A Tribute To The 'Haunted Village' of My Childhood

I remember back when I was a kid, oh around the age of 10 or 11 years old, I would collect holiday light-up figurines. These light-up figurines would only be bought during Christmas and Halloween and you can guess which was my favorite holiday. Well, during a massive period in my life where I was going through some trouble… these figurines broke and were lost in my house. It’s sad because I loved them so much and as a young sketch artist I would love to draw the buildings. Now, one lays in pieces in my childhood home’s bathroom and the rest are gone. I have no idea what the name of the figurine collection is or where I can find them but I would love to get back in touch with the figurines that somehow shaped who I am. Their detailed and imaginative beautify that is reminiscent of any Tim Burton movie and German Expressionist film. They were truly spooky in a childish way but that’s why I love them.

There is only once place that has photos of these little figurines and it’s taken from a website that has only half of the ones that I remember. A site called My Mania has photos of these figurines and I would love to know where I could buy them. Now, because this site has a lot of figurines that I never had I only want to show you the ones that I did have and if you want to see the others you can click on the aforementioned link.

I did not have the pirate ship that went with them but I remember I had these wacky looking skeleton mermaids and for some reason they always freaked me out. Perhaps it’s because they were all bone or the fact that their tongues were sticking out.

I had the tornado in the graveyard and as a kid I was always fascinated by it considering this was also during a time in which I went through my weather stage in life. I remember I used to hang little tiny Halloween light bulbs on the wire rims it and my cat would always jump up and bat them right off. Next to it you’ll see a pumpkin sitting on a tower. Now… I can’t be sure but I believe that was a hotel but I’ll always remember that building because it was my personal favorite next to the casino and it reminded me of something that belonged in Jack Skellington’s world.

Another one of my personal favorites was the Midnight Café. Why? Because it was in the shape of a cat. It sort of resembled the buildings you would find in the TV show CatDog since the building was in the shape of what they sold inside. Again, I found the architecture to be very light-hearted in a campy sort of way.

Here you’ll see another cat-like building and to the right you’ll see the Spooky Dentist. I never had the pleasure of buying them due to financial difficulties but I remember thumbing through a Jo-Anne Fabrics catalog and circling them to show my mom.

This is the close up of the Spooky Dentist. I saw it once on eBay but I didn’t buy it because it was a ripoff. Still, I remember wanted it as a kid and if I ever do get the money I would pay for it.

There was also one other figurine that was my absolute favorite and it was a haunted casino. I can’t remember the exact name of it but it was the one that I kept closest to my bed because I loved the way it looked. I believe it had a Roulette wheel and slot machines with skulls on it but… I can’t remember. If anybody knows of the collection that these belong to or where I can find these figurines, it would be deeply appreciated!