Sculpted figure by Jin Saotome
On the subject of ghosts...there were lots of cool designs in The Real Ghostbusters-the animated series based on the movie, not the animated series starring a gorilla...
...and Samhain, the Ghost of Halloween, was certainly one of the most memorable ghouls that Egon, Peter, Ray and Winston had to defeat. He has a simple but effective design, menacing pumpkin head immediately conveying is Halloweeniness and tattered robes evocative of his pagan origins. He was a ghost after my own heart, all he wanted was to make Halloween night last forever, I think the boys might've been too hasty with their proton packs in this case. But, he wanted ghosts to rule the world, not humans, so I guess he did have to be stopped.
He also has the distinction of teaching a generation of kids the wrong way to pronounce Samhain. It's not 'sam-hayne', it's pronounced 'saw-win'. Seriously though Celts, you were just asking for that, who taught you letters? Also, while few kids might've been huge history buffs at the time, it helped perpetuate the myth that Samhain was the name of a deity that the Celts were praying and sacrificing to at their festivities when it was actually the name of the festival itself.
Finally, I just can't let a Real Ghostbusters discussion end without bringing up the Boogieman. Samhain is the perfect choice for a Halloween list, but the Boogieman is probably the king of all RGB ghost designs, this disturbing combination of physical elements and Frank Welker's voice? God...terrifying.
Juuuuuuust terrifying.
I loved the Real Ghostbusters when I was a kid...and yes the Boogieman was nightmare fuel in design. The animators certainly had fun on that show coming up with batshit concoctions for creatures.
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