#360 REAL GHOSTBUSTERS – HAUNTED HUMANS (Part I) (1988)

The Haunted Humans, or “Les Cache Demons” (French) or “Bezeten Buurtbewoners” (Dutch) are six figures in the second wave of Kenner’s Real Ghostbusters.

They are figures that look like humans, but that hide a monster inside. The first three will be presented now, the other three will have to wait a little, since I still need one to complete the series. So today: Granny Gross (a nice old lady), Mail Fraud (the postman) and Tombstone Tackle (the football player)

I’ll start with Mail Fraud, since it was my very first figure in this collection. I already recalled how I got this figure in the first entry dedicated to the Real Ghostbusters. A friend of mine picked Peter Venkman, and I picked this one, since it seemed much funnier to me, and I still think, the transformation from human to monster is amazing! For this reason, the figure has a special value for me. By pulling up his upper body, the monster reveals itself with huge jaws were the belly was, eyes in the pocket of the shirt and the tie turns to some kind of nose. If this was not enough, you can pull the hat (or the trousers) down to see how the jaws close and open. It is so funny! Arms are articulated, but not the head or the legs.

The bad part is that the figure has a weak mechanism, and the peg that holds the upper body up (in monster mode) tends to break. That is my case, so I took a toothpick and cut it in the exact length to hold the body from behind. It works fine.

 Granny Gross is a nice old woman, with her nice dress and her bonnet (hat). This figure has again articulated arms, but not the head or the legs. In this case, the front part of the dress opens to reveal giant jaws with a moving tongue, the bonnet goes up revealing a third big eye, the other two eyes pop out of the head, and a part of inner part of the mouth can be seen from outside (including the uvula!). The transformation is also amazing!

The weak point of this figure is the paint loss in the eye behind the bonet and the sun damage in the white parts, that tend to go yellow. The figure also moves its teeth, by pressing the head.

And finally, Tombstone Tackle, quite an impressive figure for its size, it’s really big. This figure is the most articulated in the series, with moving arms and legs. It was necessary to include articulation on the legs, so the figure could bent a bit forward. From its back, comes some kind of terrible mouth. The eyes of the creature are hidden on the number on the t-shirt. Also interesting is some kind of alien on the tongue, which can be moved by moving the head of the figure.

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: GRANNY GROSS, MAIL FRAUD and TOMBSTONE TACKLE
• Alternate Names: MAMY BEURK, FACTEUR CROQUEUR and ARMOIRE-À-GLACE (French) / GRIEZELIG GROOTJE, GHOST POST and BRULLENDE BRANUESCHOPPER (Dutch)
• Toy Line: THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (Wave 2)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 12 to 18 cm