PopHorror Let's Get Scared
We can all remember a time when monsters were everywhere. There were so many collectibles, toys, games, and more. I was into monsters at a young age, so 99% of my Christmas gifts were horror-related. So, here we are to look back on these relics: our Top 10 Retro Monster Toys from the past in no particular order. Let’s do this!
10. Monster Face
In 1992, we were introduced to this cool little guy—a morbid Mr. Potato Head. Monster Face was one of the toys that would make your parents question your sanity. It was hours of fun making him look weird. Thanks for the memories, Hasbro.
9. Madballs
Everyone had one! Those silly foam monsters heads hit the toy stores in the mid-eighties from a company called AmToy. Art Asylum and Just Play, Inc. re-released Madballs between 5-15 years ago.
8. My Pet Monster
Your best friend for life! If you didn’t have this big dude, were you even living? Released in 1986 (also by AmToy), this blue furball has been lighting up lives and keeping the nightmares away for almost 4 decades. There was even a direct-to-video film released that same year. A remake was made with a voice box in 2001.
7. Monster In My Pocket
These tiny little guys were released in 1990 and quickly became a trading trend. Morrison Entertainment Group produced trading cards, comic books, books, toys, a board game, a video game, and an animated special, along with music, clothing, kites, stickers, and various other items. The hardest part was not losing these little monsters. From Frankenstein to zombies, they were all here.
6. Boglins
They’re so creepy-looking, but they’re also another best friend. These ugly little puppets were released in 1987 by Mattel. They even had special Critters, Gremlins and Ghoulies lines and are still getting special editions to this day. The three original large scale Boglins were Dwork, Vlobb and Drool and a tribe of mini Boglins that came in a toilet. The toy line also had a phone hotline so you could hear from the Boglins themselves.
6. Thingmaker AKA Creepy Crawlers
If you didn’t burn yourself on this toy, you missed out on all of the fun. Creepy Crawler’s little rubber monster maker would give you squishy, rubbery bugs and things… and third-degree burns. First, you poured the Plasti-goop into the included metal molds and then baked at a whopping 390 degrees in an open faced hot plate oven. The plastic itself was toxic, but we played with it anyway. This whole set should have come with an EMS worker. The brand has been around since 1964, was re-released in the 90s, and is still going today after a hiatus.
5. McDonald’s Spooky Nuggets
I loved these growing up! Please don’t ask me why, but I thought they were so cool. They were released in 1993 and have different variations. Love your local chicken nugget; they need you.
4. Skeleton Warriors
It’s another classic toy line that should have made it much further; that’s all I can say. Released by Playmate Toys in 1994, they were a cartoon series suffering in the real world. But still pretty cool!
3. Atmosfear AKA Nightmare Series
Atmosfear (also known as Nightmare in certain regions) is an Australian horror video board game series released in 1991 by Phillip Tanner and Brett Clements. One day, these guys decided to create a board game with an added VHS (later, a DVD) element. Can you get past the gatekeeper or will you suffer from the horde? You obviously learned all the movies and cut scenes to each, maybe even knowing what was coming up after each clip. We wish this idea had gone even further.
2. First Gen Monster Turtles
In 1993, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were invaded by universal-based monsters. Leo turned into the Wolfman, Don returned as Dracula, Mike became Frankenstein’s monster, Raph got wrapped into the Mummy, and Bride of Frankenstein took over. Long before the big figures were released, we had these smaller guys. Although I own two monster collections, I prefer these little dudes. They don’t hit as hard and never will. It is almost impossible to find pictures or commercials for them. They are still relevant today in different forms.
1. Doctor Dreadful Food Lab
Girls had the Easy Bake Oven, and boys had the Doctor Dreadful Food Lab. As much as I loved this thing, the edible stuff was terrible. Why did I still mess with it? Because I loved it. Released in 1994, you may find a current version if you look hard enough. Another lost gem.
Thanks for reading. See you next time!
