As Halloween approaches, Castle and Beckett are assigned to investigate the death of a young man found stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake in a graveyard. To Castle's delight, the two must delve into the world of vampires and werewolves to find the killer.
Plot
On Halloween eve, Richard Castle is getting ready for his Halloween party when Beckett calls. A teenager has been found with a stake in his heart in the cemetery. From the ceramic fangs in the victim's mouth, Castle meets up with fang master Dr. Barry Frank who identifies the victim as Crow and gives them his address.
At Crow's apartment, they find out that he was a graphic artist and was working on a new graphic novel. From Alma the landlady, they learn Crow had a fight with a black-haired girl, whose name they learn is Vixen and that she runs a vampire coven. The team looks up Vixen on the internet, during which Ryan reveals that he once dated a girl with a vampire fetish but broke it off when he refused to have sex in a coffin. Though they can't get an address for Vixen, the coven's website does mention an upcoming meeting, but only someone with a username can get the information, forcing Ryan to call up his ex-girlfriend, though he refuses to sleep with her in a coffin.
Vixen tells them Crow was writing a graphic novel with his new boyfriend Daemon which was based on Morlock, a psycho who thinks he's a vampire due to suffering from photosensitivity. Using the novel, they track down Morlock, but can make little sense of his "ramblings of spots and burying wicked boys".
Ryan comes up with the drawings which are sent to the head psychiatrist Dr. Holloway. From him, they learn Crow's main subject was not Morlock, but a woman who he depicted as an angel. Daemon, whose real name is Jonas Westfall, a graduate in forensic anthropology, is found dead from a gunshot, but Beckett finds his thesis papers, where the sketch of a woman murdered 18 years ago is found. They conclude from Crow's drawings that he saw the murder of the woman when he was two.
At that same time, Alan had reported his wife Elizabeth missing. From Elizabeth's maiden name Dryden, the grave found by Castle in the cemetery, they believe Mathew confronted his father with the murder in front of her grave and was killed.
Bringing Alan back to the precinct, along with his lawyer, he confesses that he changed his name to protect Rosie and married Janice, Mathew's nanny, but insists he had nothing to do with wife's disappearance. He also admits that Matthew had been drawing his real mother's face since he was nine, but he didn't want to break Rosie's heart by telling that everything she had known as a lie; Castle retorts that if he was in his shoes, he would've told his daughter the truth. Beckett then produces Matthew's drawings and the image of Elizabeth's digitally reconstructed face, revealing that Matthew witnesses his mother's murder. She also produces the gun that killed both Elizabeth and Jonas, found in the Freemans' residence. Alan is at a loss for words, insisting that it's not possible.
Stepping outside the interrogation room, Janice asks how long are they going to hold her husband. Beckett assures her they are just trying to get to the truth. Castle then notices that Janice has spots on her dress and lead her to Morlock, who identifies her as a murderer. Beckett later informs Alan that Janice murdered Elizabeth so she could have him to herself. But when Matthew and Jonas came close to uncovering the truth, she killed Jonas and, spotting the stakes in his apartment, killed Matthew in a way that Alan would assume that the people he hated were responsible. With tears in his eyes, Alan asks why would Janice kill someone she raised. Beckett says that Matthew was a constant reminder of what she had done and when he turned on her, he was no longer her son. Alan is free to go and comforts a heartbroken Rosie.
In the subplot, Alexis and her friend Paige are taking care of an egg, Fegin, as a Home Science project. When they go to a senior party, Paige gets intoxicated and has to be carried home by Castle. Castle calls Paige's parents and as revenge, Paige 'kills' Fegin. Castle tells Alexis that no matter what she does, he will always be there for her. Even if she gets an F in science.
In another subplot, Beckett continuously asks Castle what got him into writing murder mysteries. Castle invents the tale of finding the body of his housekeeper's son washed up on the beach, and in return, Beckett scares him in front of his Halloween party with a light-up frog inside her coat.
Castle: Do these make me look immortal? Do you want to, uh, go get something pierced?
Beckett: No. Do you?
Castle: Uh, wow.
Castle: It reminds me of early Frank Miller.
Beckett: Which Frank--Epic Comic or Dark Horse years?
Castle: Oh, my God. That is the sexiest thing I ever heard you say. I had no idea you were interested in comic books.
Beckett: Oh, Castle. The things you don't about me could fill a book
Ryan: Yeah, a vampire coven is like joining a church or a club. You like to play golf. I like to play golf. You like to drink blood. I like to drink blood. What? I...I used to go out with a girl who was into the lifestyle.
Esposito: What happened? Did the relationship suck?
Castle: Oh!
Ryan: The deal breaker? She wanted to have sex in a coffin.
Ryan: Damn. You need a password.
Esposito: Or an old girlfriend.
Ryan: Fine, but I am not sleeping with her.
Beckett: Hmm. What are you gonna wear?
Esposito: You wanna know? You gotta show...to see what I got going on.
Castle: You smell like cherries.
Ryan: Hey, we got hit on the...
Esposito: Are we interrupting something?
Castle: Yes.
Beckett: No.
Ryan: Okay.
Beckett: Castle was totally freaked out.
Castle: You want to bite me?
Castle: And if, uh, any of those senior boys bother you... Father won't be quite himself.
Castle: Careful. That is a potion of my own concoction. Drink it, and who knows who or what you will become. Also, you might wonder what happened to your pants.
Lanie: Ooh. Sounds like my kinda party.
Beckett: Yeah, well, I was going for sexy. Now we're even.
Castle: I'm giving you the bird.
Featured Music
"Reality Check" - Salme Dahlstrom
Easily Amused - Lobster
The Monster Stroll - Jocko
"Inside Misery" - Nate Connely
"Pure Pleasure Seeker"- Moloko
Trivia
In the opening scene Castle's Halloween costume is from his wardrobe on Joss Whedon's Firefly TV series,
Castle's "space cowboy"
and the feature film continuation Serenity, where he starred as Capt. Malcolm Reynolds. Nathan Fillion has always described portraying the character as the most fun he had ever had on a TV series. Alexis mentions this asking "Didn't you wear that 5 years ago?", the year Firefly aired. Additionally, the catalyzer part that was central to the Firefly episode "Out of Gas" can be seen on a shelf during that scene.
As Alexis criticizes her father's costume, one of her arguments is that "there are no cows in space." Ironically, in the Firefly episodes, "Shindig" and "Safe" (both back to back), Captain Reynolds, and his crew have to transport a herd of cows between planets.
As Castle talks to Alexis in his Firefly costume, he mentions Zac Efron. One of Efron's earliest roles was a minor role in Firefly, where he played the childhood version of one of the main characters (Simon Tam) in a flashback.
Fillion had a recurring role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode references many vampire Mythos including Buffy, Underworld, and Shadow of the Vampire. While in most of these settings, and in the traditional legends, a stake through the heart will destroy a vampire, Castle asserts that a stake through the heart causes paralysis; this is a reference to the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade.
A 'vampire' named Damon is referenced, possibly referring to the character from The Vampire Diaries.
Co-executive producer Jose Molina's earliest screen credits are for his work on Buffy. He later worked on Angel (another Joss Whedon vampire series) and Firefly.
The costume Jon Huertas's character Esposito wears to Castle's party is to his role as Sgt. Antonio Espera in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill. It is also an in-story reference to Esposito's military background as he served in Army Special Forces.
Jon Huertas played a witch hunter in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
Phil LaMarr voiced Vamp, a villain with vampire-like attributes in the video game, "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" and "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots"
Watch for: As Ryan recounts his time dating a member of the vampire scene, Esposito asks him if the relationship sucked. Castle gives him props for the joke by "feeding the birds".
In one scene Crow's sister is wearing a Hayley Blue T-shirt, who is the victim in the next episode, Famous Last Words.
The costume that actor Seamus Dever's character Ryan wears to Castle's party might be referring to the actor's earlier roles as a doctor, first on General Hospital and then on Army Wives.
Beckett's interest in comic books is later mentioned in Heroes and Villains.
Costumes people wore for Halloween:
Lanie - Cat or catwoman
Esposito - Army Soldier
Ryan - Doctor
Castle - Edgar Allen Poe
Beckett - Sexy look with a frog in her coat
Alexis - Green Woodland Fairy
Martha - Cruella De Vill and a flapper
Watch for: Ryan has copy of Castle's book Heat Wave.
This is the first of holiday episode and 1st Halloween theme episode.
At Castle's Halloween party, Lanie and Castle are very touchy-feely and flirty, perhaps the two of them have come up with a plan to get Kate to admit her feelings for Castle by making her jealous, which never actually acure because in later episodes Poof! You're Dead and always, Lanie and Esposito started hook up and Castle and Beckett finally hooked up.
When Esposito asked if he and Ryan were interrupting Castle and Beckett, Castle said yes and Beckett said no, but Esposito and Ryan smile.
Castle told Beckett about how he become a writer with a false story to keep the real reason how until Hollander’s Woods.
