An original stop-motion puppet of “The Creature Hiding Under the Stairs” from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, the landmark stop-motion musical directed by Henry Selick, produced by Burton, with songs by Danny Elfman.
The creature makes its unforgettable debut in the film’s legendary opening number, “This Is Halloween,” the song that introduces the ghoulish citizens of Halloween Town one by one. This monster announces itself as the thing lurking beneath the staircase, and the puppet wears that identity head to toe: each finger is sculpted as a striped serpent, and a cluster of spiders nests in its hair, with a gaping fanged grin to complete the nightmare. Far from a one-song wonder, the creature can be spotted in multiple scenes throughout the film as one of Halloween Town’s recurring citizens. Like every character in the film, it was brought to life frame by frame, and the screen-used puppet is composed of hand-painted foam over a complex metal armature.
The Nightmare Before Christmas has grown from cult favorite to year-round cultural institution, and original puppets from the production are among the most sought-after artifacts in stop animation collecting. Few characters are summoned by name in Halloween Town’s anthem, and this one answers the famous question of who is there.
