TV Recap: Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - Justin Faces His Childhood Ghost Mantooth in "Spells Like Halloween Spirit"

Halloween comes roaring back to the Russo household in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Season 2, Episode 5, “Spells Like Halloween Spirit." What starts as a night of pranks and party planning quickly turns into a battle with one of Justin’s deepest childhood fears: the ghost Mantooth. Last seen in Wizards of Waverly Place Season 3’s “Halloween," Mantooth returns to torment Justin once again, forcing him to confront the very spirit that once hid under his bed — and proving that sometimes the scariest part of Halloween isn’t the ghosts, but the courage it takes to face them.

Season 2, Episode 5: “Spells Like Halloween Spirit" - Written by Molly Haldeman

Halloween kicks off at the Russo house with pranks in full swing. At midnight, Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko) sneak into Billie’s (Janice LeeAnn Brown) room to spook her. Their sister rises from bed glowing eerily, frightening Roman, only for Milo to reveal he was in on it — glowing, too, when Roman turns around. The prank works a little too well when Roman’s scream wakes Justin (David Henrie), who rushes in and is also scared by the sight of the ghosts.

Billie is determined to throw the ultimate Halloween party, complete with real ghosts ordered through GhostMates. Winter (Taylor Cora) squeezes into the kitchen in a milk carton costume, having misheard “scary" as “dairy." Billie brags that she’s summoning actual spirits from the wizard world. Justin stumbles in for coffee, and Winter encourages Billie to get Justin’s approval to have ghosts at the party. Just as he says no, they appear at the back door behind his back. When Justin turns and sees them, he shuts it down. “No ghosts, no haunted house," he insists. Billie sheepishly apologizes for not asking first, but he heads back upstairs after an unrestful night to take a nap.

Upstairs, Justin trips Roman’s skeleton booby trap, unimpressed. Milo scolds Roman for not using magic and for breaking their truce. Giada (Mimi Gianopulos) storms in next, furious after finding a three-headed rat in her shower — another one of Milo’s pranks gone wrong. Roman bribes Milo with candy to end the prank war, but the ceasefire doesn’t last long.

As the boys carve pumpkins, Roman can’t resist making fun of Milo’s looks, setting him up for another gag. The “candy" he bribed him with was wizard candy that would’ve turned Milo’s head into a jack-o’-lantern. Fortunately, Milo never ate it, but Giada accidentally does — leaving her head pumpkin-shaped. Roman quickly changes her back before she notices, but the prank war is officially back on.

Meanwhile, Billie stews over Justin canceling her party, calling him a Halloween Scrooge. Billie tells Winter of the wizarding-world tale A Halloween Carol, which humans “borrowed" and repurposed as A Christmas Carol. Inspired, Billie vows to restore Justin’s Halloween spirit by caroling him through Halloween Past, Present, and Future.

Justin, trying to nap, is soon pulled into her plan. First, she warns him of the bleak “Halloween Future" — a drab dinner of cricket loaf with the family ruled over by “Have-oween" Winter. Then she takes him to “Halloween Present," where Roman and Milo waste time scrolling through memes instead of trick-or-treating. Finally, she revisits “Halloween Past," conjuring the sub shop party Justin once threw with Alex (in Wizards of Waverly Place Season 3, Episode 2 — “Halloween), where real ghosts caused chaos. A sinister presence looms — Mantooth (Sean Whalen), a ghost from Justin’s childhood who once hid under his bed.

Back in the present, Justin is on edge, only to find Mantooth has returned for real. Hiding under Justin’s bed, Mantooth bursts out to terrify him, vowing to haunt him forever.

Roman and Milo find Giada in the kitchen, screaming after seeing her reflection in a frying pan. She’s bald! The boys know they will be in trouble, so they rush upstairs and shave their heads, returning to the kitchen to pin the blame on someone else. But the joke was on them as Giada pulled off a bald cap, knowing they continued their prank war behind her back.

When Billie hears Justin running through the halls from Mantooth, she follows them to the living room. Justin is clearly afraid of Mantooth, but when the ghost scares Billie, too, he summons up some parental courage. Mantooth unleashes his most terrifying face of all, and Justin holds firm, unflinching. When Roman and Milo enter the living room, Mantooth shrieks, mistaking the bald kids for Ghoul Boys. It turns out he never knew how terrifying it felt to be scared.

With Mantooth gone, Justin thanks Billie for helping him conquer his fear of ghosts. “You’re the bravest guy I know," Billie tells him. Justin asks his sons what happened as his wife enters the living room. “They pranked around and found out," she smiles.

Trick-or-treaters arrive at the Russo home and get more than they bargained for: Milo as a severed head on Giada’s séance table, Billie popping out of the mirror, ghosts materializing behind the couch, and Roman still in bald cap disguise. They scream and run, satisfied customers of the most haunted house on the block. But Justin gets the final scare when Billie reveals she used his credit card on GhostMates, which set him back $257! It’s the most terrifying thing he’s endured all Halloween.

Next episode: “Cruel Detentions."

Episodes from Season 2 of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place will be available to stream on Disney+ beginning Wednesday, October 8th.