The Passion of Collecting Horror: Horror Figures #1: The Creature from the Black Lagoon

The monster that started it all...

I grew up watching Universal Studio's The Creature from the Black Lagoon over and over and over and over again. At five years old, I was obsessed (not much has changed, of course, even twenty years later). I watched that film and its two sequels at least two or three times a week - I couldn't get enough. In third grade, my stepdad helped me create a Gill Man costume that was made out of green pieces of felt and lots of superglue. Needless to say, I proudly wore that costume on Halloween night and many, many nights after. While most children my age idolized cartoon characters from Nickelodean or super heroes, I idolized a big green monster that used its webbed hands to suffocate people and its superhuman strength to abduct beautiful women. Strange, but it's all relative, I suppose. In my opinion (and I don't think I'm alone on this), of all the Universal Monsters, the Creature is the best. If you haven't watched the DVD, please rent it, it's well worth your time. The underwater cinematography is stunning and the creature is, well....unmistakably awesome.

My favorite Part: When the creature is treading water underneath Julia Adams, curiously watching her swim, and his three note evil motif is blaring, telling the audience what they already know.... He's going to get her! The moment is wonderfully suspenseful and beautifully shot.

Below is a complete inventory of my Creature figures. Note that there are still many more I need to purchase, and I look forward to hunting each one down and adding them to the collection. As always, if you have something I'm missing and would like to pass it along, please let me know! Messages from fellow collectors and friends are always welcome...

AMOK TIME, CREATURE: 22.5 INCH