Updated: May 25, 2024

Universal's most popular monsters terrified, entertained, and enthralled audiences during the studio's golden reign of horror. They also influenced other filmmakers in the creation of horror, and later science fiction, and fantasy movies. Universal's films aired on television in the 1960s and '70s, introducing their classic monsters to new generations of viewers. The television company Screen Gems first acquired the license to debut hundreds of Universal films beginning in 1957. A year later, the monthly magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland served as the primary periodical for young readers to learn more about these legendary creatures.

Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, manufacturers offered Universal monsters in the form of toys, model kits, Halloween costumes, paperbacks, T-shirt iron-ons, posters, and trading cards. The classic monster mania revival eventually came to a close by the late 1970s. Even so, nearly a century since some of Universal's monsters first appeared on screen, these iconic creatures remain embedded in the public's imagination.