Freddy Krueger Toys and Collectibles

Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street” is one of my favorite fictional serial killers. Never mind that he was a child killer and pedophile. I enjoy his razor gloves that slice and dice through the dreams and nightmares of unsuspecting victims. Being the geek that I am, I also love toys that are from horror movies. Unfortunately, places like Burger King don’t see the value in mass marketing (especially around Halloween) the way they do with Star Wars. I’m not comparing the two, but I also don’t understand why horror toys are stockpiled in places like Spencer’s gifts (or online) when I can barely find any McFarlane action figures at Toys R Us.

The cool thing is that no matter what, manufacturers still make some weird shit when it comes to horror collectibles. Those toys, figures and whatnot are just hard to find. Suncoast (if you have those) sometimes has a good selection - fyi.

Back to Freddy Krueger, though. If it weren’t for Freddy, we’d have no New Line Cinema. New Line used to just distribute movies to colleges around the country and A Nightmare On Elm Street was its first foray into movie making. They lost their distributor during filming and basically had no funds to pay anyone for a couple weeks. Luckily, they found a new taker and as they say, the rest is history. Have you noticed over time that Freddy Krueger has become more of a bad pun kinda slasher than the bloodthirsty, sadistic child killer of legend? Obviously it’s not such a bad thing considering how popular he has become. Favorite creepy shot? Definitely in the first movie where Freddy is coming down the alley with the super long arms. They were so long that they had to be worked like a marrionette to get the effect. It worked. I’d LOVE to see that toy, but I haven’t. I did find some fun stuff on eBay, but that changes all the time. I also enjoyed this great post on x-entertainment about some of the best rare Freddy Krueger collectibles out there. Be on the lookout for some additional rarities and really cool collectibles: the Freddy Krueger/A Nightmare on Elm Street pinball machine (with giant speaking Freddy head), hand-made razor gloves, Freddy pajamas (this makes total sense), A Nightmare On Elm Street snowglobe, Freddy Krueger tombstone (also a Freddy vs. Jason tombstone) and a belt buckle with the razor fingers.

p.s. - fun trivia - the movie Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) watches to stay awake is horror classic “The Evil Dead”. Some of the other actresses to audition for the part were Courtney Cox and Demi Moore. Weird.

Robert Englund Freddy Krueger 12-inch Figure This toy is Freddy Krueger before he was burned. Freddy appears as he did in the opening scenes of the film Freddy vs. Jason. Freddy has a hat, leather jacket, an articulated fingered-glove, newspaper with Freddy headlines, a cigarette, and a 12-inch figure display base.

Vampires Exist

Interestingly enough, there are diseases and physical conditions that can cause people to have “vampiric” traits. Given the lack of medical knowledge and understanding, as well as cultures based in superstition, it’s not surprising that vampire sightings have occurred throughout history. Add to that the later practice of grave robbing for money, jewelry and scientific research and it just adds to the hysteria and mystery of vampires. The conditions we can identify now surely existed then. Any odd behavior associated with them would definitely have caused suspicion and fear. These are the main medical possibilites that might explain why people have always believed vampires exist:

Porphyria
Anemia
Rabies
Catalepsy

Porphyria is a disease of the blood and it has numerous, unfortunate symptoms. Depending upon the specific “strain” of the disease, people afflicted are extremely sensitive to sunlight – to the point of not being able to walk past a sunny window without blistering and peeling their skin. Because the red blood cells don’t live as long in people with porphyria, there is a tendency towards anemia.

Anemia causes individuals to become extremely pale and lose most of the coloring around their lips, eyelids, gums and even hands and palms. It also makes the skin feel very cold. Anemia is a far more common condition and associated with many more things than something as rare as porphyria.

Recent studies have been published that discuss the symptoms of rabies in humans and linking them to vampirism. Interestingly, rabies tends to increase saliva (causing drooling), cause hypersensitivity to light and sound, biting and a strange fear of water (holy water??). There were several massive European outbreaks of rabies among animals in the 1700s (probably before and after, too) and no doubt people were also attacked and infected. Imagine meeting a rabid man, frothing at the mouth and having strange aversions to seemingly normal things. It would terrify the village and create an irrational fear that a vampire was on the loose. Excellent!

Lastly, catalepsy is similar to being in a trance – and having no muscle control or reaction to stimuli. Catalepsy can be caused by mental disorders such as Schizophrenia or diseases like Parkinson’s. We’re foolish if we don’t think people have always suffered from mental delusions - far earlier than we could ever know, understand, name or diagnose.

Being Socreepy, I don’t ever want to burst the horror bubble. Of COURSE vampires exist! I just wanted to point out why vampires seem to have such specific behaviors associated with them.

The History of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

What is the real story behind The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Pretty much anyone that has seen the Texas Chainsaw Massacre makes the assumption that it really happened. Between the marketing spin masters and director Tobe Hooper, we’ve all been led to believe that the history of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leatherface and all the grisly events that happened - were true.

Well, the film is some fiction and some fact. Ever been in a crowded department store during the holidays? Ever wanted to just grab a chainsaw and plow your way through the crowds? That sounded a little morbid, didn’t it? My point is that Tobe Hooper was tossing around an idea for a movie - one based on the isolation someone feels in the dark and creepy woods in the middle of nowhere. So, that spark of an idea was in his mind as he went to the crowded mall that day and stood in front of the chainsaws. What a beautiful way to cut down the masses and get through the checkout line quicker! The “history” of The Texas Chainsaw massacre and its legend was starting to come together.

Infamous sick bastard and serial killer Ed Gein served as another inspiration for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Most people know or have heard of the legend of Gein, a recluse that lived in a small Wisconsin town in the 50s. He got his kicks wearing the skins of his victims - on his face, on his body, as his underwear. He made lampshades and decorative items out of them. He was a cannibal - and he was the first to hit mainstream America. Perhaps that’s why he has influenced the silver screen in ways other than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Gein also inspired “Psycho” and the character Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs”. Precious.

Hooper took the actions and strange habits of Gein and created Leatherface and his sadistic, face chomping family. He also sold the bill of goods as “based on real events” on the back of the videos when they were released years later. Long story short is that an actual Texas Chainsaw Massacre did not happen, but it was influenced by many grisly things that did.