Monster Toys


The early to mid-1960's saw a craze for monsters among American children, as strong as the mania for spies, British rockers, cowboys, or any other pop-culture fad of that era. It all began when the old, classic monster movies were syndicated to television starting in 1957; by the first few years of the 60's, millions of kids were hooked on the black-and-white horrors, and parents were comfortable enough to let them have their fun. This was the first time that kids could enjoy the Universal monsters in their own homes - prior to this, the movies had only been shown in theaters, in original runs and re-releases. But once kids got a load of Lugosi, Karloff, and the other ghoulish actors, they immediately adopted them as their own - as well as the newer (to them) crop of monsters appearing at the same time onscreen, such as the Creature From The Black Lagoon.

So Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Dracula, the Mummy, and others became as popular as rock stars. James Warren saw the trend coming fairly early on - and almost certainly helped nurture it - with his Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, which gave young monster-lovers a monthly forum to exchange information about their favorites, as well as to read articles and look at photos introducing them to horrors yet undreamt of.

As the 60's wore on, all sorts of different monster-themed merchandise became available to kids. The plastic model kits from Aurora were a big hit, but there were dozens of other items available to attract kids' pocket money also. We're locating the Monster Toys sub-category squarely here in the 1960's section, because this was when children's love for these freakish beings was at its peak.

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Figures
Ben Cooper Scary Monsters Frankenstein
Mini Monsterizer
OWFSM Bend 'Ems Frankenstein
Remco Creature

Games
Boris Karloff's Monster Game
Wolfman Mystery Game

Halloween Costumes
Ben Cooper Frankenstein
Ben Cooper Mummy

Puzzles
Jaymar Dracula
Jaymar Frankenstein
Jaymar Mummy
Jaymar Wolfman

Records
Famous Monsters Speak
Story of Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein

View-Master
Frankenstein*
Monster Gift Pak
Aurora Model Kits
Addams Family Haunted House
Bride of Frankenstein
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Customizing Monster Kit 1
Customizing Monster Kit 2
Dracula
Dracula's Dragster
Dr. Deadly
Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde
Forgotten Prisoner of Castel-Mare
Frankenstein
Frankenstein's Flivver
Ghidrah
Giant Insect
Gigantic Frankenstein
Godzilla
Godzilla's Go Cart
Gruesome Goodies
Hanging Cage
Hunchback of Notre Dame
King Kong
King Kong's Thronester
Mummy
Mummy's Chariot
the Munsters
Pain Parlor
the Pendulum
Phantom of the Opera
Rodan
Vampirella
the Victim
the Witch
Wolfman
Wolf Man's Wagon
Other Items
1966 Monster Calendar
Castle Dracula Funhouse Colorforms
Coppersmith Monsters
Enlarg-A-Graph Monster Set by Emenee*
Famous Monsters Plastic Casting Kits
Formex 7 Casting Set
Frankenstein Mechanical Monster by Marx
Glo-Monsters
Herman Munster Hand Puppet
Horrorscope Movie Viewer
Kooky Spookys
Little Creepies' Haunted House playset
Mad Mad Mad Scientist Laboratory
Marx Remote Control Frankenstein
Monster Drinking Glasses
Monster Feet
Monster Lab
Monsters at Home Creature
Monsters at Home Dracula
Monsters at Home Mummy
Ooze It
Pixie Horrosscope
Palmer Monsters
Soakies
Tricky Walker Frankenstein
Universal Movie Monsters lunchbox*
Wind-Up Super Monsters Mini-Walkers