Monster Memories: “It will ruin the carpet!” Legacy of the MOTU Slime Pit

The Slime Pit, an “Evil pit of gruesome ooze” was a play set from 1986 that formed a part of Mattel’s highly successful Masters of the Universe toy line. Designed by toy designer Ted Mayer, the Slime Pit utilised a component that not only assured this toy a success but also set a trend that would last for years to come, something that Mattel had already brought to the toy market back in 1976 -Slime!  
Hordak (“Ruthless Leader of the Evil Horde”) would lock his victim inside the ‘pit’ by means of the bony clawed hand at the bottom as the container of Evil Horde Slime (sold separately) would be poured into the back of the large skull suspended at the top. The slime would then proceed to slowly ooze out of the mouth and onto the victim supposedly brainwashing said the victim to do Hordak’s evil bidding! With its heady mix of slime, claws, zombification and dinosaur skulls this thing looked amazing and 7 year old me wanted one, catalogue in hand I asked my mother if I could have it, after a rather lengthy presentation as to why this toy was amazing she replied, “no, it will ruin the carpet!” my heart sank, a fear that the carpet would be ruined was a recurring theme in our newly refurbished home and effectively marked the end of most toy requests.  

Undeterred I had another plan though; I thought I would just bypass my mother and go straight to the main man himself, Santa Clause but this proved fruitless, it seemed that he too was fearful of this thing somehow ruining our floor coverings! I gave up and moved on (unsuccessfully requesting a Real Ghostbusters Gooper Ghosts Squisher figure and tub of Real Ghostbusters Ecto-Plazm the following year) until 2019 when I decide it was high time I restored my original Masters of the Universe figure collection and display them in the studio (a future post) and finally get my own Slime Pit!
It arrived and I was delighted with it. The following day work continued on decorating our living room when I suddenly knocked over a can of paint... It took 33 years but my mother’s prophecy that I would ruin the carpet if I got a Slime Pit came true!  I guess mothers really do know best!

The Slime Pit as featured in the 1986 Winter/Autumn Argos catalogue 

along with the equally desirable (carpet friendly) Fright Zone! 

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: Gurglin Gutz

The classic Gurglin Gutz line-up a brain, stomach, eye and heart

Hello dear reader, we haven’t had a Monster Memories post for some time- have we? So how about we have one now? How about...Gurglin Gutz? 

Gurglin Gutz was a toy that resembled human organs (four designs a brain, eye, heart and stomach) that was encased within a latex ball and immersed in a red fluid that created a ‘gross’ gurgling, bubbling sound when squeezed! Created by designer Jimmy DiResta and his brother Joey DiResta who took their concept (a prototype consisting of a condom filled with tomato juice and a hollow ball) to brothers Jeffery and Keneth Lewis of 4Kidz, Inc. in 1994 a time when the Lewis brothers (Sons of Norman J. Lewis founder of LJN toys) were keen to enter the then trending, gross toy market, and so in 1995 Gurglin Gutz was launched going on to successfully ship over 10 Million pieces in its first 5 years.  I fondly remember them showing up at various toy outlets, as they seemed to spark a craze of squeezable toys but with Gurglin Gutz leading the way adding a knuckle ball variant to the  mix and releasing a smaller version of the regular brain, eye, heart and stomach as key rings and pencil toppers along with branching out with licensed properties lines relating to such movies as Bugs Life, Toy Story 2 and a line relating to Scholastic’s Goosebumps to name but three.

I was in Art College at the time and just as much a fan of gross toys and thought these were fantastic! Much like Garbage Pail Kids cards and Madballs before them they not only resonated with my ‘mother wouldn’t approve’ mantra (Even Jeffery Lewis was quoted in the Connecticut Post, February 20^th 1997, “This is definitely a kid’s purchase. This is not something mom’s going to come home with from the store”) I also loved the packaging and design and as a result I had the brain variant serving as a stress ball on my desk for many years.

Diresta signed limited edition Gurglin Gutz (Limited to 100 backers only) 

and eyeball ‘clip on’ 

Fast Forward 23 years to October 2018 and 4Kidz announced that they were bringing them back “with a brand new look and feel!” through a Kickstarter campaign promising that they would be “GUTZIER” than ever before. As the originals only lasted 15+ years (tops) 4Kidz had not been happy about this factor and so spent nearly a year sourcing the right materials for an enhanced feel and durability for the second generation Gurglin Gutz. “More blood” was promised with “Better clarity, more gore, improved elasticity FOR THAT GURGLE SQUISH and Increased durability FOR HOURS OF FUN” various tiers were offered such as, The Mortician Special offering a “Classic" 3 inch style of choice or the Early Bird Maggot Special with all four  of the classic organs up for grabs. Devotees could also pledge for the Cadaver Special offering not only the four classic gurglers but also four 1.5" clip on’s as well, IF the $10,000 target was reached. It was, 289 backers (myself one of them) showed their support and $10,886 was raised. I had opted for the Diresta limited signed edition (limited to 100 backers only) which also included a clip on eyeball and when the project was funded I ‘add-on’ the set of four organs to my order which arrived last week and they have now been added to my monster/ gross out toy collection- very happy with them and I thank all concerned for making them available again, thanks to them I once again, “have the Gutz”! 

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: Madballs!

Ah Madballs, if you were a kid during the 1980’s you will know exactly what these things are if not... Madballs were a series of toy /rubber balls released in 1985 by AmToy (a subsidiary company of the American Greetings Company responsible for Care Bears, Get Along Gang and Popples). Designed by James Groman (who also designed AmToy’s My Pet Monster) Madballs were a series of  8 ‘gross’ rubber/ foam bouncing balls, each one with  its own unique face and design they were Screamin Meemie, Slobulus, Aargh, Horn Head, Dust Brain, Oculus Orbus, Skull Face and Bash Brain. Aimed squarely at boys “Gross for one! Gross for all! We play with our... Madballs!” the line did reasonably well for AmToy and so a second series of 8 characters followed called Snake Bait, Freaky Fullback, Splitting Headache, Bruise Brother, Wolf Breath, Fist Face, Swine Sucker and Lock Lips before being followed by a sub series of ‘Super Madballs’ which were larger versions of the original balls shaped like other sports balls, such as the American-football called Touchdown Terror, the soccer ball named Goal Eater, and basketball named Foul Shot perhaps not as popular in the UK it was a hit in the USA and AmToy licensed countless other Madballs products including Head-Popping Madballs figures (posable figures with ejectable/swappable head ) Madballs- Slimeballs a hollowed version that could be filled with slime “Gobs of Goo means fun for you!”  a Marvel comic and also two direct to video animated shows  (a 22-minute episode called Escape from Orb and Madballs: Gross Jokes a series of jokes and skits) before they faded  away, only to ‘bounce back’ courtesy of toy company Art Asylum in 2006  and Just Play, Inc. in 2017. Premier creators of limited edition art toys  Kidrobot produced a few  Madballs items such as foam Madballs, enamel pins, Madballs art figures, Madballs key rings and a Madballs blind box vinyl miniseries and this is where I came in,

I had some Madballs back in the day, but because they were made of foam rubber they will perish over time and so I sold them on, but when Kidrobot released fifteen vinyl figures based on the original designs (sadly they didn’t bring Splitting Headache back instead creating a “uber-rare” mystery figure based on Kidrobots’s own character which doesn’t interest me) I was delighted as I could re-introduce the Madballs to my collection of 80’s monster toys without the worry of them crumbling to dust overnight!   

© Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: Frank-N –Stein Bar & Grill

Scream Queen Brinke Stevens as an “Elvira-type mascot” for 

Frank-N –Stein Bar & Grill, 
Femme Fatales magazine, Spring 1994.

Not really a monster ‘memory’ as such as it seems it never actually existed but I was intrigued by this article which featured in the spring 1994 edition of Femme Fatales magazine featuring scream queen legend Brinke Stevens and a proposed restaurant called Frank-N –Stein Bar & Grill.  “Writer/actor Delbert Winans is the founder of the Frank-N –Stein Bar & Grill, “A restaurant that serves as a historical overview of horror and science fiction films.” Winans negotiating for Burbank location, intends to “decorate the facilities with classic posters and authentic film props. The more graphic stuff- Things from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and likeness of Linda Blair, hanging from the ceiling in a re-creation of The Exorcist- Will be limited to the bar area. Life-size wax figures will be sculpted by Henry Alvarez, whose work has surfaced in The Witches of Eastwick, The Thing, and three Robocop movies.” Brinke Stevenshas  has been brought in as an Elvira-type mascot. Fans who would like an illustrated brochure should send a sase to: Wolf’s Head Productions, 1540 West Gaylord, Long Beach, Calif. 90813-1233.” This place sounded amazing! I hadn’t heard of it before and so I turned to the internet, and yes, you guessed it... Nothing! Well, not much at least as it seems it never actually got off the ground, a real shame as I think this place would have been fantastic!  The only thing I could find was an article on the New Jersey Real-Time News website written by Donald Wittkowski posted on March 5, 2011 entitled, Atlantic City may get horror-themed wax museum and restaurant and it mentions, “A development group hopes to capitalize on the public's fascination with the lifelike qualities of wax figures by combining a wax museum with another public obsession — eating. The waxworks-themed restaurant concept is being pitched to casinos in Atlantic City as the developers narrow their search for a location.” A gentleman called Joe Camarota, an engineer and former casino construction official was part of the development group said to have been working on the idea of melding the horror genre with a restaurant to create something called the "Hollywood Horror Cafe" since 1995 having teamed up with renowned West Coast wax sculptor and special effects expert Henry Alvarez and movie fine arts collector Delbert Winans to pursue a similar concept. What is particularly interesting about this partnership is that this group had formed after they were all introduced to each other through Sara Karloff, the daughter of Boris Karloff and as if that wasn’t enough their legal assistance was provided by Bela Lugos’s son, Bela Lugos Jr  a California attorney! It seemed that both Sara Karloff and Bela Lugosi Jr. had also agreed to help the group through their entertainment industry contacts and with licensing deals for horror memorabilia from the Karloff and Lugosi estates! Sadly Winans passed away in 2009 before seeing his vision become a reality but Alvarez and Camarota were continuing the partnership. The article explains how during the project’s development the company had originally been called  Gothic Entertainment Group and explains that before settling on the name "Hollywood Horror Cafe it had also been called " the "Gothic Grille" and "Frank-N-Stein Bar and Grille" (I believe ‘Monster Beastro’ was also used). It seemed that Alvarez was convinced that a waxworks-themed restaurant would be a popular with tourists in Atlantic City believing that a multimedia attraction would help pull the city out of its four-year economic slump, "For me, it's a big tourist area. They're trying to regenerate interest there. People are always interested in going to a wax museum to see celebrities." So how are they getting on? Does anyone out there know how this project is progressing? People are missing out on an amazing attraction here! Comment below or e-mail arfon@arfon.net if you have any additional information!

Scream Queens Illustrated Vol1. No4 1994

© Arfon Jones 2018. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: The Hebden Crypt Myth Legends & Horror

Here is a clipping from Look-In Magazine dates 4^th of August 1990 encouraging readers to visit The Hebden Crypt Myth Legends & Horror an attraction which I must confess I have never heard of before! “If you’re one of those people who like having the pants scared off you, then you’ll love The Hebden Crypt, because its jam-packed with some of the creepiest things you’re ever likely to see” This museum of myths, legends and horror purported to have the sights sounds (and smells) of Victorian London as it tells the story of Jack the Ripper! It had a recreation of Vlad the Impaler’s Castle and offered the chance to “travel to the ancient Valley of the Kings in Egypt”  all that and a snack bar that offered the opportunity to “tuck in while you’re scared stiff!” and all for £1.80! I did a quick Google search and found some photos but very little information and so contacted the very helpful Hebden Tourist information who said it closed down 30 years ago, and apparently of the opinion that it was “awful” I on the other hand love stuff like this but it would seem that I was 30 years too late! Did you go? Were you involved? Can you shed some more light on this defunct tourist attraction?

© Arfon Jones 2018. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories Morsel: My First Krush-er

So did you have a good Christmas? I certainly did! Christmas 2017 was when I finally received a My Pet Monster of my very own (previous post) but Santa gave me that, Mrs Jones gave me something equally awesome!
A great little curio from the US of A that I am reasonably certain never made it to this side of the pond and I say that because A) I've never seen Krusher the “Growing Monster” ‘in the wild’ and B) it seemed that it wasn't a terribly successful toy line for Mattel in 1979 and this staggers me, because this 15 inch high green rubber figure had a great gimmick to it in that you could ‘Krush’ or mash it up and it would spring back to his original size when the air valve on its belt was turned! Amazing! Yet as I said it wasn’t a successful toy and so it is becoming harder to find (more so if you are after a boxed version) and knowing that had I been born five years earlier and on the other side of the Atlantic I would have adored this monster toy and so I wanted to add it to my collection, and that's just what happened! Thank you Mrs Jones!

© Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

A Monster Memories Christmas Special: My Pet Monster the Monster Memory that never was

"Argos... It's So Easy!"

Once upon a time (1987 to be precise) there was an eight year old boy called Arfon who was obsessed with monsters. It was a glorious time to be a fan of such things as there seemed to be no end to the ‘gross’ and creepy monster themed toys available to children across the land. There were Madballs, Boglins, Rude Ralph, The Real Ghostbusters toy line not to mention all manner of slime related toys and there ruling over them all was the king of all the monster toys, My Pet Monster! Twenty six inches in height this plush monster was produced by American Greetings Corporation’s AmToy having been designed by great toy designer James Groman the man who also designed the MadBalls range. My Pet Monster was just like the (previously mentioned) Were Bears in that it was a plush toy aimed at boys. First released in the US in 1986 it crossed the Atlantic and onto UK toy shelves the following year. Arfon saw the My Pet Monster television advert and was instantly drawn to its blue fur, horns, big hideous nose and massive fangs. The toy not only promised to be his pal but also came with breakable chains and all these factors made My Pet Monster an amazingly awesome toy to have and so he promptly added it to his Christmas list. Unlike previous Christmas gift requests such as the Evil Horde's Slime Pit, Gooper Ghosts Squisher and Sludge Bucket Figures or Boglins, My Pet Monster wasn’t instantly dismissed by his mother and so it was added to the list as a "wait and see" item.

Christmas 1987, with my Philmar monster Jigsaw Puzzle,
Hungry Hippos game, Perfection, Junior Scrabble and David Bellamy microscope set
(The Mask Punchbag belonged to my brother)

December 25^th, Christmas day. Santa has been and Arfon received a Rattlor action figure, Hungry Hippos game, Perfection, Junior Scrabble a telescope and a David Bellamy microscope but no Pet Monster… It seemed that Santa had forgotten to include one! Although he was still extremely happy with his gifts he was a little disappointed that he didn’t have a Pet Monster of his own.
Time marched on the toy brand itself continued to be a massive hit for AmToy prompting various forms of merchandise along with smaller size variants of the character (sixteen inches and twenty inches) along with a follow up monster called My Football Monster (complete with football helmet and jersey), Beastur My Pet Monster's enemy was added to the line up as too were five smaller monster hand puppets called, My Monster Pets and naturally being the 1980’s there was a cartoon series and a direct to video live action movie released not only assuring the success of the product but also assuring its place as one of the top toys of the 1980’s. So much so that the idea never really went away and in 2001 Toymax brought him back (looking slightly different) in talking form before Vivid Imaginations released another talking version in 2009. This year marked the monster’s 30^th anniversary and so Creepy Co decided to mark the occasion by releasing a My Pet Monster vinyl figure, when Arfon saw this figure it had him thinking about the present that never was and how it had somehow being assigned to the Christmas gifts list that never was along with the Sectaurs Spider-Flyer and Hero Quest board game. Then on Christmas morning 2017 he found this parcel under the tree...

...And they lived happily ever after... Merry Christmas everyone!

© Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: Atmosfear (Nightmare)

I try (whenever possible) to create a nostalgic horror based painting in time for Halloween in the hope that it digs up some long long buried memories for you all out there. Having depicted Ghostwatch, Dr Walpurgis'Vault of Horror and more recently The Deadly Ernest Horror Show I thought this time I would move away from television and create a game based painting instead so I give you, Atmosfear!
The 1980’s and 1990’s was a tough time for board games, they suddenly found themselves competing against the highly lucrative video gaming market forcing them to devise new and exciting ideas to help sell their products, giving rise to the interactive video board game genre -games that incorporated your VHS player, giving us such games as Star Trek The Next Generation VCR board game, Dragon Strike, Hero Quest, Rap Rat and the most well known of them all Atmosfear! Atmosfear (actually called Nightmare but it was changed to Atmosfear in Europe to avoid confusion between an existing game) originated from Australia having been created by Phillip Tanner and Brett Clements of the production company A Couple 'A Cowboys and when the game was released in Australia in September 1991 it was an instant hit, selling one hundred thousand units in its first year alone (five times more than Trivial Pursuit). Backed by a heavy television and cinema marketing campaign and promotional Dance Parties the game broke all records for board games and by the mid 1990’s it was the most successful advanced board game in history and with the international acclaim it gained it became Australia’s biggest entertainment export since Crocodile Dundee!
The game itself was simple enough, which helped it’s success 3–6 players had to collect keys while trying to beat the clock however the real reason everyone played it was because of the Gatekeeper (played by Wenanty Nosul) who would appear at random intervals taunting, heckling and rewarding players as the game went on the player that collected all six keys and didn't draw their own fear card (each player was required to write their worse fears on card at the start of the game) won. As I said it was the Gatekeeper that made the game, always screaming at you, calling you a “little maggot” and demanding that you answer him each time with “Yes my Gatekeeper!” if you followed the games request to turn the lights down and the sound up and you obeyed the Gatekeeper the game was tremendous fun, and I look back on it fondly. Following on from the success of the first game three game expansions were released with each one containing a new tape featuring a new host, Baron Samedi the zombie hosted the second expansion in 1992 (again played by Wenanty Nosul) before actress Frederique Fouche played Anne de Chantraine the witch in 1993 returning as Elizabeth Bathory the vampire for the forth in 1994 sadly the Khufu the mummy expansion due for a 1995 release was cancelled due to declining sales however that wasn't the end of the Nightmare.

Halloween 2017

Armed with feedback received from players of the original game A Couple 'A Cowboys struck a deal with J. W. Spear & Sons to develop the new game and released the Harbingers game a major update of the series and within a few months of its release it become one of the top ten best selling games in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was soon followed by two more booster tapes and an add-on game called The Soul Rangers there was even a version for the PC called Atmosfear: The Third Dimension. Then after nine years of development A Couple 'A Cowboys and Flying Bark Productions released Atmosfear the Gatekeeper in 2004. Now on DVD instead of a VHS this medium offered random programming assuring new game each time and six months after its resale the game was once again a hit selling 60,000 copies then with its international success in over 18 different countries it grew to 600,000 with worldwide sales and then in 2006 eleven years after its cancellation Khufu the mummy finally had his own game with Atmosfear Khufu the Mummy. I must confess that I hadn’t realized that the series had returned and so when my stepson asked me if I had played Atmosfear we were talking about two completely different games! I thought it had a lot of promise but as impressive as the prosthetics were on the Gatekeeper it didn't really appeal to me, my heart belonged to the original. He may well have been a Gatekeeper but he wasn’t, “My Gatekeeper!” This painting done in acyclic and pen features the Atmosfear board and pieces with the Gatekeeper leering overhead (complete with poor VHS tracking) to the side we see the other hosts Baron Samedi, Anne de Chantraine and Elizabeth Bathory while a little maggot who's turn it is throws the die- to discover his fate! Hope this painting brought it all back for you! Comment below if you ever played it!

This leads me rather neatly to a bit of news, I would like to announce that I have a book in the works! Arfon’s Monster Memories will be a personal trip down memory lane as told through my paintings (like the one featured in this post) recounting growing up as a monster fan during the Eerie Eighties and Nightmarish Nighties! Penned for 2018 I hope that the book will be a feast for the eyes and brain- Follow this site or the Facebook page for further updates or e-mail me direct at arfon@arfon.net to be kept in the loop!
Happy Halloween!

© Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

A Monster Memories Halloween Special: Were Bears

Happy Halloween kiddies! It’s time for a Halloween edition of Monster Memories… Last year a new toy line was introduced called Feisty Pets, seemingly innocent soft toys that turn ferocious when the back of their heads are squeezed. A video demonstrating 'Feisty Pets' went viral receiving 20 million views, 350,000 shares and 50,000 comments in just 3 days making the toy a massive hit. Although I admire the mechanics used to achieve the result and want one for myself the idea of a transforming monstrous teddy bear is not an original one, in fact it was done back in 1990 and they were called Were Bears!


My Were Bears collection before and after

Were Bears were cute plush teddy bears (named Grizzler, Howler, Gums and Fang) that measured eleven inches in height and were originally devised back in 1983 by artist George Nicholas creator of Scouse Mouse and holder of the 1985 world record for the worlds longest mural at Alder Hey Hospital. Being the 1980’s there were masses of plush toys produced but there weren't many for boys and so always thinking outside the box George joined forces with Scalextric and model train supremo's Hornby in to create a plush toy aimed at boys. Released in the UK (the concept was later sub-licensed to an American Toy brand that called them Beasty Bears) the teddy bears would ‘transform’ into a fierce looking bears or as the 1990 Argos Autumn/ Winter catalogue explained, “these ‘teddies’ change into ‘Were Bears’ by reversing the head and paws”. Each bear was sold separately and came with a story cassette narrated by Oliver Postgate telling the origin of the Were Bears. How one day in the tiny village of München-Lüncheon in the ancient Castle Casserole a toy maker called Barron Egon BaconBurger was making cuddly toys for all the poor children during a full moon when he suddenly turned into a werewolf that resulted in the teddies adopting his transforming qualities! The toys sold well and small, six inch non transforming variants were later produced along with four rival (non transforming) bears known as ‘Terror Teds’ (called Chomp, Snapper, Grunt and Munch) before a fifth Were Bear was introduced to the line up called Growler who would do just that when the badge on his chest was pressed.

Were Bears #1 November 1990

I first became aware of this line through the television adverts and Clearmark Productions/London Editions Magazines comic series which ran 7 issues. Produced by George Nicholas, Nick Reynolds, Nigel Parkinson and Julie Evans the first issue (released in November 1990) came with a free set of “Fear-some Fangs” and a chance to win a Were Bear of my very own and it retold the above origin story in comic book form. Other issues dealt with the origin of the TerrorTeds (created by the evil Witch Hazel) and their ongoing feud with the Were Bears. Now, a confession… As an 80’s kid naturally I adored He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Transformers, Gremlins, The A-Team, Garbage Pail Kids, Ghostbusters- all that good stuff and relished all the gross toys and action figures available during the 80’s they without a doubt spurred on my fascination with monsters but…. I was also into Care Bears…. Yeah, I know! What can I say? I seemed to also be attracted to the soft and cuddly side of the 1980’s. Care Bears, Get Along Gang, Smurfs, Wuzzles, Muppet Babies, Paw Paw Bears and Acorn Green I loved them all and was always after the merchandise which consisted (mostly) of plush toys only to be told, “boys don't play with those sort of toys” however I refused to listen digging my heels in standing up to this supposed ‘rule’ (ever the rebel!) as I got older this fondness for plush toys become ever tricky and by the time the Were Bears were released I was 11 and wanting plush toys made my parents wince but the idea of a cute bear that turned into the monster ticked all the right boxes for me and I had to have them. I never got Growler though, as much as I liked the howling effect I didn’t care for him so much because he stood up and so didn’t match the other bears!

An original George Nicholas!

So what became of the line? Having ceased production by the mid 1990’s a small batch of limited edition bears were produced in 2012, retaining their transforming capabilities however these bears’ eyes would light up and they would let out a scary howl when their paws were pressed! Gums was dropped from the line and replaced by Growler looking more like his fellow Were Bears and so he was added to my line-up!
Although the bears are no longer produced the brand lives on, having been re-launched on the 31st of October 2016 they now sell retro themed Were Bear merchandise on their website for fans such as myself! So before you follow the current trends check out the Were Bears, and remember as the television advert used to tell us, “Were Bears come as a great surprise, some people can’t believe their eyes! Think of scary things to do, who’s going to know it was you? Nothing can scare like a wicked were bear!”
Did you have one? Share your memories in the comments section!
Happy Halloween!

This article is respectfully dedicated to George Nicholas

 

© Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: Tommy Boyd: Monster Hunter?

An intriguing clipping from Look-In Magazine from the 15^th of February 1992 entitled ‘Monster Man Tommy’ featuring current face of Children's ITV Tommy Boyd. Promoting an up and coming book that stated, “Tommy Boyd has been busy lately. As well as presenting loads of great shows everyday he’s also been putting the finishing touches to his first book about monsters, and he’s become so caught up in the world of monsters that he plans to go off and look for one as soon as possible. “I want to lead an expedition to this mystical plateau in the Himalayan mountains to try and find the Buru Monster. I’m really excited about it and I need some people to come with me so if there are any budding Indiana Jones out there, let me know.” says  Tommy.”  

Then on the 2nd of May 1992 Look-In followed it up with another article informing us that the book had now been published by Boxtree and that it was called Monster Monsters and that it would educate readers about, “the weird and wonderful monsters that are supposed to have existed around the world” before further elaborating on Tommy’s apparent fascination with monsters when he admits to being, “actually a bit of a monster-mad boffin!”.  When this book was published I had fully immersed myself into my fascination with monsters, and I was equally a fan of Tommy Boyd who was a regular face throughout my childhood be it from his days presenting Saturday TV-am show Wide Awake Club from 1986–1990 (and Sunday spin-off show WAC Extra) to the time he presented Children's ITV from 1991 to 1992. The book's back cover reads, “Calling... monster trackers everywhere. You come across strange giant footprints leading into a dark, clammy cave. Would you... faint with fright... quietly tiptoe away...or explore further? Tommy Boyd has collected fearsome facts and monstrous myths which will freeze the blood in your veins! Read about the huge body with a serpent's neck which emerged from the dark waters of Loch Ness, or a tentacle half the length of a football pitch which was found on a Florida beach and ask yourself: What is out there?”  packed with stories, games, quizzes, trivia, things to do and monsters to make and priced £2.99 it was a terrific read to any budding monster hunter! This wasn't actually the first time Tommy put his name to a monster themed book, the Wide Awake Club released a book entitled Ghosts, Monsters and Legends in a 1986 tie-in with their segment on the show of the same name (although how much Tommy was involved in the writing process is unclear) what is especially interesting in both articles is this apparent expediction he wanted to lead, the second article provides a little more detail, “By the way, did you know that Tommy's planning an expedition of his own to go off and find the Giant Buru Buru monster* (which you can read all about in the book) very soon and he wants volunteers! Watch out for more news soon.” Did this expedition ever happen? Even in the book he gives map references! Attempts to contact Mr Boyd directly have yielded no results, so does anyone out there know? 

UPDATE: 29/03/2018 A gentleman called Darren a budding cryptozoologist in his "younger days" got in touch and shed further light onto the Giant Buru Buru expedition, “Tommy Boyd went on Pebble Mill at 1 to advertise his Monster Monster book and also to talk about getting an expedition up and running to go to Assam in Northern India to look for the Buru Buru. I contacted the show and ending up going on the training weekends and got picked. I think there was about 11 chosen in all. We only had a few short months to raise the money needed and only a handful could raise the needed amount, unfortunately i couldn't raise the funds and had to drop out along with a few others. The expedition to find the Buru Buru fell through as it had to be cancelled due to some form of terrorist activity in the area and people being warned not to go. The expedition was changed at the last minute to go to Cameroon in Africa to look for the Mokele Mbembe (a sauropod also mentioned in the book, actualy the front cover is the Mokele Mbembe) instead. As i said only a few went (i think about 5 and the two sas leaders. Tommy didnt go" So there we go thanks Darren!

* Buru Buru Monster: an aquatic cryptid reptile said to inhabit the Ziro valley, India.

© Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world. 

Monster Memories: The Deadly Ernest Horror Show

I tried to get this painting and post out for Halloween 2016 but with October being a busy time for me I missed the deadline... No matter, better late than never! Last time I tackled horror host Dr Walpurgis (later changed to Dr. Terror) host of the Vault of Horror which ran on BBC 2 from 1992 to 1996 and I mentioned that some regard him to be Britain's’ first television horror host and that this was not in fact the case. The first British horror host was Deadly Ernest who had actually left our screens a year before the good Doctor Walpurgis made his debut having been on Sky Channel (later renamed Sky 1) since 1985 hosting a Friday night horror show entitled, The Deadly Ernest Horror Show. 
Ernest (not to be confused with the Australian horror host Deadly Earnest) was a vampire that introduced the Friday night horror movie and if one consults the all knowing internet about the show Jack Hardy is credited for playing Earnest however, Jack Hardy was in fact one Mr. Jim Bywater, actor of stage, screen and television roles perhaps most notably playing Wilf Starkey in Coronation Street. There is despairingly little about him or the show online, and not even Sky 1, the very channel that aired the series could help me in my research, a great shame because Ernest was one of Sky's regular faces back in the day and when the channel celebrated its 5th Birthday in 1987 Ernest made up the group of Sky presenters singing along on Anita Chellamah's 'Join the Family of Sky' music video alongside fellow presenters such Anthea Turner, Tony Blackburn, Pat Sharp and DJ Kat! What information I have been able to “dig up” on Ernest/ Jack Hardy/ Jim Bywater has been meagre but in an interview for the October 20^th – 26^th 1990 edition of TV Guide apart from learning that he liked Thunder and lightning, that he rode a motorbike, stroked a lion and he had once ridden on a dolphin. He was also a horror movie fan, “I really like a good horror, my favourite is the one where the chap’s head explodes (Scanners) and I like the Omen films.” But confessed to not watching all the movies that featured on his show, “Some of those Japanese films like Godzilla are a bit silly, and then there are things like Plan Nine from Outer Space where you’ve got men wandering round in bits of carpet.” When asked about fear he surmised, “I think fear is all in the imagination and that’s what film makers rely on- the audience imagining the worst.”  

TV Guide September 15-21 1990

When Rupert Murdoch expanded Sky's service and formed the Sky Television Network in February 1989 Ernest’s show was 're-vamped' in September of that year with a new wardrobe and sidekick Scarlett Aorta. Aorta, was first played, briefly by an (as of yet) unknown actress but was later played by model and former Page 3 girl Jilly Johnson. Also a self confessed horror fan, listing American Werewolf in London as her favourite, “The music is fantastic, the special effects are great and the leading man is very hunky, even if he needs to shave from time to time, when there’s a full moon!” she threw herself into the role. I was fortunate to be able to come in contact with Jilly who informed me that she loved playing Scarlett and that the scripts on the show were brilliant and that the set writer and director were always happy for them to improvise. As for the movies that featured in the early days YouTube gives us some idea, 'The Late Nancy Irving' and ‘Sweet Scent of Death’ are mentioned suggesting that they aired the feature length episodes of Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense from 1984. Vintage issues of TV Guide once again came to my aid due to the main British listing magazines not publishing cable and satellite listings until 1991. Here is an ongoing list of episodes that I hope to keep open and update accordingly.

Friday September 15th 1989 11:30pm Vampire (1979).

Friday September 22nd 1989 11:30pm Killer Bees (1974).

Friday September 29th 1989 11:30pm Island of Sister Theresa (1979).

Friday October 6th 1989 11:30pm Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974).

Friday October 27th 1989 11:30pm Creepshow (1982).

Friday November 17th 1989 11:30pm Shadow of the Cat (1961).

Friday November 24th 1989 11:30pm The Coming (1981).

Friday December 8th 1989 11:30pm Mad Dog (1976).

Friday December 22nd 1989 11:30pm Whispering Smith Hits London (1952).

Friday December 29th 1989 11:30pm Prime Cut (1972).

Friday January 5th 1990 11:30pm The Saint's Girl Friday (1954).

Friday January 12th 1990 11:30pm Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1984).

Friday January 19th 1990 11:30pm Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)

Friday January 26th 1990 11:30pm Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

Friday February 2nd 1990 11:30pm Breaker Breaker (1977)

Friday February 9th 1990 11:30pm Lies (1985). 

Friday February 16th 1990 11:30pm Crazy Mama (1975). 

Friday March 2nd 1990 11:30pm Dark Star (1974).

Friday March 9th 1990 11:30pm Dick Barton- Special Agent (1948).

Friday April 6th 1990 11:45pm Death in Space (1974)

Friday May 18th 1990 11:30pm The Wide World of Mystery 'Murder Impossible' (1974). 

Friday May 25th 1990 11:30pm The Outer Space Connection (1975).

Friday June 1st 1990 11:30pm Lured (1947).

Friday June 15th 1990 11:30pm Island of Sister Theresa (1979).

Friday June 29th 1990 11:30pm Sophisticated Gent (1981).

Friday July 6th 1990 11:30pm Vogues of 1938 (1937).

Friday July 20th 1990 11:30pm Bobbikins (1959).

Friday July 27th 1990 11:30pm You Only Live Once (1937).

Friday Aug 3rd 1990 11:30pm The Rollicking Adventures of Eliza Fraser (1976).

Friday Aug 10th 1990 11:30pm Sleeping Dogs (1977).

Friday Aug 17th 1990 11:30pm The Bunker (1981). 

Friday Aug 24th 1990 11:30pm Manbeast! Myth or Monster? (1978).

Friday Aug 31st 1990 11:30pm Atragon (1963).

Friday Sept 7th 1990 11:00pm Attack of the Puppet People (1958).

Friday Sept 21st 1990 11:00pm Deranged (1974).

Friday October 19th 1990 11:00 Dr Goldfoot And The Bikini Machine (1965).

Friday October 26th 1990 11:00pm The Evictors (1979).

Friday November 9th 1990 11:00pm Squirm (1976). 

Friday December 7th 1990 12 Midnight  Blood Bath (1966). 

Friday March 1st 1991 11:00pm Zontar The Thing From Venus (1966).

Friday March 8th 1991 11:00pm Vampire (1979).

Friday March 15th 1991 11:00pm Master of the World (1961).

Friday March 22nd 1991 11:00pm Dark Star (1974).

Friday March 29th 1991 11:00pm Fer-de-Lance (1974).

Friday April 4th 1991 11:00pm Killer Bees (1974).

Friday April 12th 1991 11:00pm Trilogy of Terror (1975).

Friday April 19th 1991 11:00pm Night Drive (1977).

TV Guide February 3-9 1990

TV Guide September 9th 1989 

TV Guide November 3-9 1990

TV Guide October 20-26 1990

I didn't actually get to experience Deadly Ernest the first time round, despite constant desperate pleas from my brother and I to our parents our household didn't join the Sky revolution until around 1994 before that occasion it was recordings of movies, or shows such as ALF, WWF Wrestling and The Simpsons recorded by family and friends already signed up to Sky but even then it would seem that Sky had laid Ernest to rest, the Friday night film ran without him all the same but under the guise of Friday Fright Feature. RIP Deadly Ernest, 1685- 1991 Britain's First Horror Host.

Were you involved in the show? Have any other information that could help out my research? Drop me a line or e-mail direct arfon@arfon.net and help me get this show and those involved the recognition they deserve!

© Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: ‘The Loch Ness Monster’

Back in July of 1983, my grandparents (frequent visitors to Scotland) visited Loch Ness. Having travelled up with their yellow Ford Capri II 2000 with a caravan in tow they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary before returning home with a Scottish souvenir for me, a plastic Nessie (made in China). That souvenir started me on a life long fascination with Loch Ness and its legendary beast, the interest was spurred on by Peter Maddocks’s Family- Ness cartoon series along with any other Nessie monster related movie or series I could find. Shows such as Michael Aspel’s Strange But True? repeats of Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World and Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe’s Fortean TV. When I wasn’t watching those programs I would read any book I could find on the subject (my favourite being The World of the Unknown: Monsters by Carey Miller) along with The Unexplained magazine. Thirty years later I would finally visit Loch Ness for myself with Mrs Jones, we cruised the loch seeking out the monster on our honeymoon. Looking back on it all it started with that one plastic toy that my grandparents gave my four-year-old dinosaur loving self. Sadly, the toy went missing (I suspect my mother gave it away to a jumble sale appeal- but I couldn’t prove it in a court of law) and since becoming an active eBay user I have sought out to track down another monster… But in a manner of speaking I did find another, I found this brass one… It is the exact design as the one I had before, only it has been cast in brass. The seller gave little to no information on its origins only that her father would cast items in brass and had done so with this toy back in the 1980’s. This being the case I treat it as a unique piece of artwork. A piece that reminds me of that plastic toy I once knew, the grandparents that presented it to me and the journey it took me on.

My grandparents at Loch Ness, July of 1983

Some more 'Monster Memories' and 'Prehistoric Pinings'…

Monster Memories: ‘Monsters in my Pocket'

Monster Memories: 'Spooky Chews'

Prehistoric Pining: Dinosaur Books and Publications

Prehistoric Pining: Dinosaur World, Colwyn Bay

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Memories: Dr Walpurgis' Vault of Horror

I’ve made no secret of my enduring memory of Halloween 1992 the night Ghostwatch aired. But Halloween 1992 didn’t end there, far from it because another show debuted moments after. As the nation telephoned the BBC switchboard to complain and enquire about Sarah Green’s safety the rest of us were turning over to BBC 2 to watch an all-night Halloween marathon entitled Vault of Horror hosted by one* of Britain’s first TV horror hosts Dr Walpurgis. Created especially for the programme by novelist/ horror aficionado Kim Newman and portrayed by actor Guy Henry with makeup by Geoffrey Portass. In an article for the TV Times producer Nick Jones promised that Vault of Horror would, “Celebrate all aspects of the genre from films and TV to books and special effects ” and it was! It kicked off with the network TV premiere of George A. Romero’s Creepshow followed by an apparently newly restored cut of Curse of the Werewolf before ending with The Bride of Frankenstein! (They also showed Death Line and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein but my video recorder had run out of tape by that point). Vault of Horror must have been a hit because the Dr returned to our screens the following year (changing his name to Dr Terror) continuing to introduce us to classic horror movies by means of informative introductions to camera or skits, but as the years went on the skits became shorter before Dr Terror faded from our screens entirely in 1996.
Seeing as the information doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else here is an ongoing episode guide that I intend to keep open and update accordingly.

Dr Walpurgis’ Vault of Horror

Saturday October 31st 1992 11:05pm Horror Bites: What's behind the Door, Mummy? What it is that scares people.
11.20pm Horror Bites:Tales from EC. Comics that inspired Creepshow.
11.25pm Creepshow (1982).
1.25am Horror Bites: The Art of Illusion. About make-up effects wizard Tom Savini.
1.30am Horror Bites:The Unholy Trinity. The creations of Clive Barker, Sean Cunningham and Wes Craven.
1.40am The Curse of the Werewolf (1961).
3.10am Horror Bites:Prime Evil. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell on the Evil Dead saga.
3.15am Horror Bites:Terror on the Page. Stephen King and other authors open their books.
3.20am The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
4.30am Horror Bites:The Horror of Sex. Love, pain, sex, sexuality and the position of women in horror.
4.35am Horror Bites:Dario's Friends. Dario Argento at work on his new movie, Trauma.
4.45am Death Line (1972).
6. 10am Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

Dr Terror’s Vault of Horror:

Friday September 10th 1993 11:15pm Vamp (1986).

Saturday September 11th 1993 12:50am Mask of Satan (1960).

Friday September 17th 1993 11:25pm The Guardian (1990).
Saturday September 18th 1993 1:05am From Hell it Came (1957).

Friday September 24th 1993 11:30pm Curse of Frankenstein (1957).
Saturday September 25th 1993 12:55am Blood of of Dracula (1957).

Friday October 1st 1993 11:05pm Horror Express (1972).
Saturday October 2nd 1993 12:30am The Comedy of Terrors (1964).

Friday October 8th 1993 11:10pm Crucible of Terror (1971).
Saturday October 9th 1993 12:35am The Beast with Five Fingers (1946).

Friday October 22nd 1993 11:50pm Blood of the Vampire (1958).
Saturday October 23rd 1993 1:20am I Don't Want to be Born (1976).

Friday October 29th 1993 11:20pm The Gate (1987).
Saturday October 30th 1993 12:45am I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957).

Friday November 5th 1993 11:10pm The Haunted House of Horror (1969).
Saturday November 6th 1993 12:40am House on Haunted Hill (1958).

Friday November 12th 1993 11:15pm The Lost Boys (1987)
Saturday November 13th 1993 12:45am I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957).

Friday November 19th 1993 11:40pm April Fools Day (1986).
Saturday November 18th 1993 1:05am Cats Eyes (1985).

Friday December 3rd 1993 11:05pm Countess Dracula (1971).
Saturday December 2nd 1993 12:35am Voodoo Woman (1957).

Saturday December 18th 1993 12:10am The Hands of the Ripper (1971).

Saturday September 3rd 1994 12:30am Dr Terror’s House of Horrors (1965).

Friday September 9th 1994 11:00pm The Fog (1980).

Friday September 16th 1994 11:00pm The Ghoul (1975).

Friday September 23rd 1994 11:05pm The Unameable Returns (1992).

Friday September 30th 1994 11:00pm Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969)

Saturday October 8th 1994 12:05am A Study in Terror (1965).

Friday October 14th 1994 11:45pm Legend of the Werewolf (1974)

Friday October 28th 1994 11:20pm Body Parts (1991).

Saturday November 5th 1994 12:25am Curse of the Crimson Alter (1968).

Friday November 11th 1994 11:40pm The Mummy (1959).

Friday November 18th 1994 11:00pm The Legacy (1978).

Friday December 9th 1994 11:35pm Alligator (1980).

Saturday December 17th 1994 12:20am The Serpent and the Rainbow (1987).

Friday September 27th 1996 11:55pm House of the Seven Corpses (1974).

Saturday October 12th 1996 12:40am Devils of Darkness (1965).

Saturday October 19th 1996 12:40am The Cellar (1970).

Saturday October 26th 1996 12:50am A Child of Satan (1991).

Saturday November 2nd 1996 12:05am Ghost Story (1981).

Saturday November 9th 1996 12:35am Dr. Giggles (1992).

Saturday November 16th 1996 12:20am Phantasm (1978).

Saturday December 14th 1996 12:15am The People Under the Stairs (1991).




Both paintings side by side

I vowed to follow up my Ghostwatch painting (that features on both Rich Lawden’s Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains documentary dvd and book(s)) with a bookend image devoted to the Vault of Horror, celebrating the wonderful Dr Walpurgis/ Terror and those wonderful movies that he introduced me to on that unforgettable Halloween. Many thanks to all involved with this show

Happy Halloween! 

 

*Deadly Ernest from Sky Channel’s Deadly Ernest Horror Show to have actually been the first British TV horror host find out more about him and an episode guide on this post.

 

© Arfon Jones 2014. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.