I was brought onto the wonderful team of writers at PopVinyls.com to write about my passion, Living Dead Dolls. I get asked constantly about them from friends in real life, to people all over that heard I collect them. Let’s start off with a little bit of doll information, shall we? The first Living Dead Dolls were created by Ed Long, who made them from blank dolls that his mother had lying around (she too, made dolls, although angel dolls rather than horror dolls). Damien Gloneck suggested that Ed bring them for sale at his booth (where he sold other merchandise). Ed was also manning the booth the day that he bought them out for sale, Damien returned the next day to the booth and asked Ed why he didn’t bring the dolls…Ed did, he actually brought 8 and sold them all the first day of the convention. After that, Damien and Ed decided that they should make them together, and make more, fast! The first Living Dead Dolls are often considered ‘handmades’ because they were handcrafted by Ed and Damien. They are also stamped with “Unearthly Possessions” on the back of the coffin, which was the name of Damien’s company when they started making the dolls.
Michael “Mez” Markowitz, President of Mezco Toyz, saw the dolls and how much attention they were getting, suggesting to Ed and Damien that they should all go into business together. From this, came Living Dead Dolls as we know it! Handmades were given to the early winners of the annual Living Dead Dolls Halloween Contest. All of the handmades now come with a high price tag on the aftermarket. Handmades were mostly frequently Sadie, Posey and Eggzorcist. Some of the handmades (Candy Rotten) were never picked up by Mezco and only exist as handmade dolls. Today, 16 years later, Ed and Damien are still the minds behind the mass produced dolls. Once a series of dolls is sold out, they are gone forever, never to be remade, which is why the dolls are so collectible!
Ed and Damien also still do the convention that got them started, Chiller Theater, which is bi-annually in New Jersey. Some of the other conventions that they attend include bi-annual Monster Mania and Cinema Wasteland. They sign dolls as well as sell them, and they are two of the coolest guys to talk to. Some of the dolls they sell include very hard to find Resurrection Variants, older series dolls, older Presents dolls, as well as the new (and newer) series! If you are ever in the area of a convention the guys will be attending, even if you’re not a collector, hanging out with them will make you one!
From one Jersey girl to the Jersey guys, thanks for 16 years of dolls!
Travis Denman