To date, Netflix’s docu-series “The Toys That Made Us” has included eight episodes across two seasons, with a third season coming soon. Episode topics have included “Star Trek,” “He-Man,” “LEGO” and “Hello Kitty,” but we’ve to date not yet seen an episode on monster toys. This makes us sad, but the team is at least softening the blow over on Twitter.
On the road to Halloween, the official “Toys That Made Us” account has been counting down the “Top 10 Halloween Toys,” loaded with classic monster toys and horror goodies such as Play-Doh’s “Count Creepy Head” playset, the controversial talking Freddy Krueger doll from Matchbox, and even those lovable Halloween McNugget Buddies from McDonald’s.
Check out 10-2 below, and follow @ToysThatMadeUs to find out what #1 will be!
Repurposed from the Soma Monster Man line originally sold at Woolworths, these Halloween Monsters appeared briefly at Wal-Mart during the early ’90s. With an ambiguously elemental aesthetic and classically spooky card-art, they kick off our TOP 10 HALLOWEEN TOYS!! pic.twitter.com/TuecmyJsKY
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 23, 2018
#9 for our TOP 10 HALLOWEEN TOYS COUNTDOWN is Haunted House, released by Ideal in 1962, this board game allowed up to 4 players to venture through an elaborate, three-dimensional haunted mansion, complete with hidden doors, pop-out ghosts and vampires, even Frankenstein’s monster pic.twitter.com/S5AsPiFnKe
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 24, 2018
Flying in at #8 on our Top Ten Halloween Toy Countdown is Dracula, a table-top electronic game released by Epoch in 1982. #Dracula challenged players to find the gold hidden in his coffin, while battling vampire bats & the wolfman! Epoch’s Dracula is truly timeless!#TTTMU #Toys pic.twitter.com/xlK24WBlen
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 25, 2018
Rearing their ghastly heads at #7 on our Top 10 Halloween Toys Countdown are the McFarlane Monsters Playsets from 1998! The ’90s saw an unprecedented resurgence of interest in the classic Universal Monsters, with everything from stamps, VHS re-releases and lots of monster toys… pic.twitter.com/QkVHWNXL7y
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 25, 2018
Squeezing it’s way into the Top 10 Halloween Toys Countdown at #6 is the Play-Doh Count Creepyhead Playset! For the Halloween season, there’s nothing better than using a Dr. Phibes-like ghoul to create (and then tear off) classic monster faces!#TheToysThatMadeUs pic.twitter.com/MHIzmuVKeU
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 27, 2018
We wouldn’t dream of doing a Halloween Toy Countdown without a slasher icon like Freddy making an appearance! Freddy Krueger may be a staple of horror toys nowadays, but back in 1989 when Matchbox released their 18″ Talking Freddy, parents were terrified when they it! pic.twitter.com/YJ1G5yCFwY
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 27, 2018
Throughout the ’70s, monster toys were everywhere! Most were based on Universal’s horror pantheon, and quite often they were unlicensed. While many toys of this era are fondly remembered, it’s Mego’s Mad Monster Series that truly stands a head above the rest!#thetoysthatmadeus pic.twitter.com/N4NagY3SWD
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 28, 2018
Our #3 pick on the Halloween Toy Countdown, it’s the McDonalds Halloween McNugget Buddies! For years, millions of kids eagerly anticipated an exciting new toy along with their Happy Meal. These spooky McNugget Buddies first appeared in 1992 & have been in our hearts ever since! pic.twitter.com/TBuCrWtbE5
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 30, 2018
It’s Halloween Eve, so that must mean we’re down to #2 on our Halloween Toy Countdown! Our penultimate pick, the Remco Mini Monsters, & their epic Mini Monster Playcase, is everything we love most about monster toys!#TheToysThatMadeUs #Season3 #ComingSoon#Halloween #SpookyToys pic.twitter.com/n8BnQNoKHx
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 31, 2018