Monster Cereals: Odd choices considered in the 1970s included Vanilla Gorilla, Doctor Orangelove, more

It’s Halloween! That means candy bars, pumpkin beer and, of course, the only proper way to get the day started: General Mills’ Monster cereals! And while we dig into bowls of Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Boo Berry on an annual basis, it turns out there were several more vying for a spot on supermarket shelves.

As posted on the Facebook page Vintage Cereal Boxes, Mascots And Premiums From The 1960s-1980s by Fred Hauck – whose father contributed to the designs – “Happy Halloween all you Monster lovers! Here are some of the concepts from my dads studio that didn’t make the cut. They are obviously trying on some different flavor profiles and mascots with these.”

In the vintage photos (embedded via collectingcandy’s Instagram), we see just what these discarded Monster cereals were: Apple Mummy, Applespider, Ella Vanilla, Vanilla Gorilla, Doctor Orangelove, OranGenie, R-R-R-R Orange, Professor Nutty, and Anna Banana, giving sugar fiends a mixture of animals, witches, mad scientists, and whatever the heck R-R-R-R Orange is supposed to be.

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Both Count Chocula and Franken Berry were introduced in 1971, but it might be worth noting that the latter would turn your dookie spooky due to a certain pigment added. Two years later came Boo Berry, while Frute Brute came about in 1974 and Yummy Mummy in 1987, both having sporadic runs since their introduction. This year, General Millers unveiled their first new mainstay: Carmella Creeper, described as “the long-lost cousin of Franken Berry as well as a zombie DJ with an edgy sound who is always the life of the party…Complete with a fierce attitude and looks to match, Carmella is ready to shake things up at the Monsters’ haunted mansion with her limited-edition cereal featuring caramel-apple-flavored pieces with colored Monster marshmallows.”

General Mills’ Monster cereal lineup has been a pop culture staple for more than 50 years now. And while we have all sorts of toys, figures and pieces of random memorabilia to celebrate the core mascots, we’ve yet to get even a made-for-streaming movie. Then again, maybe that’s what Hotel Transylvania is for…

Which is your go-to Monster cereal (I’m a Count Chocula guy myself…). Let us know in the comments section below!