Eerie kids have been a staple of horror films for decades. But what is it like to be forever known for playing a tiny werewolf, misfit or murderer?
When you have been a spooky child on film or TV, where do you go? For the former child star Butch Patrick, best known for playing the baby-faced werewolf Eddie Munster in the 60s sitcom The Munsters, it is cross-country. Patrick has converted a trailer into a Munsters-themed escape room. Inside, it is rigged up to look like the inside of the family’s home, as well as Grandpa Munster’s laboratory. Pay $13 for entry and audio recordings of Grandpa and Herman (the family’s Frankenstein’s monster patriarch) will guide you through the experience.
“I’ve found an interesting niche!” exclaims Patrick, 67, defanged and, to my great disappointment, no longer wearing a purple Little Lord Fauntleroy-style suit. One of Patrick’s costumes sold for $1,880 (£1,300) in 2001, thus demonstrating the enduring appeal of the show. When we speak, Patrick is driving to collect the trailer, which he affectionately calls the Munster Coach, before taking it to a meet-and-greet in St Clair Shores, Michigan. This is how Patrick makes a living: hawking autographs and gamely answering questions from the show’s army of ageing fans. “They always ask me where Woof Woof is,” says Patrick. “I can’t believe how well that little werewolf teddy bear is remembered! I say he’s at home and well, but doesn’t like to travel, so I don’t bring him along.”
