The Mausoleum of Madness!
Welcome to Dino Drac’s Mausoleum of Madness! Here you’ll find daily drops of creepy collectibles from my personal collection, all never previously seen on the site. Everything from eerie ephemera to terrifying toys. There are some major gems waiting to be featured here! Feature now complete for the season!
#44: Hi-C / Slimer Store Display! (1988)
I’ve saved the best for last. This is a Hi-C / Real Ghostbusters store display, and while your mind might jump to Ecto Cooler, this standee actually predates that drink! (Hi-C and The Real Ghostbusters, which were both under the Coke/Columbia umbrella, had been doing team-ups as early as 1987.)
Featuring Slimer, it stands 3.5 feet tall, and it’s in the running for the most gorgeous thing I own. And no, it wasn’t cheap. I pretty much never invest this much into any single item, but I had to have this thing. Look at it!
It’s sturdier than many similar standees, and it had to be, because this was intended to stay on display for a full calendar year. See, the displays were shipped with a volley of “holiday hats” for Slimer to wear, covering everything from Thanksgiving to the Super Bowl to Independence Day. Mine came with all of the hats, so if you follow me on my socials, this won’t be the last time you see Giant Cardboard Slimer.
The details are phenomenal, and considering its age, the standee is in fantastic condition. As a well-documented klutz, I’m now living in permanent fear of the straw on Slimer’s juice box.
#43: Pizza Hut Monsters Box! (1992)
Back in 1992, Pizza Hut embraced the dark side with a pretty gigantic Universal Monsters promotion, offering everything from souped-up collector’s cups to neat hologram cards. The classic monsters enjoyed a retail renaissance throughout the ‘90s, and this was one of the fun side effects.
The best part of the promo, though, were the swank boxes Pizza Hut designed for their personal pan pizzas. Available with every kid’s meal, the boxes featured the whole creepy crew, right down to that extra-dramatic off-model Dracula. (That particular Drac was used on everything back then, to skirt any licensing issues with the Lugosi estate.)
#42: Toys “R” Us Circular! (1989)
Arriving with the Sunday paper in October of ‘89, this TRU circular betrays its age with a Batman costume, a Real Ghostbusters makeup kit, and that long-obsolete Starburst logo. It’s a treasure!
This was near the end of Toys “R” Us’s run as a true Halloween supercenter. When I was a kid, they’d have costumes from the floor to the ceiling, with every accessory and decoration you could want. They steered clear of the truly ghastly masks, but by and large, it was a one-stop shop.
Back then, dedicated Halloween stores were still rare to see, and driving to a “real” costume shop probably wasn’t high on your parents’ wishlist. It really came down to Toys “R” Us, Kmart, or your local pharmacy. So why not pick the one that also had fifteen aisles of action figures and video games? Read More…