Horror Roundtable Week Ninety-Six
Name the one horror prop you would most want to own.
Jeff O’Brien
The electrical gear from the doctor’s lab in Frankenstein…
One of those replica Nightmare on Elm St. gloves. I’ve got one of the cheap New Line plastic ones. And although they do have their own full metal version (seems like a possible liability issue to me) the real mamas are at NightmareGloves.com. Now THAT could kill a man. Which, ultimately, is probably why I shouldn’t have one :)
Sean - Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat
The Box, from Hellraiser. I know, I’m predictable.
Mark - Exclamation Mark’s SciFi/Horror Review
I’m envious of Bob Burns because he possesses the silver-headed wolf cane that Lon Chaney, Jr used to club Bela Lugosi to death in 1941’s The Wolf Man. By the way, it turns out the wolf head isn’t really silver at all, but vulcanized rubber.
Rony
Initially I thought of the wheelchair from The Changling but that would freak me out too much so I’m gonna say any severed zombie head from a Romero movie. They always look awesome!
My horror tastes run pretty far, so there are several, but if I had to narrow it down, probably the Blade puppet from the Puppet Master series. That guy was always my favorite in the movies. The good news is, there are Puppet Master action figures out… the bad news is, they’re probably long off the market by now.
Incidentally, a friend of mine would most likely say the puzzle box from Hellraiser. She said she’d love to show the movie to someone, then just bring the box out in the middle and start fiddling with it, play with their minds a little bit.
It is impossible for me to decide between an authentic Crawford Academy scarf from HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME and that giant slab of Stonehenge featured in HALLOWEEN 3 SEASON OF THE WITCH.
I’d like to take home 2 items from Shaun of the Dead. Neither are really horror related but I’d still like to have the jukebox from the Winchester and the vinyl copy of Second Coming by the Stone Roses. The Stone Roses are one of my favourite bands and I thought it was awesome when they snuck that reference into the film. Why would I want the jukebox? It plays Queen randomly. That’s good enough for me.
I want a Lemarchand box, of course. Doesn’t everyone? I’d settle for a nice replica, though. It’s cheaper that way, and much safer.
The whirling electrical devices from FRANKENSTEIN.
I think it would be super-cool to own the black gloves from a classic Argento giallo–or maybe the sculpture from TENEBRAE.
It’s at times like this when I part company with a great many members of the horror rank and file. I’m not really a collector and don’t desire to own pieces of my favorite movies. I’m glad Bob Burns has the articulated King Kong skeleton and The Time Machine and all those great movie props - I’m glad there’s a place for them, that they’re safe and protected from oblivion (however much they may be rotting from time and the elements).
If I were to be given something from a horror movie, something to cherish, I think it would have to be small and possibly even insignificant, like the sock that Dwight Frye stops to pull up in FRANKENSTEIN or Bela Lugosi’s DRACULA ring or Leatherface’s necktie or the St. Christopher’s medal from THE EXORCIST.
Another side of me (the one who laughs at me from the mirror) would kill for one of Burt Schoenberg’s creepy family portraits from Corman’s HOUSE OF USHER. (Someone’s got those goddamn things and they will turn up some day, believe you me.) And finally, if the fang that Barbara Shelley swallowed during the filming of DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS were to make its way to me, I would wear it around my neck until my dying day.
Norman Bates’ stuffed owl (no that isn’t a euphemism). The one that lords over his head when he spies on Janet Leigh in the shower. I’ve always wanted a taxidermy collection of my own, and that’d be its crown jewel.
Tiffany Shepis.
Retropoliltan - Tales To Astonish
Part of me would really like to own the Lament Configuration/Lemarchand Box from Hellraiser, since I’ve always really admired the design and overall look of it; on the other hand, I’ve never really been all that involved with that series, so it would be mostly a matter of aesthetics. Also, having a door to a dimension of endless pain is great for parties.
Really, though, I’ve always wanted lab props from the original Frankenstein. I’m a Universal Monster nut, and while my heart belongs to Wolf-Man, that silver-topped cane doesn’t hold a candle to panels with lots and lots of switches and sparks and stuff. I swear, when I get my hands on some mad scientist props, my kitchen will have the greatest lightswitch of all time.
The crucifix from THE EXORCIST. I know that there are a few of them in the film, but, you know… THAT crucifix. If only for the theatrics, of course.
Dave - Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir
Pin! If I could have any horror prop, it would be the creepier-than-creepy life-sized anatomy doll Pin, from the Canadian horror film of the same name. He could sit in a chair at my place and greet guests, ensure me a spot in the car-pool lane and give me all sorts of great life advice. “Why yes, Pin, you’re right, The Horror Blog is cutting into our alone time, maybe I should have very stern talk with Steve…”
Vomit fangs, vague threats and the objectification of women. Only four more Roundtables to go, and I miss it already. Thanks to all the collect gnomes who participated in this orgy of consumerism, and if you have similiar desires, please feel free to jot them down in the comments below.
April 25th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
“Only four more Roundtables to go”
Wait…what?
April 25th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Arbogast,
HOUSE OF USHER paintings!, great pick, wish I thought of that!!!!
April 26th, 2008 at 7:19 am
I’m not one for movie memorabilia myself but if I could own something from a favorite film, I think the gynecological instruments for operating on mutant women from DEAD RINGERS would make for a cool but unobtrusive addition to the household. I bet they could open up a bag of chips like nobody’s business!
And anything PSYCHO-related would be welcome, too. Specifically the Bates Motel guest book where Marion Crane signed her name for the last time. I also wouldn’t mind having those creepy clasped hands that sit on Mother’s dressing table.
April 26th, 2008 at 7:25 am
…Well, where Marion Crane signed her name as “Marie Samuels” I should say.
April 26th, 2008 at 10:22 am
The box from Hellraiser would be awesome. I’d also love to have the scary clown doll from Poltergeist. Or the knife from Evil Dead 2.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:24 am
There’s a really fantastic Grim Reaper statue in the Tennessee Williams gothic drama “Suddenly Last Summer” that appears in someone’s garden, and also on a lonely hilltop where beggar children devour sexual predators.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:37 am
I’d go back to the ’31 Frankenstein, too, but no lab gizmos for me, and Arbo can have Fritz’ sock. I want that standup skeleton from the cemetery scene, hooded like the Blind Dead and holding a sword like an Oscar statuette. That thing creeped me out and I’d love to have it in my back yard.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
the hellriser box would kool.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Got a couple here, in no particular order:
The original flying driller sphere or finger in the box from the first PHANTASM.
The demon prop or the rune parchment from Curse of the Demon (’57.)
The human skin Book of the Dead from the first Evil Dead, or the skull knife.
The comic book prop from Creepshow.
The car from The Car (’77.)
May 4th, 2008 at 1:27 am
Aw maaan! Why’s the roundtable going away?? :(
Boo!
lol
Oh and umm.. I think I’d like to have one of those badass 80’s leather jackets featured in The Lost Boys ;-)
May 5th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I would love to own the Space Jockey sculpture from the first Alien movie. Do you remember that scene?
May 28th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I would have to say a Camp Arawak t-shirt from the first Sleep Away Camp movie, the machete from Dawn of the Dead (you know what I’m talking about), or the head of Mrs Vorhees from Friday the 13th Part 2.