When I was a kid, it seemed like every boy my age was into monsters. Of course, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and UFOs were huge back then. Plus, your standard monsters (i.e. Frankenstein, King Kong, Godzilla, Dracula, The Mummy, etc.) were also hot topics on the elementary school playground. Attribute it if you like, to a natural consequence of our parents' fascination with the occult and the horror genre during the seventies. Or perhaps it was just a continuation of the monster love generated by Famous Monsters of Filmland enjoyed by the Boomers since 1958. Whatever the cause, the fact was undeniable - boys of the early seventies were obsessed with monsters.
Of all the monster products back then (Aurora monster figures, Cracked monster special issues, Creepy and Eerie magazines, etc., etc.), for some reason I latched on to a little book called Movie Monsters: Monster Make Up and Monster Shows to Put On by Alan Ormsby. I read the shit out of that book - cover to cover many times, and would savor every page. It's very peculiar considering I never once put on a monster show or even once wore monster make up.
It's a mystery why I loved it so much, but there's no accounting for the tastes of an eight year old. At any rate, I feel compelled to share this obscure little book with the readers of Retrospace. So, here it is. Enjoy.
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