Produced by Zoo-Piks in 1964, the Mon-Stir set was part of a Universal-licensed set that included Frankenstein, the Mummy, Wolfman and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The swizzle sticks come in red and white, or as Universal dubbed them “Blood Red” and “Graveyard Grey”.
In the early 1900s Universal Pictures was a minor film studio, looking to stand out from its competition. The solution? Create some of the most classic and enduring horror movie icons in history.
Universal first entered the horror genre in 1913 with two silent films Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Werewolf. It wasn’t until the the "talkie" era in 1931, the Universal saw its first blockbusters with two movies: Frankenstein and Dracula. These films laid the foundation for the modern horror genre, established Universal as a studio to be respected, and made leading men out of stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
Universal followed this up with The Mummy in 1932, The Invisible Man in 1933, as well as sequels to Dracula and Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein in 1939, The Wolfman in 1941, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954.
In the late 1970’s Universal gave their monsters a re-boot and 1979 released a series: The Mummy Trilogy. They reunited the Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster for the Summer Blockbuster Van Helsing in 2004, and did a remake of The Wolfman in 2010.
A SHARED MOVIE UNIVERSE
The Universal Horror world represents one of the earliest attempts at a shared movie universe. Through sequels, Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman movies were established as sharing their own world. Later, through the Abbott and Costello movies, the Invisible Man and the Mummy were also added to this shared universe. These five "classic" Universal Monsters were frequently featured with the Creature from the Black Lagoon; while "the Creature" was never established as having any canonical ties to the others, his popularity appears to have gotten him into the club.
The Fifth Monster (and Sixth)
Eventually Universal gave its official stamp of approval to these six "classic" monsters — Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Wolf Man, and the Creature — by releasing six "Legacy" collections, one for each, officially setting them apart from the remainder of the Universal Horror world.
SIDEBAR: The subsequently issued collectors sets (the Mon-Stir Swizzle Stick set, and the Monster I-Scream Spoons, featured only four monsters; absent was Count Dracula and, understandably, the Invisible Man (or maybe he IS in the set….).
Monster I-Scream Spoons
Universal issued a set of I-Scream spoons (file this one under “Swizzle Adjacent”). These sets were sold 12 for ONLY $1.00. Unlike the Mon-Stir Swizzles, the spoons were issued in three or four colors (Red, White, Yellow and (unconfirmed) Orange).
Note that while Dracula is still missing, all four featured monsters are drawn lying in coffins!
Dead Man's Float
Note the dish suggestions in the text: