This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 7, 2008 - Their names bring back memories of cool autumn nights huddled in the soft glow of the family TV set: Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon . . .
They chilled us, thrilled us, frightened us and delighted us, as they rattled, screamed and crept their way through our imaginations - beasts and giants and all manner of strange, stalking, wild things that seemed to repel us and attract us at the same time.
They are the monsters, and in recent years they have become one of the biggest (think the Amazing Colossal Beast - BIG) and hottest (think Godzilla's flame-breathing - HOT) areas of collectibles.
If the number of horror collectibles available at flea markets, toy shows and Internet auctions is almost spooky, the prices for some of the more elusive pieces are downright terrifying. A near mint boxed Hunchback of Notre Dame Aurora model kit from the 1960s can bring $300 or more; an empty Mummy plastic bath soap container from the same period can fetch up to $80; a talking Herman Munster TV hand puppet in its original box can attract a very scary price of $200 or more.
Tom Stockman, whose monster toys and movie posters fill almost every corner of his basement in Kirkwood, says he is not sure exactly what it was about monsters and monster-collecting that reached out and grabbed him by the throat.
One of his earliest childhood memories, he said, was watching the 1943 horror classic "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" with Lon Chaney Jr. He was maybe 4 years old, he recalls, and he still remembers it vividly. "It scared the crap out of me," he said, "and fascinated me at the same time."
A few years later, he began buying copies of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" - a movie monster fan magazine - from a local drugstore, lingering over the black and white photographs of the laboratory of Dr. Frankenstein, Dracula's haunted castle and Skull Island, King Kong's home.
"I would get the TV Guide and circle all the horror shows to make sure I wouldn't miss them, and cut out the little ads. And if there was something on at 2 or 3 a.m., I would set my alarm clock and sneak out into the living room to watch it."
He said he even used a little Super 8 movie camera to make horror movies around his neighborhood, movies he still has. "It became pretty obsessive. Everybody knew me as the kid who liked monsters."
His massive collection, which inadvertently began with those early issues of "Famous Monsters of Filmland," has grown to hundreds of items. The puzzles, banks, wind-up toys, rubber figures and model kits fill several bookcases in his home.
Among his most prized collectibles: a Creature from the Black Lagoon wallet from the 1960s, a set of rare 1960s drinking glasses with the pictures of Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Creature and other Universal Studio horror characters and a Munsters TV show lunch box and thermos that he purchased many years ago at a local flea market for $3.
He said the vendor who sold him the lunch box had been using it as a change holder and seemed surprised when Stockman wanted to buy it. Stockman said that as he was walking away with his treasure, he heard the vendor calling to him from behind. He said he assumed the man had had second thoughts about the sale and wanted it back. Instead, he told Stockman he had found the thermos and wanted to give it to him for free. The box and thermos are now worth around $250.
"I always felt monsters were kind of misunderstood," said Stockman. "Frankenstein didn't ask to be created and King Kong was happy living on his island, eating bananas and chasing the native girls."
His favorite monster is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, even though the Creature movies are not his favorites. He simply likes the look of the green part-fish, part-man gilled beast. "I just think he is cool," he says.
One of his most frightening moments in monster collecting, he said, came as he dropped a very rare Creature Pez dispenser and stepped on it, breaking off a piece of its gill. One of the "Holy Grails" of horror and monster collecting that he still longs for is a Vac-U-Form plastic Creature plaque from the 1960s. He said a plaque in its original plastic bag recently sold for $13,000.
In recent weeks, Stockman has been publicizing the upcoming St. Louis horror convention, aka Kitbuilders Monstrous Weekend, the first national horror convention ever to be held here. Dates are Oct. 24-26, 2008, at the Airport Marriott Hotel.
The convention will feature a dealers' room with collectibles for sale, a monster model building and painting contest, local haunted house tours and a costume contest. The show also will feature actors and other guests who have been involved in horror movies, as well as a 40th anniversary tribute to the cult horror classic "Night of the Living Dead."
The convention is sponsored by Kitbuilders magazine. Additional information about the show is available by calling 618-588-5232, or on the Internet at www.kitbuildersmagazine.com
Heartland Focus On:
The Indy Ad Show and Antique Toy Show, held twice a year at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis, Indiana, hosted by A&M Promotions, 317-694-0253, www.indyadshow.com
The two-day antique advertising show is held each spring and fall, and is paired on the second day with an antique toy show. 2009 shows are scheduled for March 21-22 and Sept. 26-27. The same $7 admission gains entrance to both shows, with an "early bird" $20 admission to the toy show available.
The advertising component of the show features truly iconic brand-related collectibles, many carrying names and trademarks that sadly have passed from the scene. Approximately 80 dealers set up in neatly arranged booths with spacious aisles that give the visitor plenty of room to step back and take in the splendor of advertising's glory days before diving in to check out prices, which also can be somewhat breathtaking.
Advertising specialty items range from small (matchbooks, pinbacks, blotters, lenticular rings) to large (posters, signs, store displays), with an emphasis on items from the first half of the 20th century.
The much smaller antique toy show (roughly 30 dealers) held on the second day only is heavy on tin lithographed toys and windups as well as more commonly seen vintage games, costumes and play sets. Still a wonderful pairing of shows and a nice weekend jaunt. A free flea market also was set up in another building on the Indiana State Fairgrounds during the Fall 2008 shows.
A sampling of items and associated prices from the Sept. 27-28, 2008, Indy Ad Show:
- Circa 1915 Pulver animated chewing gum dispenser with Yellow Kid figure: $5,500
- Phillips 66 plastic figural service station attendant bank with decals: $50
- Purina 3-dimensional thermometer from 1953 sales incentive meeting: $150
- WW II-era Baby Ruth candy box: $33
- 15" Dr. Kool (Cigarettes) penguin figural counter display: $995
- Formed plastic 3-dimensional bar sign "Make Mine a Glowball" promoting whiskey and Squirt soda: $68