Crestwood House Monsters- The Mummy

Friday night is the time for frights, aight? Going down our weekly look at the legendary children's book series by Crestwood House as we enter a summer holiday here in the US, I figure The Mummy would be pretty appropriate. It's so hot I'll be walking like old Imhotep by the end of the weekend and smelling like baby powder. Summer is a Spooky Season and nothing is more terrifying than chaffing. Ow.

It looks like the full book is in the preview this time, but if you want to download it to your phone or tablet for free, follow the link in the viewer.

I've always been more partial to Karis than Imhotep as far as the Universal Mummies go. Whenever you think of a traditional Mummy, you're thinking of Karis. Imhotep just left his tomb is the bandages and went about sorcery. I generally like Karis's movies better too. Though there on all the Universal Monsters signage, there's Imhotep. I'd say it's because Imhotep was in the original and Karis was in all the sequels (not counting remakes). But Jason wasn't the killer in the original Friday the 13th either. It's not fair. Karis, I appreciate you man.  Just wanted you to know that dude.

Crestwood House Monsters: The Creature From The Black Lagoon

Hey, it's Friday night and you know what that means? Well, for a little bit, something different. Variety is the spice of life. Gnaw meen brah? I thought we'd spend a few Friday nights going over the much beloved Crestwood House Monsters book series. I was just a kid who loved robots and monsters (and misadventure!). Sometimes when your a kid it's hard to enjoy the things you love. Especially in the 80's and 90's. I sure the decades before had the same problem, but I can only speak from my own viewpoint. Duh.

The weekly trip to the school library often was an outlet for the very things I wanted to enjoy. Random paranormal books were always present, as were comic strip collections. But what was really a winner on those dusty shelves was the Crestwood House Monsters. Little hardback books individually focusing on a classic monster. I loved these and reread them over and over. I'd love to have a set of my own one day, thankfully they're available online. For free even, not late fee's or anything. No foolin' mister.

We're going to start off with a personal favorite of mine, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. My love for the Universal Monsters isn't a secret around here. The ghoulish gang have been around forever and find their way on a ton of stuff. The Gillman was one of the last of the monsters (if you don't count Chucky) and one of the more unique. He never appeared with the others officially (Monster Squad really skirted around legalities) and has always stood out to me. There's a limited preview of the book above and if you feel like reading the entire thing, it's free to do so (just follow the links).