Ep 8. Panic at the Ghost Inn

In "Panic at the Ghost Inn," the eighth episode in season four of Urusei Yatsura, the story begins with Ataru and his friends heading to a hot spring resort. They arrive at the inn and the owner, a woman named Ooya, welcomes them. The inn is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who killed herself there years ago.

As they settle into their rooms, strange things start happening. Objects move by themselves, and creepy ghostly laughter echoes through the halls. The gang is convinced that they are being haunted, and they start to panic. Lum, who is a powerful alien, is the only one who is not affected by the ghostly presence. She tries to calm her friends down, but they are too frightened to listen.

Ataru's friend, perm-headed Shutaro, tries to investigate and uncovers a hidden door that leads to a secret passage. They discover a room filled with antique dolls that look exactly like the guests. They realize that the dolls are alive and are causing all the spooky happenings. They also find out that Ooya, the owner of the inn, has been making the dolls come alive with her psychic powers. She is using them to scare the guests and potentially drive them away, allowing her to shut down the inn.

In the end, Ataru and his friends foiled Ooya's plan and convinced her to give up her mischievous ways. All the dolls are returned to their original state, and peace is restored to the inn.

This episode plays on classic horror tropes by using an isolated, haunted location and making viewers question whether the strange happenings are supernatural or simply the work of a human. The use of dolls as a creepy motif works well in this episode, particularly with how they are used to mimic the guests. Overall, it's an enjoyable and amusing episode in the series.