“My Dad picked out the costumes for my sister and me, and purchased Kooky Spooks for both of us. The makeup for the skin burned and itched…We were…mortified to been seen in public with the inflatable Kooky heads.” Tia for The Guardian
NOTE: When this post was first published in 2016, sources of all photos were cited via links. Some of those links are now broken or otherwise unavailable.
I have no memory of Kooky Spooks costumes. I had to share the image below on Facebook just to find out exactly what was going on in the picture. I guess I missed out on this innovative use of beach ball technology. 😁
Kooky Spooks, as the pictures indicate, featured a giant blow-up head. Kids could choose from several different characters including a black cat, an orange pumpkin, and a green monster. All the inflatable heads featured cute bulging eyes. Some costumes featured ears, horns, legs, and tentacles. The costumes also featured:
- Water-base makeup
- Rugged 8 gage vinyl
- Safety Hi-glow reflective tape
- Comfort control air cap (adjustable!)
There were nine zany costumes. Here were their names:
- Wunkin Punkin
- Woblin Goblin
- Scardy Cat
- Wonder Witch
- Howly Owl
- Spacey Casey
- Bone Head
- Scary Spider
- Wonder Witch
The Kooky Spooks were heavily marketed but didn’t stick around long. The short little capes may have been their demise. They look like restaurant bibs on some of these older kids. 😄
Source This picture features Wonder Witch and a poor kid wearing black face paint.
Hoblin Goblin
Source | Scardy Cat!
Kooky Spooks Commercial
Check out this commercial from 1981. These things were so fun — and handy. If you’re ever in a plane crash, you could use it as a flotation device.
So funny! I was Scardy Cat at 9 years old. I do remember the face paint itching like hell. But it sure was a giggle fest getting in and out of the back seat of our little Chevette with this thing bonking around like crazy. (I grew up in a rural area – we had to drive to trick or treat. LOL)
LOL! So funny. Great story. Thanks for sharing. The Chevette really made it real. I totally remember those. Have a Happy Halloween!!
I believe there were 11 costumes, you left out Ishy Bat and Kooky Klown. You had Ishy Bat titled Scardy Cat. Scardy Cat is the yellow costume that its face looks like a Cat and usually the individual’s face is painted yellow. Ishy Bat is the costume you titled Scardy Cat, it has orange wings on both sides of its head, which is hard to see. I was Ishy Bat back in 1980, minus the black face paint. It’s very confusing and easy to get the images mixed up. I actually thought there were only 9 costumes until I came across Kooky Klown and Bone Head. They did seem to debut in 1979 and were popular until 1980. Very short fade.
If you want to view all the costumes, you can Google Kooky Spooks followed by the costumes name and hit search. Then click on ‘Images’ (next to shopping) at the top via Google Search.
Thanks for the information!! I love these so much. Wish I’d had one. I wonder why the short fade. They were just so fun with those big heads on top of your head. =) I’ll let your comment stand as correction to the post. Thanks, again. jen
Where can i buy one for an adult
No clue. I just blogged about them. Maybe Amazon?