Author Topic: Kooky Spookys  (Read 83323 times)

Bogey

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #30 on: August 25, 2008, 05:52:40 PM »
Loved them as a kid....and would love to score one in the future for the shelf.  However, the price is usually quite high.  Nice purchase, and thanks for the pic.

Gasport

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #31 on: August 25, 2008, 10:36:21 PM »
Ah yes, one of my all time favorite toys. I still remember finding my Brother Mortimer at Bob Scott's 5 & 10 in Syosset, NY in 1968. Wish i had went back and bought the whole set, but i thought this one to be the coolest of the bunch at the time. Here he is 40 years later....





GodzillaGirl

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #32 on: September 09, 2008, 06:10:28 PM »
It's so nice to find others who remember Kooky Spookys!  I discovered them when I was a kid living in Japan back in the early '70s.  My father was in the U.S. Air Force and while my family was stationed at Chofu Air Base (sadly closed many years ago), we used to make special trips to the U.S. Naval Base in Yokohama.  The BX (Base Exchange, like a department store for military personnel) was enormous and had the coolest toy section.  I clearly remember seeing a couple of shelves stocked with all those wonderful Kooky Spooky boxes.  Of course, I wanted one of each character, but as I recall they were kind of pricey even for the '70s.  I think they were about $3 a piece or more, and there was no way my parents were going to spend over 20 bucks on silly little finger puppets for me!  We were not exactly poor, but we certainly didn't have a lot of money while my father was in the military.  Anyway, I was forced to make one of the most difficult decisions of my entire childhood:  I had to choose only one Kooky Spooky!  I stood there for quite a long time, studying each character very carefully, picking up the boxes one by one, trying to weigh the pros and cons of each Kooky Spooky.  I immediately eliminated Baby Spook'em since he was the smallest, and I think I rejected Teena Terror and Mama Kaskit because they looked a little bit too much like a hippies and I was afraid of hippies back then (hey, I was only 6 years old, so I didn't know any better...and please don't do the age math!)  So it came down to Cousin Mortimer, Grandma Macreak and Daddy Booregard.  Mortimer had that kickass banjo and Grandma had the sweet umbrella, but for some reason I selected Daddy Booregard.  I can't remember why.  I guess I was attracted to his clock and gold chain.  Naturally, by the time we made another trip to Yokohama, the Kooky Spookys were sold out and were never available again.  The packaging is long gone of course, but Daddy Booregard is still with me, all original and totally intact.  It remains one of my most treasured childhood toys.  I had long ago forgotten they were called Kooky Spookys, but I always knew they were special toys.  I never saw them again in any toy store, thrift shop or yard sale, so I remained clueless about Kooky Spookys for many years (of course, that's BI, "Before Internet").  It was actually only a few months ago that I found out the details on these Hasbro gems, and now I'm (slightly) obsessed with trying to obtain an entire set.  I guess I've always felt cheated that I couldn't buy them all when I was a kid.  I've seen them on eBay once in awhile, but so far I've been outbid on every auction.  (Someone recently listed 3 mint condition KS's unopened in their original boxes!)  Depending on the condition, I've bid upwards of $250, but there are definitely people out there who are willing to pay a lot more for Kooky Spookys than I am.  Oh well, I'll get them all one day...oh yes...they will be mine!

poseablemonster

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #33 on: September 10, 2008, 11:50:21 AM »
Neat story, GG.  I love how these little ghosts had a tendency to become such special and treasured childhood memories for people.  They have a certain special quality that few toys ever stack up to.  I think the Colorforms Outer Spacemen are also in this category of treasured childhood toys.  For whatever reason; they just stick with you throughout your life.

GodzillaGirl

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #34 on: September 10, 2008, 04:20:15 PM »
Neat story, GG.  I love how these little ghosts had a tendency to become such special and treasured childhood memories for people.  They have a certain special quality that few toys ever stack up to.  I think the Colorforms Outer Spacemen are also in this category of treasured childhood toys.  For whatever reason; they just stick with you throughout your life.

I was also quite shocked to discover how incredibly rare and collectible Kooky Spookys have become.  I did think they might be a bit hard to find, but I never imagined they would end up selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay.  Definitely an "under the radar" toy!

Bogey

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #35 on: September 10, 2008, 10:17:08 PM »
I was also quite shocked to discover how incredibly rare and collectible Kooky Spookys have become.  I did think they might be a bit hard to find, but I never imagined they would end up selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay.  Definitely an "under the radar" toy!

The same.  However, it may be one of those that you might find in an old antique shop that has not gone the way of the internet yet for a decent price.....though most have dried up, there are still a few tucked away.

Therin of Andor

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #36 on: January 31, 2009, 04:44:15 AM »
I have a very similar Kooky Spooky story to tell. A tale of yearning. They came out just before Christmas - we were so impressed with the concept of luminous finger puppets, and were even more impressed with how well they glowed! It was certainly the time for glowing toys. I think it was the same year I received the "Green Ghost" game for my birthday a few weeks earlier.

I selected Grandma for my Christmas wish list (but also wanted Daddy B), my brother loved Brother Mortimer (but was happy with a Teena if we were allowed to have two each), and my little brother, who was very young at the time, received Baby Spook'em, but we were also hoping for him to get Mama as well. Well, we did only get one character each, and they were all sold out by the next Easter, so we missed completing the family. I recall we even made haunted houses out of Easter egg box pacakaging, in anticipation of my grandmother finally tracking us down the missing three ghosts for out set.

Over time, I sort of forgot what Daddy, Mama and Teena looked like, and I was shocked to finally see pics on the Internet in the 90s. We definitely received the best three. My Grandma's unbrella eventually broke, but she now carries a paper cocktail umbrella! Spook'em lost his sign, but Mortimer still has his banjo. At one point, I recall touching up the red lines on the banjo, and the pink frills on Spook'em and Grandma, with felt-tipped pens, but the alterations have faded away, and the three figures are in excellent condition. Unlike so many other luminous toys, they've never lost their powers.

I also remember "Glow Globs" arriving in Australia in the late 60s/early 70s. One was shaped like a greenish ghost. My brothers and I often wondered if we could try making the three characters we were missing out of Glow Globs. Never did buy a packet, though, even when I found a packet in a store many years later. (Advertised at the same time was a glow-in-the-dark paint, "Glow Juice", from the same company.)

We used to play a very rough "Kooky Spookys" game with the two girls next door. We'd bring the ghosts over, leaving the accessories safe at home, charge 'em up under their bedroom light while eating dinner, then turn out the lights, shut the door, pull the blinds, and throw the ghosts - very hard, at each other - while in total darkness. Often the game would stop while we retrieved a ghost from behind a wardrobe or on a high shelf. Sometime we worried we'd lost one for good.

Another memory: a little girl we used to babysit in the late 70s fell in love with our Kooky Spookys but no way were we handing them over. But... cosmetics company, Avon, produced a tube of lip balm with a little green glowing ghost finger puppet, which slid over the tube. My Mom ordered her a ghost from the Avon catalog. It made a great, unofficial, extra family member!

I'm surprised no retro toy company has resurrected Kooky Spookys. Yet. So much else from the 60s has made a comeback at some point. I loved those preliminary sketches for the original set of eight (upthread)! Too cool!
http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2006/12/purple-and-gold-in-1975-okay-so-i-was.html
Thiptho lapth,

Regards, Ian.

ChrisW

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #37 on: January 31, 2009, 11:54:57 AM »
Pretty cool little toys. I have only the vaguest of memories of them. Like Godzillagirl said, they are the kind of toy you just might luck across in an antique/collectible shop aomewhere...

Toy Ranch

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #38 on: January 31, 2009, 12:02:31 PM »
We got an email from someone who has a bunch of the Kooky Spooky designer's estate items and spoke with her kids for some background.  Here's an excerpt she wanted to give us some background on...

the story is, that the first shipment was not as large as the demand the toys created.
the displays and the  way the toys were seen in the stores, made them sell out very quickly.

the second shipment was probably even larger than the first, because of the popularity and quick sell out, but the ship (whether the actual ship or a transport of some kind in the harbor) sank or almost sank.
none the less, the kooky spookys were water soaked.  the boxes were destroyed as you might imagine, but the spooks were salvaged and put into plastic bags to distribute.
the family was even aware of the fact that there were some where you would even find sand inside some of the bags. (probably caught inside the spooks. )

ChrisW

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #39 on: January 31, 2009, 12:03:42 PM »
Wild! I love back stories like that!

Therin of Andor

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #40 on: January 31, 2009, 05:44:17 PM »
kooky spookys were water soaked.  the boxes were destroyed as you might imagine, but the spooks were salvaged and put into plastic bags to distribute.
the family was even aware of the fact that there were some where you would even find sand inside some of the bags. (probably caught inside the spooks. )

Amazing! These days insurance would preclude any salvaging, I'd imagine.

I'm really surprised these toys haven't had a retro release, like the current Mego ST figures.
Thiptho lapth,

Regards, Ian.

raycastile

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #41 on: January 31, 2009, 09:27:22 PM »
That explains the bagged one that turned up a few years ago.  I remember us discussing it.
Raymond Castile

imagineerie

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #42 on: January 31, 2009, 09:45:32 PM »
I love these!  I'm not really sure if I remember them or not.  Some of the toys you guys uncover would have been from a twilight time in my life, making is easy for me to have a false memory.  Of course, if these guys had commercials, I would certainly have been exposed to them and that could be the memory!
I do know that my love for paper models stems from some commercial from my early childhood (late 60s, early 70s) that showed a fold-out haunted house.  I wanted it soooo bad, but never got it, or remember what it was.  This might be it.
"Uh--Mother-- m-my mother, uh--what is the phrase?--she isn't quite herself today."

Monster Bob

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #43 on: February 01, 2009, 12:00:22 AM »



Weebles Haunted House?

Barlow

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Re: Kooky Spookys
« Reply #44 on: February 01, 2009, 03:11:53 AM »
Therin, here's a pic of the Avon ghost standing next to Brother Mortimer. He did make a nice addition to the family.  :)


 

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