My wife loves horror movies. I love movie posters. You’d think vintage horror movie posters would be our jam, but it’s not. She hates the humungous size of one-sheets (27×41 inches) and in all honesty, we don’t have space in our small three-bedroom house to do them justice.
The reason I mention this house is because of the ever-increasing value of vintage horror movie posters. You see, this house is valued at about $135,000, depending on which real estate agent you ask. What follows is a list of vintage horror movie posters that I would have to remortgage to own!
(For those wondering, the purpose of this post is to prove that a mint vintage 1987 The Lost Boys poster, costing $550 is a good idea).
5. Mad Doctor (1933), $138,000
You might be asking, can Mickey Mouse be horror? Well, in terms of subject matter, it is pretty interesting. And if it wasn’t for Mickey Mouse it would be pretty dark. So I made a judgment call and added it to the list (mostly because it’s a fantastic poster).
It promotes the 1933 Mickey Mouse movie called Mad Doctor. A movie I had never heard of until stumbling across this poster. A poster worth as much as my house, with a one-sheet version selling for $138,000 at a Heritage Auction back in 2006.
4. The Invisible Man (1933), $223,000
What a poster for 1933! It might be a cheesy-horror movie from a bygone era but this is vintage horror movie poster gold. A fantastic tagline. A mix of Hollywood retro and custom fonts. And darkness is broken up with glowing eyes and a ghostly face.
It’s ahead of its time when compared to other posters from the same time period. So it is no surprise that someone in Dallas spent what is double my home’s value on it, with a one-sheet teaser poster selling for $274,850 at a Heritage Auction back in 2017.
Also Read: Most Iconic Horror Movie Props You’d Recognize
3. Frankenstein (1931), $358,500
Early monster movies have huge fan followings. And because vintage merchandise for such movies is in rare supply, when something becomes available it’s usually for big money. So go check your attic now (you never know what might be up there).
This three-sheet poster for the 1931 hit movie, Frankenstein, beat the auction estimate of $100,000 to $200,000 by quite a margin. A sale through Heritage Auctions is responsible for a one-sheet teaser poster to be sold for a hefty $358,500 back in 2015.
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2. London After Midnight (1927), $478,000
The first I had ever heard of London After Midnight was while watching the British drama Whitechapel. There’s an episode where an escaped psychiatric patient is on the prowl. Their reason for madness? They watched an original print of London After Midnight, starring Lon Chaney (a great episode from a top show).
And this super-rare silent movie poster from 1927 set an auction record when going under the hammer. The last known one-sheet poster for this movie sold for $478,000 at a Heritage Auction back in 2014.
Related: 21 Retro Movie Posters Film Buffs Will Want to Collect | Nerdable
1. Metropolis (1927), $690,000
This is one of the best vintage horror movie posters, a true icon. Metropolis wowed audiences back in 1927 and has left a legacy. Directed by Fritz Lang, Metropolis remains one of the most expensive silent movies ever made. With its special effects and futuristic dystopian plot, it remains a hallmark of early moviemaking.
It attained its $690,000 value in a private sale back in 2005 and again changed hands in 2012 during a bankruptcy sale. In 2012 it was bundled with King Kong and Invisible Man posters, reaching a combined $ 1.2 million. Only four copies of the Metropolis poster remain. One of which is in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, so it’s no surprise that this poster is expected to reach a value above $2,000,000 in the future.
