‘Me and Bro Larping as the Haunted Mattress and Moustache Man’: 17 Absorbent, Yellow, Porous, and Funny SpongeBob SquarePants Memes to Absorb Some Joy

Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor

Oct 21, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

Graveyard Shift Episode Memories

This episode is genuinely engraved in my brain. Last night, I was searching for SpongeBob Halloween episodes since I'm a huge SpongeBob fan, and I came across this one that I casually remembered word for word.

Watching it was an incredible experience because, even though I remember what happened and some parts of the script, like the name 'Hash-Slinging Slasher', I hadn't watched it in so many years that it brought back some of those childhood feelings.

It goes like this: Squidward invents a frightening story (yes, always Squidward), and once SpongeBob hears it, every strange invention becomes evidence that the story is real, like it's the details that make it believable. The horror is mostly about how the story is told, more than about what it entails.

Nosferatu's appearance (sorry for the spoiler; it came out like twenty-four years ago) is an indelible memory for me, and I think it's what made me a huge horror fan years later. I believe I understood something about horror when I watched the Graveyard Shift episode: that it's all a matter of perspective.

When Nosferatu appears, everyone acts like he is an endearing character, and suddenly you start seeing this creepy, black-and-white figure with loving eyes. I applied that method to everything that scared me afterwards, and it worked!

I think I just discovered why I could watch so many horror films as a child without being scared. So if you need tips for watching horror films with your friends this spooky season without getting scared, you're welcome. Just think of every ghost or monster as funny or endearing, and you'll be fine.

Also, if you really can't take true Horror, you can watch SpongeBob's Halloween specials, or some other vintage cartoon Halloween special like the one from Hey Arnold! "The Headless Cabbie." Do you remember it? I literally remember it so vividly; there is nothing like a good suspense story. And they're objectively good cartoons, too.

I frequently think about how much SpongeBob impacted my life; I literally think it educated me in so many different ways, lol. I'm like one of those Simpsons fans who can always cite an episode for any given circumstance, but for SpongeBob SquarePants.

I remember his bubbly personality as if he were my friend, and as I got older, I began to understand Squidward (who was just a ridiculous character for me at the time) a lot more. When you're a kid, Squidward is a character that shows you how bitterness and pretentiousness make your life worse, but as you grow up and become more uptight and contemptuous of your life, you identify as Squidward more and more, and watching SpongeBob again can help you remember how silly it is to be living like that.

So I watch SpongeBob SquarePants every so often to remember what life is all about, and I think you should too! At least the Halloween Special, if you're too easily frightened to watch a proper horror film, lol.