Sunday, February 21, 2021

The Hang Hiss Horror of it All

I was cleaning out the photo folder on my phone and found some images I've snapped and forgotten about over the last few years. These things were too pricey for my antiquer wallet, but still deemed worthy of a photograph. SEE! The morbidly macabre, mid century, Hang Man Game from Zany Toys, quote: "fun for all", and clearly beating out Parker Brothers with the "zany" strangulation concept by a few decades. SEE! The cute ceramic snake shaped ashtray with a funny slogan, jewel eyes, and a handy basket compartment to store your wooden matches (or pot.) I really regret not buying this now! ARGHH! And finally SEE! A 70's spook show poster with The Optimist Club (of St. Louis) inviting you to "A Night of Horror!" packed with monsters and a live, onstage human cremation-- and at the same Meramec Community College campus where I learned Japanese (badly), and filmmaking to boot!

8 comments:

Mr. Cavin said...

Wow, I don't know how you passed that poster up. It's a damn hoot (and yet another instance of the old "Manor Beast"). Is that hangman game just, like, regular hangman, but with an action figure? That feels opportunistic. Like marketing gaudy plastic tic-tac-toes or rock-paper-scissors.

JMR777 said...

That hangman game would not be out of place in the Addam's family household.

Brian Barnes said...

I think this is the first time I've seen the word "zany" associated with hanging a man!

The old spook show, never good enough to actually care enough to ask the mummy who it might be. I'd love to go back in time and see one of these, just for the cheesy magic effects and the eventually dudes in rubber masks running around the audience!

Doc Briar said...

Ah, yes. This makes me nostalgic for the days when "zany" pixies went to the gallows for stealing a loaf of bread. Good times!

Tom said...

I would go see that Spook show today. Meramec alumni myself, by the way.

Mr. Karswell said...

Didn't want to pass up the spook show poster, it was just out of my price range. And then covid hit and the antique mall shut down permanently which was also a big drag as it was one of my local favorites.

Tom said...

Yeah, I saw that. General Grant antique mall, right? That was a good one.

Mr. Karswell said...

Yep. Some of their vendors wound up at Treasure Aisles, and I think I saw some familiar stuff at either Green Shag or the place on The Hill. But yeah, huge bummer about General Grant for sure.