Captain Spaulding, just as several other characters from the series are named after characters from Marx Brothers films, is named for Groucho Marx's character from the musical "Animal Crackers" and the film of the same name. In "House of 1000 Corpses", Spaulding is introduced as a vulgar clown, and the proprietor of a gas station in Texas that sells fried chicken and also serves as a roadside haunted house attraction. In this first film, when a group of four people visit Spaulding's establishment and learn of the local legend of Dr. Satan, Spaulding directs them in the path of the murderous Firefly family. Spaulding's connection to the Firefly clan is kept ambiguous throughout most of the film.