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Flying Dutchman

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The Flying Dutchman is a recurring character in SpongeBob SquarePants . He is first mentioned in the episode " Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost " and later appears physically in the episode " Scaredy Pants ," this was also his official debut in production order.

• 1 Description
• 2 Personality
• 3 Powers and abilities
• 6 References

Description [ ]

The Flying Dutchman's model sheet

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost who has a green glow around him, yellow eyes with black irises, a scraggly beard, a pirate hat with a chunk taken out, a handbag marked "Souls," a droopy nose, a coat, little pigtails, and a ghostly tail. He speaks with a West Country pirate accent and a slight lateral lisp.

Personality [ ]

During all of his appearances, the Flying Dutchman proves to be anything but a "friendly ghost." Though his role in the series is to be the devil of the sea, he constantly varies from a sea demon to a restless soul or even as a psychopompic judge to the dead. The Flying Dutchman has been consistently shown to be gruff, malicious and even downright sadistic, scaring people and stealing their souls out simply for fun, and in his first full appearance in "Scaredy Pants," he attempts to steal the souls of everyone in the Krusty Krab simply because SpongeBob's ridiculous costume as the Flying Dutchman was the ultimate insult to his image. The latter trait shows that he is extremely prideful.

Despite his antisocial behavior and malevolence, the Flying Dutchman is not pure evil without companionship.

He has a number of ghost friends [1] and has the capability to bond with other people in case they have the same interests or objectives [1] [2] . He is also a notorious womanizer, [1] [3] with not even mortal women being free from his teasers. While the Flying Dutchman takes strong delight in scaring people, he does not live exclusively to haunt mortals, having sometimes tormented them only out of boredom, or otherwise because someone provoked him. [3] [4] Although, he is no saint, the Flying Dutchman has a strong sense of justice and has been known to reward people for good deeds done towards him [5] or to punish wicked souls, taking his role as a psychopomp very seriously [6] , and has been known to keep promises as seen in " Shanghaied ," when he grants three wishes to SpongeBob and the gang in exchange for his sock.

While he has a penchant for scaring (since he likes to do so and is good at doing it), he's shown to be a rather dirty coward. This is shown despite having reality-bending powers, he refuses to scare a strong and imposing fish, preferring to scare the weak instead such as SpongeBob and Patrick.

Powers and abilities [ ]

The Flying Dutchman is shown to be one of the most powerful supernatural beings in the ocean, rivaling King Neptune . Though The Flying Dutchman's skills vary from episode to episode, he has been consistently capable to levitate, and teleport in a cloud of smoke preceded by a storm. In his first appearance, he is shown to be capable of stealing souls and fire-breathing through his nose. He has also shown to be capable of opening dimensional portals to banish his enemies. [7] [8] He has shown to be capable of manipulating matter, even turning SpongeBob and Patrick into ghosts [3] and making objects appear out of thin air, and granting wishes. [7] [9]

The Flying Dutchman's sailing ship.

However, of all his incarnations, his most "frightening" appearance is in " Ghost Host ," where he is able to shape shift into numerous horrific forms and warp reality effortlessly. Ever since he had been stealing souls and devouring them, there is no approximate limit to how much he can empower himself, and this is what caused him to reach into godhood over the years. The only limitation to his powers regards his ghost tail. Despite being a champion in looping for centuries, he has long forgotten how to tie his shoes and it's later shown that he cannot eat without his "dining sock."

His most powerful and dangerous ability, though, is shown in " Ghoul Fools ," in which he pulls out one of his eyes and transforms into an atomic bomb, after which he launches himself into the ground. The blast from this attack is so powerful that everyone caught within the blast radius gets sent to the Void.

" The Ghost of Plankton " shows that he can possess people's bodies, as he possessed Plankton's body.

History [ ]

He debuts in the episode "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" as a cameo in a comic book detailing his origin. He later debuts physically in the episode "Scaredy Pants," near the end where he appears at the Krusty Krab to tell everyone there how offended he is by people dressing up as him for Halloween, and that SpongeBob 's costume is the worst of all. Before he is about to steal the souls of everyone present, he first takes off SpongeBob's costume, revealing his brain being exposed as a result of Patrick shaving him. This scares the Flying Dutchman and he flees in terror.

He appears again in the episode " Arrgh! ," towards the end where he is awoken by Mr. Krabs , SpongeBob, and Patrick fighting over a treasure chest. The chest is revealed to belong to the Flying Dutchman, and he questions who found his treasure chest. Afraid, Mr. Krabs blames it on SpongeBob and Patrick, and when they nervously confirm it, he takes his treasure and congratulates them and rewards them with one gold coin each. Jealous, Mr. Krabs asks for his reward, but he only receives a tiny plastic treasure chest, which the Flying Dutchman explains is "based on a real treasure chest" as he disappears, laughing maniacally.

In " Your Shoe's Untied ," he is summoned by SpongeBob's cries of anguish about not finding someone who actually wears shoes. The Flying Dutchman says that he has been the Fancy Knotting Contest Champion for the last 3,000 years, and teaches him a thing or two about knots and shows him various knots. However, when SpongeBob asks for a knot for tying shoes, he is stumped when the Flying Dutchman says that he doesn't need to tie his shoes, due to him being a ghost and no longer having feet. He even stated that he hasn't worn shoes for over 5,000 years. But this fact doesn't impede his enjoyment of wearing a sock on his ghostly tail.

He has his first major role in the episode " Shanghaied ," forcing SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward to be part of his crew forever when they board his ship. Squidward instead is sent through the Fly of Despair as punishment for his constant complaining and annoyance. However, when SpongeBob and Patrick damage his ship and fail to scare the people of Bikini Bottom , he decides to eat them. However, when they steal his dining sock to prevent him from eating them, he catches them and tries to get it back, until Patrick declares that they reached an impasse. To get his sock back, he makes a deal with them that if they give him back his sock, he will give them three wishes, and they accept the deal. Patrick wishes that he wished he would have known that earlier, and SpongeBob wishes for Squidward's return and the Flying Dutchman being a vegetarian so he would not be able to eat them. However, instead of going home, they are turned into fruit and are chased by the Flying Dutchman in his ship, which is now a hippie van with a sail.

In " Born Again Krabs ," he appears in Mr. Krabs' hospital room to condemn him to " Davy Jones' locker ." However, because Mr. Krabs keeps begging to be freed, the Flying Dutchman gives him another chance, as long as he will always be generous from now on, and Mr. Krabs promises (thinking he is only having a "bad dream"). Mr. Krabs returns to the Krusty Krab less cheap and more generous, but he becomes cheap once again after realizing that he is not in a bad dream and the whole thing is real. The Flying Dutchman returns to take him back to the locker. However, SpongeBob says he is not cheap bets that he would choose him over all the money in the Flying Dutchman's pocket. Mr. Krabs chooses the money and SpongeBob is instead condemned to the locker, but after Squidward scolds him for doing so, Mr. Krabs realizes what he just did and regrets it. Then, the Flying Dutchman brings SpongeBob back because of his constant annoyance, and SpongeBob later annoys him once again on the phone.

He then appears in the episode " Money Talks ," where he appears to grant Mr. Krabs' wish of talking to money if he sells his soul, which Mr. Krabs accepts. Later, Mr. Krabs starts to regret his deal with the Flying Dutchman and demands it to be put off, and he appears and refuses to put off the deal. However, before he is about to take Mr. Krabs' soul, he says he already sold it. Then suddenly, a group of monster-like ghosts, including SpongeBob, are lined up and reveal that Mr. Krabs sold his soul to them too.

In " SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One ," he accidentally bumps into Mr. Krabs at the middle of the Dutchman's Triangle while on his way home from the grocery store and spills his groceries. To buy more groceries, he tries to get money from Mr. Krabs by stealing his cash register , and a fight starts. Later, the Flying Dutchman gets ahold of the register, but he accidentally releases the tray, which hits him and sends him to Davy Jones' locker, where he is tortured by Davy Jones himself.

In " The Curse of Bikini Bottom ," he turns SpongeBob and Patrick into ghosts as punishment for accidentally shaving his beard off while playing with Squidward's lawnmower. Later, not wanting to be ghosts anymore, SpongeBob and Patrick visit the Flying Dutchman plead him to turn them back to normal, and he does, but the curse will not wear off until his beard grows back for his date. Because of this, they decide to replace it. At the end, SpongeBob himself replaces his beard for several months until it grew back. Later, the Flying Dutchman appears to SpongeBob and Patrick and reveals that his girlfriend wants to marry him, but he says he is "not the marrying-type." Then, when a giant monster , who is apparently his date, pops out from the horizon of the background, he runs away in fear.

In "Ghoul Fools," where he finds Lord Poltergeist 's haunted house boat and plans to reclaim the treasure chest filled with doubloons Poltergeist stole from him. Poltergeist tries to escape, but the haunted house boat breaks down. Then, the Flying Dutchman turns into a bomb that creates a huge void that sucks everyone present (Poltergeist, SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Sandy ) inside.

In " Plankton Gets the Boot ," he makes a cameo on a board game box.

In " The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom ," he enjoys himself on Halloween until he is halted by SpongeBob's laughter, who used to be scared until Patrick tells him that scary equals funny. He tries to scare SpongeBob numerous times, but he still thinks it is funny. The Flying Dutchman then steals the souls of SpongeBob's friends and locks them in cages as they call for help. SpongeBob then starts to become scared and runs away. Despite being scared, SpongeBob returns to save his friends with the help of Sandy's acorn monster puppet. However, he ends up destroying the puppet, and the Flying Dutchman laughs at him. Plankton mentions the "scary" things SpongeBob has inside his brain , and the Flying Dutchman decides to have a look inside his brain. However, he ends up becoming scared of the things in SpongeBob's brain and flees in fear.

In " Shopping List ," Sandy and SpongeBob secretly steal some of his dandruff, one of the "ingredients" of the Krabby Patty . Plankton, however, fails to do so and is caught by the Flying Dutchman.

He also makes a cameo in the episode " Appointment TV ."

In " The Ghost of Plankton ," he teaches Plankton all the basics of being a ghost which are shapeshifting, scaring, haunting houses, and picking things up. He also jump scares the viewers at the end.

• He is named after the legendary ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman , and seems to resemble the famous pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) or the ship's captain and mythological character Davy Jones, although according to the legend of the Flying Dutchman the ship's captain is a man by the name of Willem van Der Decken.
• In "Scaredy Pants," where he makes his first physical appearance, the Flying Dutchman's eyes are noticeably larger than in his later appearances. His pigtails are also not straight in his proper debut, as they constantly move around.
• The beginning of his theme sounds like the opening of "Duel of the Fates," from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace .

LEGO version.

• A LEGO version of the Flying Dutchman appeared in a SpongeBob SquarePants LEGO set called " The Flying Dutchman ," which included his ship.
• He doesn't like it when his beard is shaved off because he fears he would get pimples again.
• It's also said his beard grows in 1,000 years, but it grew back in several months. His claim could be an exaggeration, though.
• However, he may have indeed been buried eventually, and he remains as a ghost due to having been one for so long.
• The Flying Dutchman says he hasn't worn shoes for 5,000 years, which means that he could be at least 5,000 years old. [2]
• The Flying Dutchman has to have his dining sock on to eat.
• In "Shanghaied," it is shown he has a monocle to read.
• The Flying Dutchman appears to sometimes get emotional, though this very rarely happens. [1]
• The Flying Dutchman was absent in both seasons 9 and 10, except for a picture of him appearing on a board game in "Plankton Gets the Boot." He makes a physical appearance after a 6-year absence in the stop-motion Halloween special "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom" in season 11. He would not appear in animated form again until "Shopping List," also in season 11.
• In "Arrgh!," it was revealed that there is a treasure hunt board game named after him.
• Coincidentally, his voice actor was born on Halloween ( October 31 ).
• He is one of the few characters who didn't debut in their production order debut. However his non production order debut wasn't a physical first appearance like his official production order debut.
• The Flying Dutchman is one of the only guest characters to appear in all three SpongeBob shows.

References [ ]

• ^ a b c d " Ghost Host ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. May 5, 2006. Television.
• ^ a b " Your Shoe's Untied ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. February 17, 2001. Television.
• ^ a b c " The Curse of Bikini Bottom ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. October 24, 2009. Television.
• ^ " SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. April 17, 2009. Television.
• ^ " Arrgh! ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. March 15, 2000. Television.
• ^ " Born Again Krabs ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. October 4, 2003. Television.
• ^ a b " Shanghaied ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. March 9, 2001. Television.
• ^ " Ghoul Fools ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. October 21, 2011. Television.
• ^ " Money Talks ." SpongeBob SquarePants . Nickelodeon. July 31, 2007. Television.
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• 2 Season 14
• 3 SpongeBob SquarePants (character)

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Flying Dutchman (SpongeBob SquarePants)

• View history

The Flying Dutchman is a major antagonist in Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants franchise. He is a powerful ghost who haunts the ocean, named after the legendary ghost ship of the same name. He is of enormous size compared to the other characters and captains a floating ghost ship with a green glow similar to his own, of which he appears to be the sole permanent crew member. He appears to be mainly interested in "scaring" undersea creatures rather than actually causing serious harm.

He is voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray , who also played Ivo Shandor in Ghostbusters: The Video Game .

• 1 Personality
• 2 Appearance
• 3 Biography
• 6 External links
• 7 Navigation

Personality [ ]

The Flying Dutchman is shown to be cruel and sadistic. He enjoys terrorizing people for his own amusement. However, he also rewards people who help him, and keeps his promises. He also shows no tolerance for those he considers greedy/amoral as he harasses Mr. Krabs several times throughout the series because of his greed.

Appearance [ ]

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost with a chartreuse green glow around him, yellow eyes with black irises, a scraggly beard, a pirate hat with a chunk taken out, a droopy nose, a coat, little pigtails, and a ghostly tail.

Biography [ ]

The Dutchman's exact nature and role are inconsistent between episodes. It can be inferred from his appearance that he is the undead spirit of a pirate, and one episode mentions that the reason he haunts the seven seas is because his corpse was used as a mannequin in a clothing store window and he was never put to rest. In another episode, he states that he has not worn laced shoes in 5,000 years, yet pirates did not exist that long ago. Other episodes suggest the Flying Dutchman is a Devil/Grim Reaper–like figure, primarily Born Again Krabs where he attempts to put Mr. Krabs in the undersea version of Hell , "Davy Jones's Locker", which turns out to literally be a locker cabinet belonging to a person named Davy Jones, and in a much later episode, it is revealed that the Davy Jones in question is in fact none other than the Monkees member of the same name.

The Flying Dutchman notably appears as an enemy in several if not most SpongeBob SquarePants video games, most notably "Revenge of the Flying Dutchman" where he is the titular main antagonist. He also appeared in the Nickelodeon episode "The Legend of Boo-kini Bottom" as the main antagonist.

Gallery [ ]

• He is named after the legendary ghost ship of the same name and seems to resemble the famous pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) or the ship's captain and mythological character Davey Jones, although according to the legend of the Flying Dutchman the ship's captain is a man by the name of Willem van Der Decken.
• Tied to his name, his accent sounds a little Dutch, which is a Germanic language just like German, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic. All of those languages are known for being choppy sounding and the Flying Dutchman has a choppy sounding voice.
• The Flying Dutchman doesn't like having his beard shaved off as he fears that he would get pimples again.
• It is said that his beard grows in 1,000 years, but it grew back in several months. However, this claim could have been false, as the Flying Dutchman is known to exaggerate.

External links [ ]

• Flying Dutchman - SpongeBob SquarePants Wiki
• Flying Dutchman - Nickelodeon Wiki
• Flying Dutchman - Pirates Wikipedia

Navigation [ ]

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Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman , voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray , is a green pirate ghost named after the famous fictitious ghost ship of the same name, but in some episodes, he lives underground. He also has a clearly distinctive Scottish accent. He lives in a giant ship that floats in the underwater "sky". As evidenced in the episode Squidward, the Unfriendly Ghost , many people who worked in a clothing shop used his body as a window display after his death (though his demise was never explained how). Now he haunts the seven seas because he was never put to rest. Whenever he appears, a thunderstorm suddenly occurs, it is always green. Squidward Tentacles once was mistaken to be the Flying Dutchman.

According to the episode Your Shoe's Untied , he last wore shoes 5,000 years ago. He has won the Fancy Knotting contest for the past 3,000 years and the knots he knows are: Pretzel Knot, Double Diamond Knot, Square Knot, The Constrictor, Gut Knot, Pillow Knot, Butterfly Knot, Monkey Chain, Monkey's Fist, The Monkey and the Loop Knot a.k.a. Poop Loop. In addition, he cannot eat without his dining sock as mentioned in the episode: Shanghaied . For some odd reason, he says "I'm the Flying Dutchman" while snoring. In the episode: Shanghaied the Flying Dutchman generates The Fly of Despair .

The Flying Dutchman once lost his "scare," according to the episode Ghost Host . He got so carried away, that he stopped scaring for months. He became a couch potato in SpongeBob's house until finally SpongeBob helped him be scary again. In the same episode, he was shown that he had some sort of wedding ring.

The Flying Dutchman escorts people to Davy Jones' Locker . This actually almost happened to Mr. Krabs . The Flying Dutchman has been mentioned in the episode: Squidward, the Unfriendly Ghost (only on the cover of a magazine), and appeared in the episodes Scaredy Pants , Arrgh! , Your Shoe's Untied , Shanghaied , Born Again Krabs , Ghost Host , Money Talks and SpongeBob vs. The Big One (he encountered Mr. Krabs and said that he dated Aunt Sally in High School in that special). He made appearances in SpongeBob video games, his first appearance was in the video game, Revenge of the Flying Dutchman as the main antagonist. And Battle for Bikini Bottom as a mini boss. It is shown in the game that The Flying Dutchman can shoot green fire from his nose, and is very sensitive with his tail. He appears again in the episode The Curse of Bikini Bottom . SpongeBob and Patrick cut his beard off with Squidward's Lawn Mower . His girlfriend wanted to marry him, but he said he wasn't the marrying type.

[ edit ] Skills

• Can change his size
• Can fulfil wishes
• Can generate the fly of despair...seen in Shanghaied
• Can tie knots (unfortunately naccumulate)
• Can turn his head around 360 degrees
• Can shapeshift into any monsters.
• Can spew fire from his nostrils
• Can float through walls
• Can shoot lasers from his eyes
• Can create illusions
• Can turn Sponge's legs and arms into Tentacles
• Can turn sea creatures into fruits and ghosts
• Can breath fire
• Can tie many knots

[ edit ] The Origin of the Flying Dutchman

When the Flying Dutchman died, citizens used his body as a window display in a clothing shop. Now he haunts the seven seas because he was never put to rest. SpongeBob finds this in a comic book in the episode Squidward, the Unfriendly Ghost while SpongeBob and Patrick were cleaning Sqidward's closet, where Squidward owns the comic book in the closet.

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Shanghaied/Gary Takes a Bath

• Episode aired Mar 9, 2001

Spongebob, Patrick, and Squidward become unwilling crew members aboard the Flying Dutchman's ghostly pirate ship. Spongebob attempts to give Gary a bath. Spongebob, Patrick, and Squidward become unwilling crew members aboard the Flying Dutchman's ghostly pirate ship. Spongebob attempts to give Gary a bath. Spongebob, Patrick, and Squidward become unwilling crew members aboard the Flying Dutchman's ghostly pirate ship. Spongebob attempts to give Gary a bath.

• Stephen Hillenburg
• Keith Lowry
• Aaron Springer
• C.H. Greenblatt
• Bill Fagerbakke
• Rodger Bumpass
• 6 User reviews
• 1 Critic review
• See more at IMDbPro

• Patrick Star

• Squidward Tentacles

• Flying Dutchman
• (as Brian Doyle Murray)

• Potty the Parrot

• Larry the Lobster
• Subliminal Message Girl
• (uncredited)
• Stephen Hillenburg (segment Gary Takes a Bath)
• Keith Lowry (live action sequences)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia On March 9th, 2001, the official air date of the episode, Nickelodeon held a voting contest where the viewers could choose how the cartoon ended. Patchy the Pirate and Potty hosted the event, as they usually do their comedic routines, then Patchy would tell the viewers what to do. Then, as the Dutchman is about to choose who gets the last wish, Patchy interrupts and tells the viewers to vote for either Squidward, Patrick, or SpongeBob to get the last wish. After a commercial break, Patchy ran down the losers, Patrick and Squidward, and their endings, then show the winner, SpongeBob's ending. Nowadays, when Nickelodeon reruns the episode, the SpongeBob ending will be shown, along with the Patchy segments edited as Patchy's Pick, and the voting segments removed.
• Goofs When Patchy introduces "Shanghaied", he says "Well, roll the cartoon!" but his lips appear to be saying something else.

[a giant anchor crashes into SpongeBob's pineapple]

SpongeBob SquarePants : Holy shrimp!

[runs to Squidward's house]

SpongeBob SquarePants : Squidward! The sky had a baby from my cereal box! Squiid-waard!

[Squidward pops his head out of one of his windows in annoyance]

SpongeBob SquarePants : Squidward! The sky had a baby!

Squidward Tentacles : That's not a baby! That's a giant anchor! Now, go away!

Patrick : [walks up to SpongeBob] Hey, SpongeBob! The sky had a baby!

SpongeBob SquarePants : I know. What do you think we should we name it?

• Alternate versions The original version, "You Wish", excluded "Gary takes a Bath" and instead was a whole 30-minute episode. The Patchy the Pirate segments were much longer, and involved voting for the episode's ending, which you could choose. The other two endings were shown as well as the chosen ending. Most of the Patchy footage was re-dubbed for lated airings as "Patchy's Pick".
• Connections Featured in SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories (2002)
• Soundtracks Bobby Shaftoe (uncredited) Music by Brian Peters

User reviews 6

• projectsgamer
• Mar 10, 2021
• March 9, 2001 (United States)
• United States
• Morena Films
• United Plankton Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 30 minutes

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Spongebob squarepants: the flying dutchman's backstory explained.

SpongeBob SquarePants introduced viewers to Bikini Bottom's own ghost, the Flying Dutchman – but what's his story and why does he terrorize the city?

SpongeBob SquarePants has introduced a variety of characters living in Bikini Bottom , including some ghosts, the most famous one being the Flying Dutchman – but what’s his story? Created by Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants debuted on Nickelodeon in 1999 and has been unstoppable ever since, becoming one of the longest-running American animated series. In addition to that, SpongeBob SquarePants is the most successful Nicktoon (even more than fan-favorites Rugrats and Hey Arnold! ) and has expanded to other media as well, most notably film with three movies so far.

SpongeBob SquarePants follows the daily adventures of the title character – a sea sponge who looks more like a kitchen sponge – and his closest friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Even though SpongeBob is always cheerful and optimistic, he has earned a couple of enemies along the way, who often end up being outsmarted by the famous sponge. Among those is the Flying Dutchman (voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray), a recurring character who has become a fan-favorite thanks to his eccentricity and the problems he gets involved in either with or because of SpongeBob, but what’s his story and why does he terrorize Bikini Bottom?

Related: SpongeBob SquarePants: Every "Shanghaied" Ending Explained

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost with a green glow around him, yellow eyes, a long beard, an old pirate hat, coat, his hair in two little pigtails, a ghostly tail, and who carries around a handbag with the label “Souls”. He first appeared in SpongeBob SquarePants in the episode “Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost”, where SpongeBob finds a comic book with his story at Squidward’s house and quickly reads part of it to Patrick. According to the book, the Flying Dutchman’s body was used as a mannequin in a clothes store named Kid World, which angered him and drove him to haunt the bottom of the ocean forever. What exactly happened to him, however, remains a mystery, but the inspiration behind the character might offer some clues.

The Flying Dutchman’s name comes from the legend of the ghost ship of the same name, doomed to sail the oceans forever. It’s possible, then, that the Flying Dutchman’s ship was wrecked by a heavy storm which also took his life, and the citizens of Bikini Bottom decided to use his body as a mannequin when he hit the bottom of the ocean. A possible inspiration behind the character is the legendary English pirate Edward Teach a.k.a. Blackbeard, who was killed in action by stabbing and gunshots, which could have also happened to the Flying Dutchman. In the show, the origins of the Flying Dutchman have been deliberately left a mystery and some episodes have even contradicted the mannequin part of the legend – SpongeBob read that he was never put to rest, and the Flying Dutchman is seen in another episode going through his clothes and shows the outfit he was buried with (which, is worth noting, has some holes in it, either due to the passage of time or hinting at how he died).

With the Flying Dutchman appearing multiple times in the series and other media from SpongeBob SquarePants , it’s possible the writers will properly explore his backstory at some point, but until then, what happened to the Flying Dutchman before he became a ghost that terrorizes Bikini Bottom will remain a mystery, and viewers can take whatever version they want: the one related to the Flying Dutchman ship, the Blackbeard one, or come up with their own.

Next: SpongeBob SquarePants' Super Dark Se7en Easter Egg Explained

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• Flying Dutchman SpongeBob SquarePants Minifigure LEGO (R) Minifigures ,
• The Flying Dutchman SpongeBob SquarePants LEGO (R) Complete Sets & Packs ,
• Flying Dutchman SpongeBob SquarePants Kids Minifigure LEGO (R) Minifigures ,
• Dark Horse Ghost Action Action Figures ,
• Ghost Action Figures & Accessories ,
• SpongeBob SquarePants Action Figure ,
• SpongeBob SquarePants Action Figures ,
• Ghost Action Action Figures ,
• Pirate Action Figures & Accessories