Pop Culture League Challenge: "Here There Be Monsters"

There was an amazing variety of top ten lists put together last week by the League. Let’s keep it up with this week’s challenge to the Pop Culture League… 

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Here there be Monsters

‘Tis the Halloween season!

I missed out on last week's top 10 challenge, so here's my top 10 list

Mason's Current Top 11 Monster Toys

Plushies in the back: Generic little green canine I have nicknamed Comet and made the official mascot of my Instagram  account @spacemason.

He eats robots as food.  To his right is the one eyed duck.  For the life of me I can't remember his name.  He is the plush version of a toy that is actually from a line of capsule toys, probably A&A brand. I knew the toy line at one point, can anyone help me out?

Front Row Minifigures: Custom made LEGO Cthulu. Jawbreaker from the BurgerKing Z-Bots toy line, and Zar-Zar from Crazy Bones, perfect little army builidng figures!  Zar-Zar was available in several colors, which I am trying to hunt down currently.

In The Middle: Mystery vampiric golf ball squeaky toy!  I still have yet to ID this weirdo.  Rib from Pirates of the Galaxseas acting as spider jockey on a generic spider toy, MADE IN CHINA.  And everyones favorite slimy ghost, the vintage classic Slimer!  Behinf them we have Frogacuda from the Other World line, and the Playmobil new comer, The Stilt Ghost!!!

So there you have it, my top 11 monster toys in my collection.  Always looking to add Jawbreakers and Zar-Zars to the army, and IDs on the vampire golf ball and the one-eyed duck.

What are your favorite monster toys???  Check out more monstrous posts from other League members below! 

Brother Midnight - Monsters and Sundries

Alexis' Universe - Spooky!

Mr. Smith - What is a monster?

20 Years Before - Jason Voorhees lives here

The Nerd Nook - McD's!

G.I. Jigsaw - The Painted Dead

The Toy Box - Batman!

Yelinna - Don't get scared!

Marc Allie - The Big G

Haxbee - He's Back!

Toy Break - Here there be his post!

Creepmas Day 3: Three Creepy Toy Films

Duffy The Mascot (1934)

Duffy The Mascot is an early film incorporating stop-motion animation.  The film is now open domain, so you can find it on YouTube.  The Devil's Ball animated scene is pure nightmare juice!

Sweet dreams kiddos!

Toys in The Attic (2009)

The French seem to have a knack for creepy stop motion films.  It just so happens that 'toys in the attic' is a euphemism for insanity.  Makes sense.  Toys in The Attic can be found on Netflix currently.  That Dr. Roach is the creepiest thing in the film by far!

Puppet Master Vs Demonic Toys (2003)

I've actually never seen the Puppet Master movie and have no interest in seeing it, but the puppet characters look awesome! And, of course, action figures were made.  It would be cool to see the action figures and/or puppets in person, but I don't think I would want to keep them.

Puppet Master Vs Demonic Toys is a non-canon made for TV crossover.  Seeing as it was made for TV maybe the gore and any "suggestive themes" would be a little more tame.

Rubber Halloween Specimens

Over the past couple of months I have found some awesome rubber monster toys at the DI.  Let's talk about that.

BATS

I love these little guys!  They don't make Halloween bats like this anymore, with the exception of bats that are purposely made with a "vintage style".  I'm pretty sure these are both vintage bats, probably in the 70's-80's range.

A "HONG KONG" marking is the best indication that you have a vintage piece.

Also, vintage rubber critters tend to have a mouth that is connected to the hollow stomach.  Be careful, they have a mean bite!

THE RAT

This was another cheap DI find.  I honestly don't know if it is a vintage rat, or if it is one of those "vintage style" reproductions.  I have seen these retail recently.  Either way though she's a fun classic toy with nice squeak action.

I love those whiskers!

"CHINA"

THE SALAMANDER

This Salamander was a must have! When I was a kid we would catch salamanders by the lake at by Grandparent's home and keep them as pets.  He looks pretty real for a rubber toy!

"MADE IN CHINA, SALAMANDER, © 1998"

Can I just say I love when toys actually have dates on them!  It would make things so much easier if everything had a date stamped on it.  I almost didn't get this because it's not an 80's toy, but I did spend a good portion of my childhood in the 90's too, so I got him anyway.

SPIDERS

You can never have too many spiders for Halloween.  I have to hide these away because my poor wife has an irrational fear of these cute eight-legged creatures.  

My pet tarantula

"MADE IN CHINA"

Creepy Long-Legs

"CHINA"

Bootleg Terrorantula from Rocks and Bugs and Things!

I could get lost in those googly eyes of his all day!

"MADE IN CHINA"

Terrorantula used to have a squeaky play feature, but the squeaker is broken.  Still an amazing find!

Rubber Halloween Critters
Total Cost: 50¢-$1

What's your favorite Halloween vermin?  Do you still have any rubber specimens from Halloweens past?

Pocket Sreamers: A New Obsession

After first coming across some of these awesome Halloween toys that someone found at Spirit Halloween and Goodwill, I was only mildly interested and soon lost interest.

My first Pocket Screamer, "Ripper"!

A Facebook friend of mine and fellow toy collector, Rebecca Beaver (Splitty), pointed out one of the coolest toy collecting sites I have ever come across, POCKET SCREAMERS!

Little did I know how far the Pocket Screamers rabbit hole can go! I am now obsessed with these things, when I would otherwise be totally indifferent.  I tend to become obsessed with toy lines that are shrouded in mystery, and these things are on of the greatest toy mysteries ever!

"The figures pop up each fall in random stores from Walgreens to Menards and Big Lots, Party City, CSV to online resources such as eBay and Spirit Halloween. While not 100% certain it's believed that they have been on the market since the turn of the century. No one really knows who produces them and despite all of my research I've yet to find a manufacturer or designer. That in itself is a little creepy.... why do they just appear each fall, where do they come from and where do they go?

We've searched the interwebs high and low and have only found a few people with the same sized collection (a couple larger ones). We've been on a mission to collect every known Pocket Screamer that has ever existed and will not rest until that mission is accomplished. If you share this same love please drop us a line, we'd like to meet you and know that we're not alone in this dark and twisted obsession."

-Pocket Screamers website

I checked out my local Halloween City and found this gnarly guy known as "Ripper" for $2!  I will likely never own all of them, there are A TON!

Here's a video of "Ripper" in action, from the Pocket Screamers site.

Do you have any Pocket Screamers lurking in long forgotten Halloween bins? Wanna get rid of them? Can I have them?  PLEASE!!!

Tonight's Feature: Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Spooky Trees Represent!

Showcased here are a couple of spooky trees I've come across recently!

FLAMING SKULL TREE

Fist off, just look as this guy! Those sweet skulls, they're candle holders! The tombstone is a nice touch, and that face is priceless!  This is what I love about thrifting for Halloween decorations, you find the most unique stuff!  Where else are you gonna find a spooky tree with 3 flaming skulls hanging out in the branches?  Two of the metal pieces, the ones that the candles fit into, are missing. Of course, I slyly negotiated a discount.

Total cost: 50 cents

SPOOKY CANDLE-LIT TREE

Second up, I was actually able to find another spooky tree friend at the DI!  She's doesn't have any skulls, but she does hold a tealight candle.  I was also able to talk the price down due to some small chips.

Total Cost: 50 cents

HAUNTED HOUSE MONSTERS BUCKET 

Source

Lastly, I still have the Spooky Trees from the Monsters Bucket play set on my wish list.  I'm hoping I can eventually find some of the trees, and that awesome skull castle, without having to buy the entire set.  I might just have to eventually buy an entire set on clearance though.

TREE SWINGIN' GHOST BUDDIES

Oh, I almost forgot about this new Dollar Tree solar-powered toy.  It has it all!  From the spooky tree, skull, and Jack o' lantern, right down to the swinging "BOO" ghost!  They were sold out at my local store, so I had to settle for a dancing pumpkin head.  I also found something that almost rivals this, the dancing Haunted House!

Total Cost: $1

THIS WEIRDO

Remember all those search and find books that capitalized on the popularity of Where's Waldo?  This weirdo is found inside of the Halloween edition Find Freddie book. Technically he's not a tree, as he puts it,"I'M NOT A TREE! I'M A SPACE CREATURE." I lovingly refer to him as "Gruut".

Total Cost: $2

Do you have any spooky trees decorations/toys or do you know of any more cool spooky trees? Tell me in the comments below!

(Tonight's Feature: The Burbs)

Tombstone Corners - Part 3: Newly Deads and Gargoyles

One of the less "poo your pants awesome" sets from 2014 was the Gargoyles set. It kind of felt like a filler, but I just had to have it in order to complete the series.

Just in case 3 gargoyles wasn't enough the 2015 series including 2 sets with a random gargoyle.

Do evil, speak evil, be evil.

The 3 gargoyles really aren't bad.  I like the details and the paint apps look fantastic since they're just one solid stone-gray color with slight detailing.

The electric chair zombie is pretty sweet!  I can really see this guy chilling in front of a haunted house, just like an older timer might sit on his porch in a rocking chair.  The lady on the right seems to have a mirror in her hand (or is it a comb?).  Is she a vain ghost? Is she a newly converted vampire checking for a reflection? Or maybe she's Bloody Mary herself!

The 2nd 2015 gargoyle set includes this lovely mummy couple!  Tombstone Corners really did a great job with these two! 

But hold on, the gargoyles are identical!? Also, I just noticed this as I', writing this, they also have 4 breasts each...

With 2 identical gargoyle figurines, I think it's safe to say that these were meant to be "newly deads" sets, the gargoyles acting as the wedding officiant. The zombie/ghoul and ghost/vampire lady appear to be part of some kind of shotgun wedding from beyond the grave.

And if you feel like Tombstone Corners needs even more gargoyles, then be sure to pick up the 2014 Gate figure, sporting 2 cat-like gargoyle sentinels.

Look at those cute little cracks.

That's all for now, THE END.

Evil Stick

This is an old story from a few years back, but I just had to share because it's so bizarre and because dollar store. Beware the Evil Stick!!!

Monster Mysteries Part Deux

It has been brought to my attention by The Goodwill Geek (AKA The Really Rather Random Guy) that I really need to update my blog already! I have all sorts of wonderful excuses as to why I just don't have any time for blogging, but I won't bore you with that stuff. Instead I will make little baby steps towards recovery with fun little posts at least once a week.

I present to you the 2nd edition of Mystery Toy Theater! Does anyone recognize this cute little scamp?

Be sure to check out the first "episode" Monday Mystery: Name That Monster! It was a Halloween special and it was a tough one, but thankfully the mystery was solved. Will we ever solve the mystery of the cute little bat minifigure? Find out next time in the comments below!