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In last week's look at the Monster Cereals, I made a startling discovery . The semi- scary Count Chocula and Frankenberry of my childhood have been replaced by a cuddly Frank, who more closely resembles a stuffed toy than the creation of a madman, and an equally P.C. Count whose fangs are, let's face it, less imposing than Bugs Bunny's chompers.
My longing for the older, creepier versions of my cereal-endorsing friends brought to mind another monster-endorsed snack from my childhood. Remember those powdery, white candy sticks you used to get in your Hallowe'en loot every year- they were flat, oblong sugar sticks that looked deceptively like gum, with faint, pink impressions of monsters (and sometimes Popeye, I think. At any rate, the designs came about as close to resembling actual characters as Scarios or Zoodles pasta shapes did). It was actually a pretty lousy candy, but, as any kid could see, the real attraction here was the packaging. Each Monster Candy box featured a color background with a simple black-and white graphic of a vampire, mummy or Frankenstein-style monster. In retrospect, even the packaging art was pretty awful, but, when you're five, finding a monster product aimed at your age group that isn't plagued by "Sesame Street"-style cuteness is impressive in itself. I did not give up hope that these candies might be still on the market until after performing a fairly extensive web search. Unlike licorice cigars, candy cigarettes (a few brands of which, incidentally, also used to feature cool monster motifs ), and a few other Hallowe'en treats from the past, monster candy did not seem like a concept that could have become terribly dated. Unfortunately, it appears that the candies were discontinued around the time I would have been receiving them for treats, and are now relegated to the realm of "collector's items". I have seen ads asking as much as $9 American for a set of five boxes, which I'm sure could have originally sold for no more than a couple of cents each. One regrettable side effect of my quest for monster candy on the web, however, was the discovery of what the candy aisle currently has in store for unsuspecting monster fans. One of my more disturbing discoveries is something called a Monster Mouth. These candy suckers are available in a variety of creepy motifs, but I think its safe to assume that the one responsible for the most nightmares is the officially-licenced Jar-Jar Binks version. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Hallowe'en Treats #2 Candy of the Damned in Monster Legends is owned by Sarah Davis. Permission to republish Hallowe'en Treats #2 Candy of the Damned in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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