6 Creepy Childhood Toys That Terrified Kids for Generations

Most kids grow up with normal childhood fears, such as monsters under their beds or being alone in the dark. However, one thing that kids don’t expect to keep them up at night is the toys they play with. Yet throughout the years, a surprising number of playthings have earned a reputation for being more freaky than fun, leaving generations of children equal parts fascinated and terrified.

Monkeys with musical instruments, clowns hiding in colorful boxes, and puppets with a penchant for violence made playtime a bit more edgy and possibly created more anxiety than fun. Here, we look back at some of the most frightening childhood toys and games and how they came to be.

1 Cymbal Chimp

While the cymbal-banging monkey toy has gone by a lot of names — including Jolly Chimp and Charley Chimp — since its debut around the early 1950s, its most recognizable features are his red-striped pants, red-ringed eyes, and the terror that often followed his abrupt, random cymbal clanging. He’s actually a movie star in his own right, appearing in several films and even starring in his own film, appropriately titled The Monkey, based on the short story by Stephen King and directed by Osgood Perkins.

2 Jack-in-the-Box

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Cue the creepy windup music … “All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought ’twas all in fun. Pop! Goes the weasel!”

Well, the monkey was wrong. There was nothing fun about being scared out of your wits when that creepy clown finally popped out of that box.

3 Punch & Judy puppets

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These puppets get their roots from 16th-century Italy, but the first recorded appearance was on May 9, 1662, in England. This is a traditional puppet show consisting of short scenes, and performances are staged all over the world. If their appearance alone wasn’t enough to keep kids up at night, the violent nature of the Punch and Judy puppets sure is. Over the years, concerned parents, schools, and commentators have argued that the violent nature of the puppets is not appropriate for children. Despite their best efforts, the puppets remain popular in Europe.

4 Ouija Board

Born of America’s burgeoning fascination with spiritualism in the late 19th century, Ouija boards have been the stuff of amateur séances, sleepover nightmares, and declarations of “You’re moving it … no, you are!” since 1891. Other names for this supernatural toy include “spirit board” or “talking board”.

5 Dolls

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We’re not talking Cabbage Patch Kids or Barbie dolls here. We’re talking those old dolls with the porcelain heads, glass eyes, and sinister stares that seem to follow you throughout any room. We’re also talking the likes of movie-star dolls like Chucky from Child’s Play and Annabelle from The Conjuring and its sequels, the braided bizarro who’s based on a real haunted Raggedy Ann doll. (Annabelle will soon be residing in her new home on Essex Street in Salem, Mass.) Even The Twilight Zone dedicated an episode to a deviant doll with 1963’s “Living Doll,” where we met Talky Tina and her famed warning: “You’ll be sorry!” Also, we can’t forget about the 1975 TV movie Trilogy of Terror, with Karen Black being terrorized by a feral-looking warrior doll or 1987’s cult classic Dolls, where a legion of toys — led by Mr. Punch — take down a family.

6 Operation

Dating back to the mid 1940s, the game now known as Operation was once called “Electro Probe” (which just sounds terrifying!) and is still played by kids all over the world. The game consists of using tweezers to take out little pieces from inside the body-shaped board, but be careful, if you bump the edges with your tweezers, not only will you hear a loud, annoying buzz, but the game also shocks you. This game separates those who can stay calm under pressure from those who don’t.

Additional writing by Barb Oates. Portions of this article ran in the October 2019 issue of ReMIND Magazine. It can be purchased at the link below.

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