now" Shaggy replied, hanging the phone back up.
Shaggy Rogers then looked back at the note pad which was next to the phone, and looked at the next two numbers listed, which were that of his friend Daphne Blake, and his girlfriend Velma Dinkley. After picking up the receiver yet again, he dialed Daphne's number and soon found himself talking to his red haired fellow detective.
The sandy haired young sleuth then described the envelope that he had received to Daphne, and also described how he read the letter telling that his uncle had passed on, and that his relative left his entire estate to Shaggy. Daphne was very impressed by what he told her, and when he mentioned to the red head that his uncle let him bring friends along, she was ecstatic.
Although Daphne Blake was partly pleased due to the fact that she had always loved the movie Gone With The Wind, and that once Shaggy told her about the mansion, and the fact that his uncle was named Beauregard, her thoughts immediately went to Tara, the mansion in that movie. Maybe it was her love of that movie, or maybe it was her love of Southern mansions, but whatever it was, when the young man finished, she was more then happy to accompany he, Scooby and Fred to the Southern US.
After hanging up the phone, next up was Velma Dinkley, who didn't quite share Daphne's love of Southern mansions. But when she was told by Shaggy about what was going on, she smiled (which Shaggy could tell through the phone, considering her tone of voice) and immediately asked if the rest of the gang was coming along too.
Shaggy said yes, which gave Velma her answer on whether she wanted to go or not. After all, the two had been dating for a while and the bespectacled sleuth was more then happy to have the young man in a romantic destination, like spending a few days in an old fashioned Southern mansion.
Although Velma seemed to be more interested in the mansion, she still wanted to spend time with Shaggy Rogers, so she agreed to come along on the trip. Once Shaggy hung up the phone, he decided to start making a mental list of preparations, which if they were written down on paper, would reach a mile long, or more.
There was packing clothes, making sure the van was ready to go (which was outside of his house, in his driveway), and a few miscellaneous other items. Once the preparations for he and the gang's trip were finished, the sandy haired young man was ready to meet his friends, who were as eager as he was to begin the group's trip to Beauregard Mansion.
However, unbeknownst to him at the moment, the very mansion he and his friends were going to spend time in was going to be the site of one of the strangest mysteries the gang had ever encountered. In fact, while this one was going to involve some of the usual things Mystery Inc. dealt with, it would turn out to be one of the most dangerous ones the group had ever or would ever solve.
Author's Notes: Hope everybody liked this first chapter, and believe me, there's more to come. By the way, thanks again to Evelyn Knight, as her "Secret of Beauregard Mansion" story was my inspiration for writing this, and hopefully she will reupload it. Also, I am still writing, and I have plenty of stories to come for my watchers and people who have me on their favorite author's lists.