Founded in 1987 by college friends Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley, Mysteries Inc. was an amateur detective group that solved small mysteries, often seemingly supernatural in nature. In 1989 they were joined by Daphne’s then boyfriend, law student and college football player Fred Jones and Fred’s best friend, Norville “Shaggy” Roberts and his dog, a Great Dane named Scooby-Doo. Shaggy served primarily as the driver of the group, and provided Mysteries Inc. with its signature psychedelic van, The Mystery Machine.
The group was initially funded by a generous donation from Daphne’s family, who have ties to the Vanderbilt family. Within a year, they were fully self-sufficient, and by the second year, they were pulling in a comfortable living solving mysteries.
Together, they traveled the country (primarily New England and the east coast of the US) solving often seemingly supernatural phenomena, using science, analysis, deduction, and creative thinking. The common thread of these cases was the root of the solution was always human and usually the result of simple greed, not paranormal activity. Mysteries Inc. gained a reputation as supernatural debunkers.
In 1989, Velma, Daphne, Fred, and Shaggy agreed to sell their likenesses to Hana Barbara, who made a children’s cartoon based on their adventures. While the cartoon was and exaggerated, fantastical, and dumbed down version of what they did, it also amplified their fame, gaining them bigger and more lucrative cases. However, Velma and Daphne agreed that their integrity was the most important tenants of Mysteries Inc. and maintained that they only take jobs that they genuinely believed in and could offer real assistance
The group abruptly disbanded in 1992 for unexplained reasons.