By Lucie M. Winborne, ReMIND Magazine
They’re creepy and ugly and usually have very bad intentions.
But we Americans can’t do without our monsters. That delicious thrill of being frightened from the comfort of our couches … the vicarious excitement of wondering what we would do in the same situations (who hasn’t yelled instructions at a hero or heroine in jeopardy?). Sometimes it’s just plain fun to get the daylights scared out of us. And in the late ’50s and early ’60s, monster mania was in full ghoul swing.
The rage was ignited in 1957, when Universal Pictures released its repertoire of classic monster movies for television syndication. Beloved characters such as the Wolfman and the Mummy spooked a new generation tuning in weekly to Shock Theater. A year later, Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, which was originally conceived as a single-run publication, sold out its first issue in no time and ended up running for over two decades.
It wasn’t long before ghouls found their way from the small screen to the airwaves. While awaiting his Hollywood discovery, aspiring actor Bobby Pickett sang in clubs with the Cordials, impersonating film actors as part of his act. Pickett’s mimicry of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster proved so popular with his audience that the singer’s bandmate encouraged him to pen a novelty song. The resulting hit, “Monster Mash,” though originally rejected by major record labels, is still played around the country every Halloween.
Aurora Plastics Corporation didn’t hesitate to jump on the spook bandwagon. By 1960, its customers were clamoring for monster plastic figure kits, and when Dr. Frankenstein’s hulking green creation made its debut in ’61, retailers could hardly keep it in stock. Dracula, King Kong and their cohorts soon followed. Kids also could put together a jigsaw puzzle of the Creature from the Black Lagoon (which glowed in the dark), affix creepy rat and coffin stickers to their notebooks, eat their ice cream with monster spoons or race Bride of Frankenstein Hot Wheels cars.
Of course, sometimes monsters aren’t so scary … just the folks next door. Much of the humor in TV shows like The Addams Family and The Munsters stemmed from the fact that their stars never realized how much they differed from their more conventional neighbors. While both clans had their share of misunderstanding-based adventures, their mixed-generation households still reflected the idealized loving family.
Sci-fi fantasy (think Star Wars) and gore (A Nightmare on Elm Street, anyone?) eventually helped banish Hollywood’s favorite spooks to late-night-rerun land, but even as zombies are the monster du jour for today’s fans, bets are on as to what form the next creature craze will take. Perhaps we’ll see a return to yesteryear’s favorites, given the recent resurfacing of Godzilla and his undiminished appetite for mayhem. The right combination of what one writer called “the appeal to awe, wonder and the unknown” with human imagination and some special effects should ensure that our love affair with fright never grows old.
As long as we love to be scared out of our seats, the monster craze will be with us.
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Photo Caption: The Munsters