Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #1: Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part Three

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #1:
Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part Three

Mego!  Remco!  Marx!  It's the final three entries in Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s!  My most popular "Horror Post" on this blog.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankentoys-top-10-frankenstein-games_20.html

Come back tomorrow as I begin the Countdown to Halloween 2018 with a series of all-new horror posts!  I'll be reviewing Halloween-themed episodes of TV shows from the '60s, '70s, and '80s like Knight Rider, The Addams Family, and CHiPs, and showing off a few new monster toys I've added to my toy collection.

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #2: The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #2:
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)

The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini is the last film of AIP's "Beach Party" series.  At this point the Beach Party formula was getting pretty stale, and they had lost the stars of the previous films, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, so the producers decided to shake things up by changing locations from the beach to a haunted house.  The result was a hybrid horror/teen musical/comedy flick that is pretty dumb, but still fairly entertaining.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-ghost-in-invisible-bikini-1966.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #3: Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part One

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #3:
Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part One

The first part of my top 10 list of vintage Frankenstein toys from the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.  These are all toys that were inspired by or feature Frankenstein's Monster, either individually or as part of a line of toys that Frankenstein was a part of. So Buckle your seat belts, kiddies, because we're about to take a wild ride down Frankenstein road, and it's a twisty one on the side of a creepy mountain!  Boo-wah-hah-hah-ha!!  That was my evil laugh, by the way.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankentoys-top-10-frankenstein-games.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #4: The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (1977)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #4:
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (1977)

"The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom" is, like "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula," a two-part episode featuring the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.  The plot has Frank and Joe Hardy, their father Fenton Hardy, and Nancy Drew, all attending a detectives convention in Hollywood, right next door to Universal Studios.

Things get interesting when the detectives start to be kidnapped, one by one, by a mysterious "Phantom" who lurks in the movie studio, with the remaining detectives as the prime suspects.   It's basically a combination of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" and "The Phantom of the Opera."

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-hardy-boysnancy-drew-mysteries_30.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #5: Frankenstein (1931)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #5:
Frankenstein (1931)
As the 1931 Universal Monsters classic Frankenstein begins, we are introduced to Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) as he lurks in a graveyard with his hunchbacked lab assistant Fritz (Fritz is played by Dwight Frye, who portrayed the fly-eating vampire's assistant Renfield a year earlier in Universal's Dracula).  The duo spy on a funeral, waiting for the mourners to leave so they can dig up the corpse.  Fritz is perversely eager and has to be held back by Frankenstein to avoid detection.  Fritz is possibly not the ideal man to be a scientist's assistant, but I suppose when your job duties include grave robbing, the list of eligible candidates for the position is not very large.  Frankenstein is quite eager himself, however, just in a quieter, more intense way.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankenstein-1931.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #6: Halloween With The Addams Family (1964)

"Do not be  alarmed, we are only little children."

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #6:
Halloween With The Addams Family (1964)

The episode takes place on Halloween, as the Addams family prepares for the holiday.  Wednesday and Pugsley get dressed up in their costumes for a night of trick-or-treating, while the rest of the family prepare punch and other party favors for any guests who may show up at their door.  They receive two guests in the form of a pair of bank robbers (one of whom is played by Don Rickles!) on the run from the police.  They think the Addams mansion will make a good place to hide out, but soon realize they've gotten more than they bargained for in the Addams's twisted house of comedic horrors.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/10/halloween-with-addams-family-1964.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #7: The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - 62 Screencaps

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #7:
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - 62 Screencaps

See the screencaps...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-bride-of-frankenstein-1935-62.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #8: The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (1977)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #8:
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (1977)

This episode is chock full of Hardy Boys goodness.  The Hardy Boys visit a morgue!  The Hardy Boys go undercover in a rock band!  They find some clues!  They meet a "hilarious" Nazi bellhop!  They meet Nancy Drew for the first time!  Paul Williams makes a guest appearance, and sings one of his songs from Phantom of the Paradise!  Heck, they even let Shaun Cassidy sing a song!  They mercifully cut that song short!  And throughout the episode, there are constant cutaways to DRACULA BOOTS!  Perhaps you don't share my enthusiasm for these things, and if so, I don't know what to tell you.  I freaking loved this show when I was a little kid, and I'm kind of flabbergasted to discover how much I still love it as a decrepit old man.It is SO AWESOME!

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-hardy-boys-and-nancy-drew-meet.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #9: The Raven (1935)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #9:
The Raven (1935)

"The Raven" is one of several works of Edgar Allan Poe that are referenced in the 1935 film of the same name.  It's not actually an adaptation of Poe's classic poem, but I guess calling the film "Bela Lugosi plays a weirdo doctor who is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe" wouldn't have the same ring to it.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-raven-1935.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #10: Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part Two

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #10:
Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, Part Two

I hope your ready for another plastic-molded dose of creepy, Frankensteiny ghoulishness, becuase it's time for part two of...
Frankentoys: The Top 10 Frankenstein Games and Toys of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s!

Read more...
http://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankentoys-top-10-frankenstein-games_19.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #11: Deadly Friend (1986)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #11:
Deadly Friend (1986)

Deadly Friend is an odd movie.  It starts off as a 1980s teen romance picture, about a boy genius who wins the heart of the cute girl next door, with the help of his adorable and funny robot.  Sort of like what Short Circuit would be like if it was directed by John Hughes.  But Deadly Friend wasn't directed by John Hughes... it was directed by Nightmare on Elm Street's Wes Craven, and it is full of just as much violence, gore, and horror as it is of awkward teenage romance and cute robot hijinks.  It makes for a really disconcerting sensation, like two different movies have been mashed up together.  But that just makes the film wonderfully weird and fun to watch.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/03/deadly-friend-1986.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #12: Saturday Morning Horror - 1966

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #12:
Saturday Morning Horror - 1966

1966 was a good year to be a monster kid.  Classic monster movies, like Frankenstein and Dracula, were popular again due to their being shown to a new generation of fans on TV.  Monster themed toys, like Marx Toys' Cinema Creatures, and Aurora Monster Model Kits, were on the toy shelves.  Television had the premieres of Dark Shadows, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Star Trek and Batman.  Other shows that aired in 1966 included Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, My Favorite Martian, The Munsters, and The Addams Family.

Even the Saturday Morning Cartoons were not immune to monster-mania.  I'm going to count down the top 6 spooky, scary, or monster-filled cartoons that were available to kids on 1966 Saturday mornings, starting with the least scary, and working my way up to the most horrifying!

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https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/10/saturday-morning-horror-1966.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #13: Island of the Fishmen (aka Screamers) (1979)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #13:
Island of the Fishmen (aka Screamers) (1979)

A doctor and some convicts from a prison ship get shipwrecked on an uncharted Caribbean island populated with half-man/half-fish creatures, and horrific shenanigans ensue.  Toss in a liberal dose of African(?) tribesman, voodoo, and a sprinkling of zombies just for the hell of it, and you get a movie that sounds like it could be cheesy fun, but never really gets there.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/06/island-of-fishmen-aka-screamers-1979.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #14: Monster Cereal Taste-Off!

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #14:
Monster Cereal Taste-Off!

I was pretty excited when I was grocery shopping the other day and saw some Monster Cereal for sale, just in time for Halloween.  "Yes!," I Thought to myself, "I love that stuff!"

Or do I?  Because now that I think of it, I don't remember eating it much when I was a kid.  It was always only available for a limited time around Halloween, and we hardly ever bought it.  I know I had it a few times, though, but I don't remember what it tasted like.  But that's good, that means I can evaluate the taste for what it is, and not have to compare it to my childhood memories, which would probably make it out to be better than it really was.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/monster-cereal-taste-off.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #15: The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #15:
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

I just watched Don Knotts play an aspiring newspaper reporter, who has to spend the night in a haunted house, and finds himself entangled in a murder mystery, in this 1966 horror comedy from Universal.  You, know, I didn't have particularly high hopes for this movie, but I was hoping for something better than what I got.  This "horror comedy" really isn't funny or scary.  I didn't laugh once.  All the jokes were really stale, and they tended to repeat them over and over, as if they would somehow get funnier the second, third, fourth, or fifth time around. 

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-ghost-and-mr-chicken-1966.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #16: House (aka Hausu) (1977)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #16:
House (aka Hausu) (1977)

Recipe for Hausu
Take 6 Japanese schoolgirls: Gorgeous (the cute one), Prof (the smart one), Melody (the musician), Kung Fu (the martial artist), Mac (as in sto-Mac-h... the fat one), Sweet (the nice one), and Fantasy (the daydreaming romantic). Deposit in a creepy old house. Add one spooky ghost cat. Sprinkle on a liberal dose of colorful, cartoony special effects. Stir in an ocean of blood and severed body parts, and let boil for 1 and a half hours. Now ready to serve.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/08/house-aka-hausu-1977-mini-review-plus.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #17: Frankenstein (1931) - 59 Screencaps

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #17:
Frankenstein (1931) - 59 Screencaps

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https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankenstein-1931-59-screencaps.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #18: The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - The Mystery of the Haunted House (1977)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #18:
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - The Mystery of the Haunted House (1977)

This is the first episode of the Hardy Boys Mysteries, but they don't spend any time setting up the premise.  The show begins with a spooky theme song and weird opening title montage, featuring the Hardy Boys running through a maze of their own book covers.  Then we jump right into the mystery, and along the way we learn that the Hardy Boys are Frank and Joe, the sons of Fenton Hardy, a 20 year veteran of the New York City Police Department, who now makes a living as a private detective.  The boys are played by Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy, who are both quite likeable in their roles.  Their father has his office in the Hardy home, and a crime lab in his basement.  The two boys are chips off the crime solving block. They are skilled at fingerprinting and other crime-solving techniques, and have a way of nosing in to their dad's cases, and uncovering new mysteries on their own.

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http://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-hardy-boysnancy-drew-mysteries.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #19: Diamond Select Toys Universal Monsters Select The Bride of Frankenstein Action Figure

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #19:
Diamond Select Toys Universal Monsters Select The Bride of Frankenstein Action Figure

This is a really nice looking sculpt.  The likeness of the head sculpt to Elsa Lanchester is very strong, although it is not perfect.  The Sideshow Toys version I reviewed a couple of days ago did a better job with their head sculpt.  But this figure beats out the Sideshow version on the sculpt for the rest of the figure.  The bandages on her arms are very nicely defined.  Her dress is also sculpted very well.  When I saw photographs of the figure, I thought her dress was made of cloth, but instead it is a thin, flexible sculpted plastic.  All in all, it's a great looking figure.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/diamond-select-toys-universal-monsters_27.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #20: Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #20:
Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Son of Frankenstein is an interesting entry in the history of the Universal Monsters series.  This is the third Universal Frankenstein film, following 1931's Frankenstein, and 1935's The Bride of Frankenstein.  It is the first Frankenstein film not to be directed by James Whale, and it is the last one to feature Boris Karloff as The Monster.  It is also the last of Universal's big budget monster movies.  After this film, the rest of the series was produced as low-budget, "b-pictures," re-using sets, special effects, and actors from picture to picture.

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https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/son-of-frankenstein-1939.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #21: Halloween Post No.1: My Halloween Toys 2012

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #21:
Halloween Post No.1: My Halloween Toys 2012
Originally published Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

A few months ago, I started collecting toys.  One of the things I'm collecting is monster toys, especially Frankenstein toys.  I thought it would be a fun thing to start posting photos of my monster toy collection every Halloween, to see how it is growing.  The two Godzillas and the Mothra I've had for years, everything else I've bought in the last few months.  By the way, I do plan on opening that Boris Karloff box in the back of the photos up, I just haven't had the time to do it yet.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-post-no1-my-halloween-toys.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #22: Mad Monsters by Figures Toy Co. aka Classic TV Toys

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #22:
Mad Monsters by Figures Toy Co. aka Classic TV Toys

The Mad Monsters were originally made by Mego in the 1970s.  These were Mego's version of the Universal Monsters.  The four figures were Human Wolfman, Dreadful Dracula, Horrible Mummy, and Monster Frankenstein.  Mego didn't have the license from Universal to do official versions of these characters, so they are all a little bit off-model, to avoid being sued.  For instance, Frankenstein has his bolts on his head instead of his neck.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/10/mad-monsters-by-figures-toy-co-aka.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #23: Diamond Select's Universal Monsters Retro Cloth Figure: The Bride of Frankenstein

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #23:
Diamond Select's Universal Monsters Retro Cloth Figure: The Bride of Frankenstein

Starting in 2010, Diamond Select began releasing a series of 8 inch Mego-style dolls based on the Universal Monsters.  Imagine what Mego's Mad Monsters would be like if Mego had actually gotten the license from Universal instead of making knock-off monsters, and throw in more modern looking head sculpts and costumes as well, and you'll have an idea what these are like.  In 2010, they released Frankenstein and the Wolfman, and in 2011 they released Dracula and The Mummy.  The current wave was released in 2012 and consists of The Bride of Frankenstein and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Phantom of the Opera and the Metaluna Mutant are on tap to be released later this year.

I think this line of toys is great.  I played with Mego dolls when I was a little kid, so there's a big nostalgia factor in play for me with toys like this.  Plus, I'm a huge fan of the Universal Monsters, ESPECIALLY of Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride.  So I was really looking forward to getting this Bride of Frankenstein figure.  Unfortunately, she turned out to be my least favorite in the line so far.  Read on to find out why...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/01/diamond-selects-universal-monsters.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #24: Diamond Select Toys Universal Monsters Select The Mummy Action Figure

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #24:
Diamond Select Toys Universal Monsters Select The Mummy Action Figure

I like the sculpt of this one quite a bit.  The sculpt is a really good likeness of Boris Karloff as the Mummy, better than their version of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster.  The paint job is adequate.   The figure looks kind of rotten and old, as a thousand year old mummy should, but there is a bit of paint running off on his ring.   The sarcophagus paint is scratched up, which is probably intentional to make it look aged.  But the paint on the wrist band of the sarcophagus is really sloppy looking, just slopped on with a brush in uneven strokes .

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/diamond-select-toys-universal-monsters_16.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #25: Sideshow Toys The Bride of Frankenstein Action Figure (1999)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #25:
Sideshow Toys The Bride of Frankenstein Action Figure (1999)

Sideshow Toys did a great job of capturing Elsa Lanchester's likeness as the Bride.  The sculpt on her head is fantastic.  The paint job is really good, to, the fine lines of her lips and eyes are rendered flawlessly, and there are some subtle washes of paint on her face that help make her skin come alive (or reanimated, in this case). 

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2012/10/sideshow-toys-bride-of-frankenstein.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #26: Marilyn & Eddie Munster Action Figures

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #26:
Marilyn & Eddie Munster Action Figures

These are fun figures that pair great with the rest of the Munsters, as well as other monster action figures.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/10/diamond-select-toys-munsters-select_31.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #27: The Invisible Man (1933)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #27:
The Invisible Man (1933)

Adapted from the classic H. G. Wells story of the same name, The Invisible Man is one of the best of the Universal Monsters movies.  It stars Claude Rains, in his first American film, as the Invisible Man, and was directed by James Whale of Frankenstein fame.  Like Whale's Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein, the film mixes humor in with the horror and madness.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-invisible-man-1933.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #28: Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select Lily Munster Action Figure

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #28:
Diamond Select Toys Munsters Select Lily Munster Action Figure

This is a very good looking toy.  The facial sculpt is probably the weakest as far as likeness goes.  It doesn't look as close to Yvonne DeCarlo as the Herman figure does to Fred Gwynne, or the Grandpa figure does to Al Lewis, but it still looks pretty good.  I think they should have painted the white hairs individually instead of with a solid white streak, though.  A little texture there would have gone a long way.  But those are minor complaints.  Overall, I think it looks great.

Read more...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/10/diamond-select-toys-munsters-select.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #29: KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #29:
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)
 

In 1978, at the height of their popularity, rock band KISS made their feature film debut in KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park.  In the film KISS play a super-powered version of themselves as they fight an army of evil androids and unravel a missing-persons mystery at a failing amusement park.  But don't worry, all that doesn't stop them from performing a series of concerts and treating us to several classic KISS songs.  Does this movie sound awesome, or what?  Wait, did I mention it's a super low budget made-for-TV movie, produced by Hanna-Barbera (the same guys who produced Yogi Bear and Scooby Doo)?  Yeah, "awesome" might not be the right word to describe this flick.  Read on to find out what word is...
https://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2014/10/kiss-meets-phantom-of-park-1978.html

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #30: The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - The Mystery of Witches' Hollow

All month long in September I'm going to count down my most popular Horror themed blog posts from the past several years, as I gear up for October and Halloween!  It's a whole month of frightening movie, TV, and toy reviews, beginning with my 30th most viewed horror post on September 1st, leading up to my all-time most poplular horror post on September 30th!  And all of that will be burning a trail to October when I should return with a handful of brand new Halloween weirdities!  Enjoy...

Misfit Robot Daydream's Most Popular Horror Posts, #30:
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries - The Mystery of Witches' Hollow

 
The Mystery of Witches' Hollow is the second Hardy Boys episode of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.  It involves their hunt to find a man who has gone missing in the woods.  The mystery involves a legend about a witch whose screams can be heard in the woods at night and her pet, a killer black mountain lion.

Read more...
http://misfitdaydream.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-hardy-boysnancy-drew-mysteries.html