Casper left a couple of questions and mysteries that haven’t been solved in other media, and now one theory solves a major character mystery but with a more tragic twist. After becoming widely famous in cartoons and comic books, Casper the Friendly Ghost made the jump to the big screen in 1995, in a live-action/CGI adventure. Directed by Brad Silberling, Casper is the first feature film to have a fully CGI character in the lead role, and it took viewers to Friendship, Maine, to meet the title ghost.
When spoiled heiress Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) hires paranormal therapist James Harvey (Bill Pullman) to get rid of the ghosts at Whisptaff Manor, he moves in with his teenage daughter Kat (Christina Ricci). Casper is smitten by Kat and, after a chaotic first meeting, they create a very special and strong bond. Accompanying Casper at Whipstaff is the Ghostly Trio – Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie –, Casper’s uncles who love to create chaos around the mansion. The Trio’s backstory and link to Casper are unknown, but a theory solves the mystery of the former with a very dark twist.
Casper Theory Claims The Ghostly Trio Were Killed By Casper’s Father’s Experiments
The Ghostly Trio Is One Of Casper’s Biggest Mysteries
Who exactly were the Ghostly Trio before their deaths, how they got to Whisptaff Manor, and their relationship with Casper are the biggest mysteries surrounding these characters. In Casper, the only death that is explained is that of the title character, who passed away when he was 12 years old. Casper opened up to Kat after finding his old sled in the mansion, which triggered the memory of his final days, how he died, and why he didn’t cross over and ended up becoming a ghost.
Unable to cope with Casper’s death, his father invented the Lazarus machine, through which he hoped to bring Casper back to life.
Casper begged his father for a sled and he got it, so he spent a whole day sledding. Casper didn’t care when his father told him to go back inside, and he kept playing until it got dark and colder. Casper got sick, and Kat learned through an old newspaper that Casper died of pneumonia. Unable to cope with Casper’s death, his father invented the Lazarus machine, through which he hoped to bring Casper back to life. Casper’s father claimed to be haunted by the ghost of his son and was declared clinically insane before his death.
Now, a theory shared on Reddit suggests that Casper’s father used Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie to test the Lazarus machine, but with terrible results. When Kat is exploring the mansion, she finds a room with three beds with the names of the Ghostly Trio, which seems odd given how big the mansion is and how many rooms it has, and that the beds have their nicknames instead of their real names. This could be because Casper’s father didn’t see them as people but as test subjects, so giving them nicknames was a way to distance himself from them.
The 1995 movie Casper introduced the Friendly Ghost and his uncles, known as the Ghostly Trio, but it raised questions about their relationship.
A similar theory also shared on Reddit adds that the Ghostly Trio could have been homeless men that Casper’s father found and tricked into helping him test his machine in exchange for a bed and food. Because they died in the mansion as a result of Casper’s father’s experiments, they now haunt the place and Casper lets them boss him around because he feels guilty about what his father did to them, more so as he witnessed everything.
This Casper Theory Gives A Dark Twist To Casper’s Father & The Mansion
Casper’s Father Might Have Had Some Very Dark Final Years
This theory in both versions offers an explanation of what happened to the Ghostly Trio, why they haunt the mansion, and why Casper doesn’t mind serving them, but it also turns Casper’s father into a disturbing character. By definition, if Casper’s father killed the Ghostly Trio, he would have been a serial killer, which, in addition to his claims of being haunted by the ghost of his son (which was true), led to him being declared insane. All this adds to the mythology of Whipstaff Manor, further explaining why everyone was so scared of that place.
Casper
and
Ghostbusters
live in the same universe (this thanks to a Dan Aykroyd cameo as Ray Stantz), so a haunted house shouldn’t be a big deal.
Surely, Whipstaff Manor was inhabited by four ghosts, of which three deeply enjoyed scaring the living, but knowing that it was the house of a serial killer who killed people there makes the mansion even scarier. As one of the theories mentions, Casper and Ghostbusters live in the same universe (this thanks to a Dan Aykroyd cameo as Ray Stantz), so a haunted house shouldn’t be a big deal, but if it was also the house of a serial killer, that would explain why the locals stayed away from it.
Casper Theory Explains Why Casper’s Father Isn’t A Ghost
The Afterlife Fate Of Casper’s Father Raised Many Questions
In Casper, it’s explained that the dead become ghosts when they have unfinished business: Casper didn’t want to leave his father alone, Carrigan wanted to find the treasure, and the Ghostly Trio might have wanted revenge (supposing the theory is true, of course). Casper’s father never got to bring his son back from the dead, and that would have been a huge unfinished business, enough to turn him into a ghost. One of the theories suggests that being clinically insane helped Casper’s father cross over, as it released him from all guilt for what he did to the Ghostly Trio.
Of course, it could also be that his “insanity” diagnosis helped him accept Casper’s death and blamed his ghostly appearances on his declining mental health. It could also be possible that Casper’s father welcomed death as he believed that it would reunite him with his son, thus not becoming a ghost. As dark as it is, it’s believable that the Ghostly Trio could have been Lazarus test subjects, even if that gives a horrible twist to Casper’s father.
Source: Reddit.
Casper, directed by Brad Silberling, follows the friendly ghost Casper as he haunts a Maine mansion. When paranormal specialist James Harvey and his daughter Kat arrive, Casper's affections for Kat grow, complicated by his ghostly form and the antics of his mischievous uncles.
Director Brad Silberling
Release Date May 26, 1995
Cast Bill Pullman , Christina Ricci , Eric Idle , Ben Stein , Chauncey Leopardi , Spencer Vrooman
Custom image by Ana Nieves.
English (US) ·