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Tobin's Spirit Guide

Revision as of 06:46, 7 June 2018 by Mrmichaelt (talk | contribs) (trivia, gallery)
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Tobin's Spirit Guide [1] by John Horace Tobin is a book that serves as a compilation of various supernatural occurrences, entities, and facts. The computer software version is hard to find and is very expensive. Egon and Ray refer to it so frequently they may have entire sections memorized. Copies of the book have been shown to be available in hardback, paperback, and electronic media. Tobin's Spirit Guide often helps the Ghostbusters with identifying entities involved in the cases that they take on.

History

Primary Canon

As Ivo Shandor is mentioned in the tome, it is reasonable to assume Tobin's Spirit Guide was written sometime in the 20th Century. Gozer rituals have been recorded in the book as happening as early as the 1920s so the guide would have to have been published anywhere from 1930-1980.

The Spirit Guide is used extensively in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Here, the player can use the P.K.E. Meter to scan ghosts and objects, unlocking their entry in an electronic version of the guide. In the Stylized version, Art Pages can also be found, which add images to the guide entries. The original manuscript can also be found in the basement of the firehouse in the Stylized version. In the Realistic version, once a ghost is scanned, a complete bio of the ghost appears, complete with a picture, their class level, their powers, the ghostbusting weapons they are weak against, whether they can be trapped or destroyed, and some information on their back story. Scanning and obtaining the Spirit Guide entries of any ghost in the game will unlock an Xbox 360 Achievement or PlayStation Trophy called "I'm Picking Up A Signal...," while obtaining the entries of all ghosts will unlock "Back Off Man. I'm a Scientist."

Secondary Canon

The Real Ghostbusters

In The Real Ghostbusters, Egon and Ray shown to carry around a paperback version of the book on assignments. Egon sometimes had Tobin's Spirit Guide on small computer interface devices and later on computer. The latter was noted as being very expensive by Ray, because it probably wasn't popular to which Egon scoffs. It is also shown that the Ghostbusters may not have read every entry, as they often find something new when looking up unknown spirits in the guide. In Extreme Ghostbusters, the team uses Spengler's Spirit Guide, which may borrow material from Tobin's Spirit Guide. It may even be a complete rewrite of Tobin's in Egon's own words. However, the Extreme Team appear to rely more on the internet and checking out books to dig up information on ghosts that they know little about (though a copy of Tobin's can be seen on Egon's desk in the first episode).

Ghostbusters International

It was published as a source book for the Ghostbusters Role-Playing Game, containing ghosts from all over the world that could be used as adversaries in the game. As well as some background on Tobin himself. According to page V of the source book representing the title page of the manuscript, The full title is written as, "J.H. Tobin's Spirit Guide BEING A COMPENDIUM of Ghosts, Gods, Spirits, and Manifestations from Outside the Normal Realms of Existence, ~ WITH A TRAVELOGUE and Notes on a Philosophy of the Occult - Established by the Author -" [2]

IDW Comics

In mid-September 1912, Tobin documented his travels in Siberia in the guide. Tobin went undercover in the Cult of Gozer to research their methods and history for his Tobin's Spirit Guide book. [3] Tobin completed the full text of the guide in 1929. The original printing weighed almost 40 pounds. In later editions, the guide was split into two volumes. [4]

In the present, the Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission keeps a file on Tobin's Spirit Guide, #SG1a. A hardcover copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide was taken aboard a flight to Schenectady by the Ghostbusters. Ray and Egon consulted it while trying to narrow down the identity of the entity they were sent off to confront. Ray Stantz and Kylie Griffin used Tobin's Spirit Guide for their research on instances of recurrent child hauntings and supernatural abductions in the last 50 years. There are pages on Tiamat and Gozer in succession. Both have depictions of one of their known forms and entries are written in Gozerian Alphabet. There also pages that detail the rules that bound Gozer. Gozerian imagery and hieroglyphics are included on these pages. An annotated copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide is kept in Egon's foot locker. Kylie had Tobin's Spirit Guide with her while everyone brainstormed about the Thralls of Chi-You following the Madison Square Garden battle. [5] She later had it when the Turtles, April O'Neil and Casey Jones went back home through the Interspatial Teleportation Unit portal in the Firehouse basement.

While the two teams of Ghostbusters researched Proteus, an Egon consulted Tobin's Spirit Guide. After an encounter with a powerful entity on Staten Island, Ray did some research. He identified the entity as the Sandman in Tobin's Spirit Guide. The entry about the Sandman begins with "A nursery monster from the 19th century used to scare children. During the early part of the century the Sandman brought terror among children as it would sneak into the rooms of young ones who would not go to sleep. The Sandman would throw sand into the eyes of children causing them to itch. When the child rubbed its eyes, his or her eyes would fall out on the floor creating a bloody mess. The Sandman would collect these..." The entry also contained some Latin. Somnum sempiternum loosely translated to "sleep eternally" and "oculus satietas" loosely translated to "sight satiation." The parallel Egon consulted Tobin's Spirit Guide, while on a flight to Chiloe Island with that universe's Ghostbusters, to inform himself of the local lore of Chile. Kylie Griffin presented a few selections from Ray's Occult Books to Abby Yates. Tobin's Spirit Guide was among them. Abby asked if there was anything on Ley Lines. The books went flying when pressure from a build up of P.K.E. was violently released.

Appearances

The Real Ghostbusters

Extreme Ghostbusters

IDW Publishing

Cryptozoic Entertainment

Mentioned

Ghostbusters

  • In Ghostbusters, Tobin's Spirit Guide is mentioned as a book to use in researching Zuul. It is later mentioned when Egon Spengler recalls Ivo Shandor's name in Tobin's.

The Real Ghostbusters

  • In "Apocalypse - - What, Now?," Egon Spengler considers aloud how he should use Tobin's Spirit Guide to identify the four equestrian manifestations that were just trapped.[24]
  • In "The Scaring of the Green," Ray Stantz mentions Chapter 27 of Tobin's Spirit Guide is called "Botanical Specific Avoidance in Spectral Manifestations." [25]
  • In "The Long, Long, Long, etc. Goodbye," Egon Spengler suggests Tobin's Spirit Guide, old newspapers, and books on the history of the neighborhood to identify the new ectoplasmic entity later revealed to be Blackie. [26]
  • In "Halloween II 1/2," Jason mentions the Junior Ghostbusters' Halloween Costumes are based on illustrations of Class 5 Full Roaming Vapors found on Page 23 of Tobin's Spirit Guide (though it is clear that Jason is an alien, Donald is a vampire, and Catherine is a witch). [27]

IDW Comics

  • In "The Other Side 2," Ray mentions it during the analysis of the dead mosquito.

Trivia

References

  1. ↑ Egon Spengler (1999). Ghostbusters - Chapter 09: The 1st Customer (1984) (DVD ts. 23:41-23:42). Columbia Pictures. Egon says: "Tobin's Spirit Guide."
  2. ↑ Mohan, Kim (1989). Tobin's Spirit Guide, p. V. West End Games, Honesdale, Pennsylvania USA, ISBN 0874312590.
  3. ↑ 101 Class Notes (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #5" (2017) (Comic p.23). 101 Class Notes reads: "(In fact, Tobin actually went "undercover" in the Gozerian cult to research their methods and history, and supposedly went more in depth on this in a separate, smaller, book titled The Gozerians Among Us. The print run was marginal, and no copies are believed to exist.)."
  4. ↑ 101 Class Notes (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #5" (2017) (Comic p.23). 101 Class Notes reads: "The full text, completed in 1929, is usually split for publication, resulting in two (still very heavy, very dense) volumes instead of the original all-inclusive tome that weighs nearly 40 pounds on its own."
  5. ↑ Dapperpomade Tweet 4/6/15
  6. ↑ "Don't Forget the Motor City" Storyboard Page 71
  7. ↑ Reaves, Michael (2009). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection Volume Two Disc Five, p. 14-15. CPT Holdings, Inc.
  8. ↑ Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Devil in the Deep" (1987) (DVD ts. 8:42-8:49). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "According to Tobin, Necksa was lord of the Undines, master of all the water elementals, one of the most powerful of all the primal gods."
  9. ↑ Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "I Am the City" (1987) (DVD ts. 05:41-05:46). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "So? We look it up in Tobin's Spirit Guide under flying hot dogs."
  10. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "I Am the City" (1987) (DVD ts. 07:53-07:56). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "This new computer version of Tobin's Spirit Guide is great!"
  11. ↑ Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "I Am the City" (1987) (DVD ts. 07:57-08:00). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "It is expensive though, I guess it's not a very popular seller."
  12. ↑ Capizzi, Duane and Roberts, Steven (2009). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection Volume Four Disc Five, "Poultrygeist" Script p. 24. CPT Holdings, Inc. Line reads: "Slimer scrambles through the cupboard, grabbing various bottles of stuff, and hands them to Winston who adds ingredients to mixing bowl and stirs while Ray reads from Tobin's Guide."
  13. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Poultrygeist" (1988) (DVD ts. 12:37-12:40). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Wereaardvarks... Werebears... Werechickens!"
  14. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Poultrygeist" (1988) (DVD ts. 12:40-12:45). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Anyone a Werechicken bites will turn into another Werechicken."
  15. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Poultrygeist" (1988) (DVD ts. 12:50-12:53). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "According to this, there is an antidote."
  16. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Poultrygeist" (1988) (DVD ts. 12:59-13:09). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "One tablespoon paprika. One clove of garlic. Some parsley for color. Cup of gelatin."
  17. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Poultrygeist" (1988) (DVD ts. 13:22-13:24). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "And one tablespoon of chickenbane."
  18. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "If I Were a Witch Man" (1989) (DVD ts. 07:45-07:54). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "According to this, Kestrel is an evil demon who has no physical shape so she takes possession of people's bodies and makes them do terrible things."
  19. ↑ Egon Spengler (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "The Halloween Door" (1989) (DVD ts. 04:17-04:22). Time Life Entertainment.
  20. ↑ Egon Spengler (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "Busters in Toyland" (1990) (DVD ts. 16:05-03:24). Time Life Entertainment.
  21. ↑ Egon Spengler (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "Not Now, Slimer!" (1991) (DVD ts. 08:53-08:56). Time Life Entertainment.
  22. ↑ Ray Stantz (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Annual 2017" (2017) (Comic p.41). Ray Stantz says: "Tobin's had a bit about the Sedgewick's several repeat manifestations, but I found a little bit more background in the revised Funder's Cults of the Northeast."
  23. ↑ 101 Class Notes (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #5" (2017) (Comic p.24). 101 Class Notes reads: "The catalog is more specialized than Tobin's, focusing on the most fantastic lore that Spates could collect."
  24. ↑ Egon Spengler (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "Apocalypse - - What, Now?" (1986) (DVD ts. 10:00-10:02). Time Life Entertainment.
  25. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "The Scaring of the Green" (1987) (DVD ts. 7:49-7:56). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "You're forgetting Chapter 27 in Tobin's Spirit Guide. Botanical Specific Avoidance in Spectral Manifestations."
  26. ↑ Egon Spengler (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "The Long, Long, Long, etc. Goodbye" (1987) (DVD ts. 7:16-7:22). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "In addition to Tobin's, I suggest we comb through old newspapers and any books on the history of the region."
  27. ↑ Jason (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Halloween II 1/2" (1987) (DVD ts. 01:42-01:48). Time Life Entertainment. Jason says: "We're Class Five Full Roaming Vapors, as illustrated on page 23 of Tobin's Spirit Guide."
  28. ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters-"Don't Forget the Motor City" (1987) (DVD ts. 10:32-10:35). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "Like I always say, a picture is worth 1213.7 words" then holds out Tobin's Spirit Guide
  29. ↑ Mueller, Richard (August 1985). Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular, p. 25. Tor Books, New York NY USA, ISBN 0812585984.
  30. ↑ Michael Draverhaven (2004). 88MPH Studios- "Legion Issue #3" (2004) (Comic p.02). Michael says: "Egon still sleeping with that copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide I gave him?"
  31. ↑ Ghostbusters: The Board Game Update #29 3/2/15
  32. ↑ Ghostbusters: The Board Game Update #30 3/3/15
  33. ↑ TomWaltz Tweet 5/3/18


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