Ghost Encounters

After discovering the lost episode of Gilligan’s Island, I started thinking about finding an episode of another favorite show of mine, The Three Stooges. According to a source I found, the episode was called Ghost Encounters. It was supposed to be shown in movie theaters and on television (as episodes were being aired on TV as well and released on DVD, of course). This episode was cut for being disturbing, but before you roll your eyes and think I’m going to talk about characters dying in brutal ways—well, that’s not the case at all, surprisingly.

What made it disturbing was the ghost itself. Think about that for a second. The actors—Moe, Larry, and Curly (this was made before Curly had his stroke and was replaced by Shemp)—were inside a real haunted house. It wasn’t some guy in a ghost costume saying “Boo!” or whatever ghosts say; it was a real ghost, caught on camera, and that’s what made it so unsettling. Even though the actors tried to be funny and goofy as usual, I have my doubts that this episode exists. But I figured I’d try to find it anyway.

Recently, I drove to an empty field. That’s when I found something sticking out of the ground. Out of curiosity, I dug it up, only to discover it wasn’t the episode—just trash left by someone too lazy to clean up. Still, I wasn’t ready to give up. I wanted to keep searching until I found that episode. It’s worth noting that an episode like this isn’t too far-fetched, considering there are a bunch of Three Stooges episodes that involve ghosts and haunted houses. So, I continued my search.

I checked the river, but quickly realized how stupid that was—anything I found there, like a DVD or tape, would be damaged by the water. That’s when I noticed a wet map on the ground. It was covered in grease stains and soaked, but I didn’t want to tear it up. The map led me to a forest, and at the coordinates (which I Googled) marked by a red X, I started digging. Luckily, I had a shovel with me. Finally, I found it—the sources were true! I grabbed it and left the forest, heading straight home.

It turned out it wasn’t a DVD but a VHS tape. Yeah, I know—nobody uses VHS tapes or players anymore, but I do, and I don’t care what people say; I’m a nostalgic kind of guy. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was indeed labeled Ghost Encounters with the Three Stooges logo printed on it.

I put the tape in the player, and it started with the classic Three Stooges intro, showing the heads of the cast, along with the Columbia statue and everything. Nothing seemed off—it was clearly meant to be an episode, with “In Ghost Encounters” on the right. And it was in color, too, which was nice. Then the episode began.

It opened with Moe, Larry, and Curly entering a mansion. It was raining, and Moe was shouting. Here’s where the dialogue started. Keep in mind, I could barely make out the lines because the audio kept fading in and out, and the quality was pretty bad.

“Moe, where’s the umbrella?” Larry asked. Curly then walked in with the umbrella, humming a little tune in his usual comedic way. Moe, annoyed, punched Curly square in the stomach, accompanied by a funny sound effect.

“Oof!” Curly cried, holding his stomach in pain.

“Shhh! Keep it down! Someone might be living here,” Moe scolded Curly.

Then, a strange, unsettling sound—like a deep, low moan—echoed throughout the house. Moe, Curly, and Larry were clearly unnerved and tried to leave, but the door slammed shut by itself. This wasn’t part of the act or any practical effects. Like I said, the building was actually haunted. The expressions on Moe, Larry, and Curly’s faces were genuine. There were no strings or anything attached to the door.

“Uh… Hey guys, let’s split up! Moe, you go that way! Larry, you check the other way, and I’ll take a little rest.” Curly tried to do his usual “Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk!” laugh, but he was too scared. Instead, he let out a nervous, half-hearted chuckle.

Curly wandered into a bedroom, where he found skeletons lying in bed—or at least, that’s what it looked like. Understandably horrified, Curly turned away, but one of the skeletons suddenly woke up. The camera zoomed in as the skeleton opened its mouth, grabbed Curly by the neck, and threw him across the room. He didn’t die, but he was definitely injured. When he got up, blood started gushing from his nose, staining his clothes, and he passed out, slumping into a chair.

Meanwhile, Larry was in the bathroom. When he glanced in the mirror, he thought he saw something but ignored it. Then, for some reason, he decided to use the toilet. He sat there smoking a cigar, but it’s worth noting that he didn’t actually pull his pants down—he just sat there fully clothed. When he looked back in the mirror, he saw something terrifying: a ghostly figure with a deformed face, almost as if it were screaming. Suddenly, the ghost vomited all over Larry’s face. Screaming, he ran out of the room and bumped into Moe in the living room.

“Moe, Moe, Moe! You won’t believe what I just saw!” Larry exclaimed, grabbing a towel to wipe his face.

“I know, I heard it, you numbskull,” Moe said, kicking him in the groin.

“Oh, oh, ohhh!” Larry shouted, clutching his crotch in pain. As the pain subsided, Larry asked about Curly.

“Say, where’s Curly?” Moe asked with concern. Realizing he might be in the bedroom, Moe and Larry rushed in and found Curly passed out in a chair, ignoring the skeletons entirely.

“Curly! Speak to me! Say a few syllables! Utter some adjectives!” Moe cried, gently slapping Curly’s face and stomping on his foot.

Curly woke up, and Moe and Larry hugged him tightly. But after pushing them away, Moe finally noticed the skeletons. He pulled out a gun and shot one of them repeatedly, causing the other skeleton to wake up. The second skeleton grabbed Moe by the neck and threw him onto the bed, where he hit a painting that fell on his head. Groaning in pain, Moe still had his gun.

In a fit of rage, Moe shot the other skeleton’s head off. He was furious but also protective, not wanting Larry or Curly to get hurt. But according to the sources I found, this is where things took a turn behind the scenes. Moe began yelling at Curly and Larry about the filming location.

“Well, that’s that. Larry, Curly, this could’ve all been avoided if you two hadn’t insisted on filming here! We almost died, and you’re lucky I saved us. I could’ve let you both die,” Moe shouted, more loudly than usual. His tone was different, more cruel, almost out of character. It was unsettling. Moe had always cared for them, both on and off-screen, but this behind-the-scenes outburst was disturbing. Then Moe said something else: “I would’ve shot you too, but no family would want to see that.”

The episode ended with Moe, Larry, and Curly breaking down the front door and stepping outside. Moe lit a couple of matches and set the mansion on fire. Curly and Larry stood behind him, looking concerned, while Moe stood there in relief as the building burned to ashes.

The three left the property, never to return. It was a sunny day.

When the tape ejected, I just sat there, processing what I’d just seen. On the one hand, I was relieved it wasn’t about Moe, Larry, and Curly dying—though they’ve passed away in real life. Man, they were my childhood heroes. I hope they’re resting in peace, and I hope this post doesn’t ruin their reputation. This probably wasn’t even the real actors, just people pretending to be them and doing an eerily good job with the voices.

I thought about destroying the tape, but I decided to keep it. I’ll never upload it to YouTube or anywhere else—I don’t want to start anything.