LogFAQs > #945772211

85. Gravity Falls Northwest Mystery Mansion (episode) (15.5 points)
Nominated by: Jesse_Custer (2/5 remaining)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5kf84q

Importance: 2
Fear: 4.5
Snake: 9

In terms of dark animated children's episodes, this might be up there as one of the darkest. In the episode, local rich girl Pacifica, from the self-important Northwest family, pleads with the Pines to help rid the Northwest Mansion of a particularly prominent poltergeist problem as their annual Northwest party is taking place. Dipper agrees, and they head to the mansion, where Dipper stays paired up with Pacifica for the most part, and they grow closer over the course of the episode as Dipper discovers her hidden depths. There's a scene early on where taxidermied animals start oozing blood profusely and perform satanic chanting, and it gleefully reminded of old Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes which were never afraid to actively try and give you nightmares in the most disturbing way possible. Dipper and Pacifica are subsequently stalked by the ghost of a lumberjack, a tense chase through the mansion that gives a chance for the set dressing to shine, particularly the crazy good lighting and the rustic charm of its cabin-like decor and craftsmanship. The lumberjack is defeated, and the Pines and Northwests seem to part on good terms, however, the lumberjack reveals to Dipper that he helped build the mansion, was subsequently locked out of the mansion with his fellow workers, and they were all killed in a mudslide as an aftermath of the construction. This twist helps set-up the final act, another childhood-scarring display of the show's Gothic-styled sensibilities, as taxidermied animals attack the party and the lumberjack turns everyone into wooden figures in a Twilight Zone-style symbolic punishment.

It's truly an episode unafraid to tackle such heady topics ranging from the false grandeur of high society to overly-controlling parents to political cover-ups to straight up manslaughter. The jokes remind me of the Simpsons, in a way that's so densely packed, sarcastic, but in its own macabre-toned way, that it gives the texture of its horror a tongue-in-cheek vibe, but still manages to have a ton of heart to it, enough that you can and should still take its main story seriously. Good examples of this are when the 102-year old town mayor, with his cobwebbed wheelchair, is flocked by vultures just waiting for their next meal, or the Northwest family portraits showing a clearly false history of how important they were in founding the town. All ages can appreciate the surprising level of depth shown in this episode, and the real tragic depths it explores. Together with its zippy writing and great animation, this is one episode I won't soon be forgetting.

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Is this girl the cat or is she the canary?
https://imgur.com/1e1e70S - https://imgur.com/XObpAjw