THEGHOSTSTORIES

The term Ghost covers a lot of ground - from innocent ones such as the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost to the much more sinister, haunting ones in the shape of deceased people. Carl Barks made only a few stories with ghosts, and the foremost reason for his hesitation was presumably that he imagined the readers of his stories to be children, and ghosts are usually a more frightening than interesting topic for young readers.

In all, Barks made only 10 ghost stories (not counting his first story FC0009 Pirate Gold which was originally titled Morgan's Ghost, although the plot was fairly free of ghosts). The stories are presented below in chronological order.

FC0159 Ghost of the Grotto - 1947

Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews are stranded on a coral reef with an old Spanish galleon. But the barren reef is inhabited - by a man in ancient armour.

Comments:
By chance, the Ducks stumble upon the old man in shining armour who has been defending an ancient treasure deep inside a cave for many years. The nearby villagers perceive him as a ghost, but the situation is actually much more serious, because the old man - as well as many others before him - were kidnapped at 50 year intervals as young village boys in order to portray a British sailor from the time of Francis Drake.

FC0189 The Old Castle's Secret - 1948

Synopsis:
Scrooge's treasure is in peril at the old family castle in Scotland. He takes Donald and the nephews along only to discover that the castle may be haunted...

Comments:
The entire story circles around dead ancestors and their ghosts. Even the current caretaker of the castle is presumed to be a ghost when Donald at one time encounters him!
We are taken to Scrooge's musty old ruin of a castle far out in the moors of Scotland. Barks leads us through multiple rooms from the towers to the cellars and we are stuck with the same eerie feeling that the ducks experience. Amazingly, Barks manages to press an astonishing 73 death related references (the words death, graveyard, ghost, and so on) into this scary story despite the fact that any kind of references to Death were banned from the Disney comics!

DD26 Trick or Treat - 1952

Synopsis:
The nephews are collecting goodies for Halloween but Donald has decided to tease them. A real witch meddles in to fight the battle against the stingy uncle...

Comments:
By definition the night of Halloween is the time of year when ghosts come out to roam and Barks obliged by drawing a long row of scary ghosts on their way to Donald's house!
This story was one of the few which Barks did not write. He received a synopsis along with a few sketches from the coming Disney cartoon by the same name and was asked to deliver the story for a comic book version (see more HERE).

WDCS176 'Wild Bill Hiccup'- 1955

Synopsis:
Donald grows tired of the nephews' love of western films and he decides to show them the real West. But he wasn't counting on Wild Bill Hiccup...

Comments:
The Ducks made a few, short trips to the old West's ghost towns (WDCS271 A Stone's Throw From Ghost Town is another example), but this is the only time they actually stay in one. Before long they are convinced that the ghost of an old sheriff roams the town ruins - and they are partly right! The same sheriff, whom everybody had thought was dead long ago, is actually still patrolling his old town...

U$23 The Strange Shipwrecks - 1958

Synopsis:
Scrooge's ships are mysteriously wrecked in the Doomgurgle Straits and there is talk of a ghost. Donald and the nephews are looking into the matter...

Comments:
Seemingly, it is the ghost of the terrible Corsican pirate, Raider Nick, who is at large. But in the end it turns out that both Nick and his eerie pirate ship are inflatable objects operated by none other than the Beagle Boys.

U$25 The Flying Dutchman - 1959

Synopsis:
Scrooge goes hunting for a mysterious gold-laden ship which sails without a crew. Donald tags along with his fishing rod...

Comments:
Barks used a well-known tale when he made this story. Through time many other writers have been enticed by the myth. Among the most famous is the British author and naval captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848) who wrote The Phantom Ship (1837). Also, the German composer Richard Wagner, took up the theme in his opera Der Fliegende Holländer.
The original tale tells about a Dutch captain who was renowned for the uncanny speed of his trips between Holland and Java, and was suspected of being in league with the devil because of it. During a storm at Cape of Good Hope (Africa's southernmost point) the captain made a blasphemous remark that he would not retreat, but would continue his attempt to round the cape even if it took until Judgement Day. For that remark he and his ship were doomed to sail the high seas forever.
Barks gladly joined the party about the ominous ghost ship...

U$26 'The Ghosts of Pizen Bluff' - 1959

Synopsis:
Scrooge returns to a windy ghost town to find his old gold mine.

Comments:
Despite its obvious potential this is, in fact, the only gold mine story Barks made with Scrooge as a gold miner! In flashbacks we hear about the rich mine he abandoned, because it was said to be haunted.
Again, most of the story takes place in an old West ghost town, but this one is also relocating itself on a regular basis!!! Ghostly...

U$56 Mystery of the Ghost Town Railroad - 1965

Synopsis:
Worthless railroad shares are now going through the roof but Scrooge hid his near a spooky hotel in a ghost town...

Comments:
The ducks set up their base in the old hotel that has been closed for many years. Soon they discover that the building is haunted by elusive and thieving beings as well as eerie ghosts (crows dressed up as ghosts wearing white sheets), that follow the panicking ducks around.
Barks got the initial idea about a ghost infested hotel on a car trip when he and his wife passed a certain hotel in Nevada which was said to be haunted by a girl and her newborn baby who had both been killed.

U$60 The Phantom of Notre Duck - 1965

Synopsis:
The Money Bin can only be opened by the notes of a certain melody played on a flute. But the elusive phantom of Duckburg's cathedral gets hold of it...

Comments:
The remainder of the story is a chase between the ducks and the strange phantom, who really knows his surroundings and tricks his pursuers time and time again. In the end it turns out that the phantom is none other than a dedicated and harmless person who is building a model cathedral out of coins - and Scrooge himself sits down to help him!

U$63 House of Haunts - 1966

Synopsis:
Scrooge hid all his money in an eerie old castle, but has now forgotten where he put it. But the Beagle Boys know!

Comments:
Maybe it was because he did not want to scare his young readers that Barks avoided making a ghost story with his primary characters as dressed-up ghosts, but in one of his last stories he took the plunge in a very spectacular way:
After a tap on the head from one of the Beagle Boys Scrooge gets amnesia, and in his new state of mind he becomes convinced that he has died and become a ghost! Furthermore, most of the action takes place in a sinister castle filled with scary objects and events. Barks was certainly capable of making a ghost story if he wanted to...