It can be a daunting task to rank the top ten best Halloween toys of all time. Thankfully, the team behind the excellent Netflix series The Toys That Made Us have gone ahead and put together a pretty stellar list, saving everybody some time. As with most lists, there will be some personal favorites that didn't make the cut, which may mean that personal lists will have to be made in time for next year's Halloween.
Coming in at number ten on The Toys That Made Us best Halloween toys list is the aptly titled Halloween Monster. According to the experts, this toy was repurposed from another design called the Soma Monster Man from the mid-80s. The Halloween Monster was available for a brief time, and only at Walmart in the early 1990s. At number nine on their list is the awesome 1962 Haunted House three dimensional board game. The game is a three story house that players have to get all the way through, dodging bats, trap doors, and other creatures. The game was way ahead of its time, and is truly a Halloween classic.
Number eight on The Toys That Made Us top Halloween toys is the 1982 Epoch Dracula handheld video game. While crude by today's standards, the experts claim that this one still stands up to this day. Players have to obtain the gold from Dracula's coffin while fighting off bats and the Wolfman. Number seven on the list is McFarlane's 1998 Monsters Playsets, which were heavily detailed. The sets are highly collectible, with whole used sets being sold anywhere from $200 to nearly $400 on third-party sites.
Number six on The Toys That Made Us best Halloween toys list is the iconic Play-Doh Count Creepyhead Playset. This well take some horror fans back to childhood, and is also highly collectible these days. Who doesn't like creating monsters and then tearing them apart? As for number five, that goes to one of the biggest horror icons in history: Mr. Freddy Krueger. Matchbox's 18" Talking Freddy from 1989 is a must-have for any self-respecting Freddy fan. They're not too difficult to find these days, and often go for around $100 used.
Mego's Mad Monster Series from the 1970s takes number four on The Toys That Made Us best Halloween toys list. According to the experts, these Dracula, Wolfman, Dr. Frankenstein, and Mummy toys are some of the best ever created. They can still be found today, starting at prices as low as $20. Number three is the McDonalds Halloween McNugget Buddies, which made their debut in 1992. They were also the stars of the fast food giant's October promotional campaign, and they are sorely missed these days.
Number two on The Toys That Made Us list of best Halloween toys goes to the Remco Mini Monsters, and their epic Mini Monster Playcase. The set contains the classic Universal Monsters and can be purchased for around $200 used and upwards of $300 sealed in the box. As for the number one spot, the team has yet to reveal the highly coveted spot as of this writing, so keep checking back for that. For now, you can check out the nine toys on the list below, thanks to The Toys That Made Us Twitter account.
Top 10 Halloween Toys
- 1. Mystery Toy
- 2. Remco Mini Monsters
- 3. McDonald's Halloween McNugget Buddies
- 4. Mego's Mad Monster Series
- 5. Matchbox's 18" Talking Freddy Krueger doll
- 6. Play-Doh Count Creepyhead Playset
- 7. McFarlane's 1998 Monsters Playsets
- 8. Epoch's Dracula handheld video game
- 9. Ideal's Haunted House 3D board game
- 10. Halloween Monster
Repurposed from the Soma Monster Man line originally sold at Woolworths, these Halloween Monsters appeared briefly at Wal-Mart during the early '90s. With an ambiguously elemental aesthetic and classically spooky card-art, they kick off our TOP 10 HALLOWEEN TOYS!! pic.twitter.com/TuecmyJsKY
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 23, 2018
#9 for our TOP 10 HALLOWEEN TOYS COUNTDOWN is Haunted House, released by Ideal in 1962, this board game allowed up to 4 players to venture through an elaborate, three-dimensional haunted mansion, complete with hidden doors, pop-out ghosts and vampires, even Frankenstein's monster pic.twitter.com/S5AsPiFnKe
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 24, 2018
Flying in at #8 on our Top Ten Halloween Toy Countdown is Dracula, a table-top electronic game released by Epoch in 1982. #Dracula challenged players to find the gold hidden in his coffin, while battling vampire bats & the wolfman! Epoch's Dracula is truly timeless!#TTTMU#Toyspic.twitter.com/xlK24WBlen
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 25, 2018
Rearing their ghastly heads at #7 on our Top 10 Halloween Toys Countdown are the McFarlane Monsters Playsets from 1998! The '90s saw an unprecedented resurgence of interest in the classic Universal Monsters, with everything from stamps, VHS re-releases and lots of monster toys... pic.twitter.com/QkVHWNXL7y
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 25, 2018
Squeezing it's way into the Top 10 Halloween Toys Countdown at #6 is the Play-Doh Count Creepyhead Playset! For the Halloween season, there's nothing better than using a Dr. Phibes-like ghoul to create (and then tear off) classic monster faces!#TheToysThatMadeUspic.twitter.com/MHIzmuVKeU
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 27, 2018
We wouldn't dream of doing a Halloween Toy Countdown without a slasher icon like Freddy making an appearance! Freddy Krueger may be a staple of horror toys nowadays, but back in 1989 when Matchbox released their 18" Talking Freddy, parents were terrified when they it! pic.twitter.com/YJ1G5yCFwY
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 27, 2018
Throughout the '70s, monster toys were everywhere! Most were based on Universal's horror pantheon, and quite often they were unlicensed. While many toys of this era are fondly remembered, it's Mego's Mad Monster Series that truly stands a head above the rest!#thetoysthatmadeuspic.twitter.com/N4NagY3SWD
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 28, 2018
Our #3 pick on the Halloween Toy Countdown, it's the McDonalds Halloween McNugget Buddies! For years, millions of kids eagerly anticipated an exciting new toy along with their Happy Meal. These spooky McNugget Buddies first appeared in 1992 & have been in our hearts ever since! pic.twitter.com/TBuCrWtbE5
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 30, 2018
It's Halloween Eve, so that must mean we're down to #2 on our Halloween Toy Countdown! Our penultimate pick, the Remco Mini Monsters, & their epic Mini Monster Playcase, is everything we love most about monster toys!#TheToysThatMadeUs#Season3#ComingSoon#Halloween#SpookyToyspic.twitter.com/n8BnQNoKHx
— Toys That Made Us (@toysthatmadeus) October 31, 2018