It turns out that June was a very good month to be a horrifying child’s accessory. Some of the scariest toys imaginable have taken over big screens in multiple wide releases. There’s the reimagining of Chucky in a Child’s Play remake featuring Mark Hamill as the murderous little buddy’s new voice, as well as another installment in the Annabelle franchise that’s sure to have audiences jumping whenever they see the old, cracked porcelain doll. The biggest surprise came in the form of Toy Story 4, which features one new character that is making audiences scream. Who ever thought that toys designed to make children smile could be such a great source of terror?
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Pretty much everyone who grew up surrounded by toys, actually. No matter how many stuffed animals and action figures might have made childhood a kinder, gentler time, there have always been misfires that implant the earliest nightmares in youthful dreams. It’s no coincidence that so many movies use toys to play for scares, just ask around and you’ll find that most millennials possess at least one not-so-fond memory of an inanimate object with cold, dead eyes watching them as they slept. That’s why we’re going back in time to look at some of the most terrifying toys ever, many of which were brought to life as little, fictional boogeymen and others who were sold to us as children.
10. Teddy Ruxpin (doll)
First Appearance: Worlds of Wonder (1985)
Shortly after the term “uncanny valley” was translated to English, Teddy Ruxpin charged right into that metaphorical setting. A limited set of moving facial features and vocabulary resulted in a toy that was supposed to act as a friend, but really just reminded children how inhuman it was. While Teddy was contained in a plush body, it wasn’t difficult for youngsters to see how robotic knowledge could lead to the creation of Skynet just as easily as playtime.
9. Slappy the Dummy (book)
First Appearance: Night of the Living Dummy (1993)
Slappy is a standout star from the expansive line of Goosebumps novels, something recognized in his starring role in the recent movie adaptations. What made Slappy such an effective villain for young readers was that he combined the unnatural form and slackjaw of a ventriloquist dummy with the mind of a serial killer. His cruelty plays out with the sort of dad-jokes that you would expect from a ventriloquist, making the effect even worse.
8. Midge (doll)
First Appearance: Mattel (1963)
It’s not difficult to see why this was a good idea on paper; Mattel wanted a new doll to show that their Barbie line wasn’t all about unreasonable body standards and consumerism. However, placing Midge in the role of the “mom doll” resulted in a design that resembled a vivisected pregnant woman. There’s a lot more appeal to young psychopaths in the gaping wound displaying the interior of Midge’s torso than to most young women.
7. The Puppet Master Puppets (film)
First Appearance: Puppet Master (1989)
The late ’80s were a great time for terrifying toy-related films with The Puppet Master following hot on the heels of Child’s Play. This collection of murderous toys is still impressive for their sadistic designs. Every single one was made to deliver at least one great kill for horror fans, and their appeal has continued to last amongst a cult audience ever since.
6. Annabelle (film)
First Appearance: Annabelle (2014)
Porcelain dolls are inherently creepy, and there’s probably a scientific study proving this as fact. Annabelle is the doll that took the inherent creepiness of this design in the modern day and transformed murderous subtext into plain text. Serial killers, dislodged souls, and other hijinks have filled this new horror franchise with plenty of great scares.
5. Cymbal-Banging Monkey (doll)
First Appearance: Daishin C.K. (circa 1950s)
The glaring red eyes. The clashing cymbals. The slowly shaking body. This toy was seemingly made for horror movies and has become shorthand in many films that something is about to go wrong. While the cymbal-banging monkey is rarely the threat, it captures a sense of uneasiness in its violent, noisy behavior. Whether you see this particular toy on screen or around the house, it’s sure to send shivers down your spine.
4. Bobo doll (psychological experiment)
First Appearance: Albert Bandura’s research (1961)
The Bobo doll, an inflatable clown that will return to its standing position whenever knocked over, isn’t inherently scary, but its experimental context is terrifying. Bandura used this doll to show how children engage in operant conditioning, learning to abuse and beat the Bobo doll by seeing adults do the same. It’s a valuable experiment and a creepy lesson in how violence is passed between generations.
3. Chucky (film)
First Appearance: Child’s Play (1988)
The original Child’s Play film was inspired by a similarly disturbing toy from real-life, a doll called My Buddy. Director Tom Holland and actor Brad Dourif turned that chilling effect way up in the ensuing franchise starring the murderous buddy Chucky, though. Infused with life by a voodoo ritual, Chucky is a sadistic predator who revels in making his kills as absurdly bloody as possible. Each new installment, including the new remake, have only grown Chucky’s terrifying reputation.
2. Furby (doll)
First Appearance: Tiger Electronics (1998)
The Furby took everything that made Teddy Ruxpin scary and made it far worse. These toys would awaken in the middle of the night to stare and coo at children, learning strange phrases and acting unexpectedly. It didn’t take long for them to become nightmare fuel for an entire generation. They were a lot more popular than Ruxpin, too, making them an inescapable part of pop culture in the late ’90s.
1. Sid’s Creations (film)
First Appearance: Toy Story (1995)
The mutilated toys that appear in the first Toy Story are plenty spooky on first glance, featuring baby doll heads and plenty of grotesque combinations. However, it’s what they reveal that makes them the scariest toys on this list. Sid’s various creations aren’t the villains of Toy Story; they’re victims who sought to bring joy to children, but were instead tortured by an adolescent boy. They make it clear that the real monster is a human being, someone like Sid who delights in cruelty and likely resembles plenty of ordinary people we already know.
